Recently, the Asian grocery store I work in received a shipment of Japanese white bread, Daiichi Pan (it translates modestly to The Number One Bread). It costs $4.99 a loaf and weighs nearly a pound. Each loaf is divided into six slices and each slice is about half an inch thick. That comes to eighty-three cents a slice. I've only sold one loaf to a Japanese woman. I was curious to see how The Number One Bread could justify its price and food miles. Even though I'm a fan of the Japanese's take on Western baked goods, this is still plain ol' white bread--a metaphor for boring--we're talking about here.
My boss says the Daiichi Pan bread is delicious on its own. I disagree. Eaten plain, defrosted white bread taste as appetizing as the phrase "defrosted white bread" sounds. But. When toasted and layered with Nutella, it's fit for a cherub's post-nap snack. Such tastiness comes at a price (other than the monetary and ecological ones). Each slice of bread has a whopping 180 calories and the second ingredient, after wheat flour, is high fructose corn syrup, followed by butter. I suspect shokupan(the Japanese name for white bread) isn't part of
this diet.
I'm going to use the Daiichi Pan bread to make this cheese toast thing that my relative sold in her little food stall in Taiwan. I would sometimes man it for her and that's about the only thing I know how to make, but that was okay because the little kiosk had very few customers as it was located in the mountains. Here's how you made the cheese toast. Take one thick slice of white bread, drizzle some condensed milk on it, slap on a slice of...I don't remember what kind of cheese it was, except that it was one of those pre-sliced individually wrapped cheese. It was white and soft--definitely not Swiss, Mozarella maybe? Anyway, you lay the cheese on the bread, and broil it until the cheese gets gooey (but not to the point where it drips).
Taiwanese aren't the only people to do the condensed milk/bread combo. A few years ago I worked at a Vietnamese grocery store. Sometimes in the morning after the Vietnamese French bread was delivered to the store from a bakery, my co-workers would get a few loaves, split them open and drizzled condensed milk in them. Another Vietnamese grocery store quick breakfast: French bread with canned pâté.
While googling for shokupan, I came across this Sanrio character called Pankunchi. From Sanrio's
website, "Pankun is a baby panda who was abandoned in a forest where pandas live. His favorite possession is an old mitten that was in the box with him when he was abandoned. Pankun loves bread, and his tummy rumbles whenever he sees the two pieces of bread, Shokupan and Koppepan." There's more bizarreness. Pankun
hates bamboo. Parental and food issues. Finally, a Sanrio character I can relate to.
I told my husband, John, about the inexplicably dark Pankunchi.
"So he eats Shokupan and Koppepan?"
"Well, no, they are his friends. Presumably he just eats regular bread.--"
"Bread with no eyes. Non-sentient bread."
"--For now."
I think it's very likely that one day Pankun's abandonment issues will get the better of him, and he'll devour his friends so that they will be a part of him forever and never leave him. There's something in Pankun's placid expression and high squeaky and nervous voice that hints at mental fragility.
ETA:
My store is currently selling this Saku Saku Panda cookies (they taste meh).
[Photo source] The panda looks slightly demented. It has
Ringu eyes!
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