Breakfast for Dinner

Tonight for dinner we decided to make breakfast, albeit a savory one. I haven't done savory French toast since college. Inspired by a scrumptious appetizer we had at Sushi Deli earlier this week, Paul picked up ingredients for Korean barbecue tofu at Seafood City in National City. I picked up some monay (uncut round sweet bread) and pan de coco (sweet bread filled with coconut shavings) at the Filipino bakery next door.

For the French toast:
4 eggs
6" round loaf of monay bread, cut into 1/2" slices
1/4 cup flat beer
1/2 cup toyomansi
1/4 cup vinegar
1 Tbsp sage
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano

3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup Napa lettuce, chopped in fine strips
1/2 zucchini, diced

In a medium-large bowl, whisk eggs until yolk and whites are blended. Add beer, toyomansi, vinegar, and herbs and whisk until well-blended. Set aside.
Heat a pan, then add just enough oil or ghee to cover the bottom of the pan. After oil is heated, add garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add onion and zucchini, then saute until onions are halfway transparent, about 2 minutes. Add Napa cabbage and stir until just heated through.
Add sauteed vegetables to egg mixture and whisk until well-blended.
Heat a clean pan, then add just enough oil or ghee to cover the bottom of the pan.
Dip a slice of bread in the egg mixture, ensuring that both sides are moistened. You do not want soggy bread, so don't dip for longer than about 2 seconds.
Place slice in pan and brown both sides, turning as necessary. Repeat with other slices. Serve hot.
After all the slices are done, I like to make scrambled eggs with the rest of the egg mixture. It's great over rice, or just by itself.

For the Korean barbecue tofu:
1/2 block extra-firm tofu (it holds its shape better)
1 Tbsp Korean barbecue sauce (we used Lee Kum Kee brand)

Drain and press water out of tofu. Marinate tofu in sauce for at least an hour (longer is better).
Heat a pan over medium heat. When pan is hot, add just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.
Add tofu and sauce, and heat through. Serve hot over rice with sliced mushrooms and caramelized onions. Much cheaper than the restaurant version, and just as good if not better.

To accompany all the comfort food, we drank Thai iced tea. Paul found a rather large bag of loose-leaf Thai tea at 99 Ranch during our Asian cooking class field trip and we've been addicted ever since.

4 Tbsp loose-leaf Thai tea
4 cups freshly drawn cold water
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk

Bring water to a boil. Just after it boils, pour over Thai tea and let brew for 5 minutes. Remove leaves and stir in sugar. Half-fill a tall glass with ice. Pour tea over ice. Stir in condensed milk and serve.

Preparation time was probably around an hour from start to finish. My Winamp playlist alternated between Oingo Boingo and Andrew Bird the entire time.

The best thing about today? Petrichor after the first fall rain.