Japanese French Toast

Last October, American food professionals visited fermented food producers to deepen their knowledge of Japanese fermentation culture during the “Hakko Tourism in Japan” tour campaign. As part of the tour, organizers held a tasting session where guests gave candid advice from the perspective of the American market to food product manufacturers looking to enter the United States market.

Last time, I introduced a cooking recipe using mirin, “Japanese honey mustard chicken“. I hope you had a chance to try it out!

Today, I want to introduce a recipe using mirin as a sweetener, not as a seasoning. As I’ve mentioned several times in this column, mirin usually complements a dish and is not the main flavor. But by using it as a sweetener, mirin becomes the main flavor of a dish.

I am going to introduce “Japanese French toast” with “Mirin Syrup”. This is a simple mirin recipe that allows you to enjoy mirin both as the main flavor and the complementing flavor. “Mirin Syrup” is made by reducing mirin which combines the sweetness of mirin derived from rice with soy sauce.

Ingredients

• 1/2 baguette
• 2 eggs
• 150ml soy milk
• 2 tablespoons mirin syrup
• 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
• Your favorite oil such as butter as needed

*Please refer to “Enjoying Mirin in Sweets!” on how to make mirin syrup.

For toppings

• Mitarashi sauce as needed (Please refer to the recipe below)
• Kinako (roasted soy bean flour) as needed

Directions

1. Put eggs, soy milk, mirin syrup, and soy sauce in a pan or baking dish and mix them very well.

*Mirin burns easily so the key is to cook it slowly over low heat.

Recipe for mitarashi sauce

• 2 tablespoons mirin syrup
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions

1. Mix the ingredients very well.
2. Heat over low heat for about 30 seconds.

*It’s delicious as it is but if you heat it up a little more, the aroma of the soy sauce will come out and it’s even more delicious!

I made this using Japanese bread instead of baguette 🙂 Mirin is indispensable for Japanese cuisine and so it goes well with Japanese ingredients.

French toast with soy sauce as a hidden flavor in the egg mixture gives a familiar taste for Japanese people. It is “mitarashi-style” with kinako topping often used on Japanese snacks.

The combination of soy sauce and mirin is the foundation of Japanese cuisine! I can’t get enough of this taste! Lol

Kinako and mirin also go well together. So for example, soy milk latte with kinako and mirin syrup tastes really good.

This French toast made with the sweetness of mirin also helps keep blood glucose level low and is perfect for breakfast!

If you want a break from the routine and try something, please try this Japanese-style French toast.

For More Recipes

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• Stir Fried Vegetables
• Tsukemono
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