WellBeing – August 2019

LEE HOLMES

runs Supercharged Food

and recently released

her book Supercharge

Your Life. Visit her blog

at superchargedfood.com

for cooking inspiration,

recipes and tips.

An egg hopper,

also known

as appam, is

a fermented

crepe made of

rice fl our and

coconut milk

and topped with

a gooey fried egg.

Egg Hoppers for Breakfast

B

y nature, human beings are creatures

of habit. We wake up at the same time,

eat the same breakfast every day, worry

about the same things, have similar

thoughts, go to the same takeaway place for

lunch, take the regular commute home, eat meat

and three veg for dinner, watch some TV and go to

sleep at the same time.

Ahh, yawn.

It’s time to shake things up a bit and breakfast

is a great place to start.

Personally, one of the ways I love to change my

daily routine is by travelling. While it’s something

I’m fortunate enough to do due to my work,

exploring is one of my passions.

One of my all-time favourite places I’ve

ever visited is Sri Lanka. Not only is Sri Lanka

absolutely beautiful and authentically rich, the

food is out of this world. From the curries to the

dahl, Sri Lanka does no wrong. There’s one meal

in particular that stands out to me: egg hoppers.

Before I ever visited Sri Lanka, I had never heard

of egg hoppers and now I make them regularly at

home and the family loves them too.

Egg hoppers

What is an egg hopper? Also known as appam,

an egg hopper is a fermented crepe made of

rice flour and coconut milk and topped with

a gooey fried egg. This makes appam excellent

for the gluten-intolerants among us — or

everyone, basically!

The hopper has a crepe consistency and is in

the shape of a bowl, giving it the ability to carry as

many fillings as you like.

When exploring the local streets of Sri Lanka,

you’ll spot egg hoppers as far as the eye can see.

They fill street vendors’ carts, local eateries and

even the fanciest of hotel restaurants. That’s truly

one of my favourite things about Sri Lanka: its

shared love of cultural cuisine. It’s a delicious dish

for everyone to enjoy, locals and tourists alike. And

the good news is even the kids lap them up.

While not everyone can “hop” on the next flight

to Sri Lanka to try out an authentic egg hopper,

there are other ways to embrace foreign culture

and this recipe does just that.

My Supercharged Egg Hoppers are a delicious

combination of a comforting and nourishing crepe

with a gooey and delicious fried egg that’s dripping

with yolky goodness. It’s a simple and impressive

dish that’s perfect for the whole family.

While you can have the hopper plain, there

is a range of fillings to choose from including

tomatoes and herbs, fried eggs, curries,

vegetables and even yoghurt.

For my Supercharged Egg Hoppers, I’ve

created a fried egg and peanut masterpiece that

will convert even the non-egg lovers among us.

Forget what you know about eggs for breakfast:

they’re not just for scrambling or frying. Eggs

are extremely versatile and delicious. They’re

more than just a pretty face, being high in protein,

vitamin D, vitamin A and omega-3 fatty acids.

While Sri Lankans use a proper hopper pan,

this recipe doesn’t require any fancy equipment,

just a regular frying pan — because who has got

time for that?

These cute, crepey edible “bowls” are a popular

way to serve street food in Sri Lanka, housing

a variety of fillings from a fried egg to baked

tomatoes topped with herbs or simply peanut

sauce, coconut or sambal. My version doesn’t

include the typical yeast, so the lattice handiwork

when pouring the batter into the pan helps achieve

the desired, if somewhat flatter, shape. It’s time to

bring the tastes and flavours of Sri Lanka to your

own kitchen.

And now for the real question: who’s ready

for breakfast?

Supercharged Egg Hoppers

Serves 2

Peanut Sauce

¼ cup natural peanut butter

2 tbsp wheat-free tamari or

coconut aminos

1 garlic clove, crushed

⅛ tsp grated fresh ginger

⅓ cup warm filtered water

1 egg, whisked

1 cup rice flour

375mL coconut milk

Pinch sea salt

Olive or coconut oil,

for frying

Toppings

4 eggs

Torn spring onions, chopped

Roughly chopped peanuts

Coriander leaves, to garnish

Lime wedges, to serve

To make peanut sauce, combine all ingredients in

small bowl and whisk until thoroughly mixed.

Beat whisked egg, rice flour, coconut milk and

salt together with fork until runny and smooth.

Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in small frying pan with

rounded sides.

Using small spoon or squeeze bottle, drizzle

about 60mL of batter over base and sides of pan in

thin layer, leaving holes in mix.

Cook until bubbles form on surface and edges

are golden then remove carefully with spatula and

set aside.

Repeat process with remaining batter.

Fry eggs in separate frying pan and place one on

top of each hopper.

Spoon over some peanut sauce, scatter over

spring onions, chopped peanuts and coriander, and

serve with lime wedges.

column

QUICK KITCHEN

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