Egghoppers: the ultimate breakfast
Egghopper: a combination of a softly fried egg and a crepe in the shape of a bowl. In Sri Lanka, you can find them everywhere, from street food stalls to luxury hotels. Egghopper is traditionally eaten for breakfast and combined with sambol and curries. Something different from your standard pancake.
The egghopper (also called aappa in Sri Lanka) starts with the ‘hopper’ itself: a crepe made from rice flour, coconut milk, yeast and sugar. The batter is made a day in advance because it needs to ferment overnight. Carbon dioxide develops during this process; it remains intact when the crepe is cooked, resulting in a light and crispy texture.
The crispy crepe is cooked in a scorching-hot, specially designed bowl-shaped pan. Almost immediately, an egg is cracked into it and after a short cooking time (the yolk should remain soft), your egghopper is ready to eat.
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Dipping
You don’t eat the egghopper with sambal but with sambol, with curries and with rice. In Sri Lanka, it forms the basis of pretty much every breakfast. Another variety is string hoppers: nests of steamed rice noodles, also delicious as a garnish with your curry. We know what we think: breakfast in Sri Lanka is a celebration. Want to try making egghoppers yourself? Here’s the recipe. And you can order such a quirky hopper pan from Amazon.
