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It was an unexpected sensation, but when I first laid eyes on a Hong Kong egg waffle pan, I was instantly transported to my carefree youth. I did not grow up in Hong Kong, where egg waffles, orgai daan zai, are a popular street food. But when I was in high school, my mom acquired the pan for making the Dutch coin pancakespofferjes, and I made pofferjes every day after school, filling them with Nutella and jam—a memory the puffy, bubble wrap-like shape of egg waffles brought to mind.
我现在香港的骄傲的主人蛋华夫格pan, which means I can relive some of that pofferjes joy. But I'm here to report that—sorry Holland!—the Hong Kong egg waffle is better. Unlike Dutch coin pancakes, Hong Kong egg waffles are multi-textured. They're soft and springy and crunchy all at once—an amalgam of cakey pancake and crispy waffle. (In this way, the egg waffle is the answer to the age-old, cripplingly difficult breakfast question:pancakeorwaffle?)
On Instagram, where the egg waffle has gainedsemi-viral status, you see the waffles rolled into cones and stuffed with whipped cream, ice cream, fruit, chocolate sauce, brownies,Oreos, shortbread, and more. Is it over the top? Yup. Do I wish I were eating one right now? Yup.
Using the egg waffle iron at home is a bit of a learning curve. As with all waffle irons, it takes a few tries before you know exactly how much batter to use. The first time I made one I overfilled the pan and batter shot out the sides. The second time, Iunder-filled the pan, and the waffle's bubbles broke (or never formed to begin with).
And the egg waffle maker does not operate like other waffle makers. For starters, you heat both halves of the egg waffle maker (each gets its own burner to get hot over). Batter gets poured into one half; the unfilled half is then secured on top of the filled half (oven mittsare key here). Once the two halves are locked together, the whole thing is quickly flipped upside-down. The waffle cooks for about two minutes, then is flipped again to finish cooking on the other side.
Lest you find all of that discouraging, I can assure you that once you get the hang of the process, it's easy. In fact, you'll barely be able to stop yourself from making them. Soon you'll be hosting Sunday Egg Waffle Parties and whipping out egg waffles like it's your job. You'll serve them with whipped cream and jam and berries, or chocolate chips and matcha ice cream and peanuts. And you'll Instagram the whole thing, because it'll be over the top, and you know everybody will wish they were eating one, right now.
