Panlasang Pinoy Recipes brings you the cheesiest of them all-cheese sticks! You have been so familiar with this one. It became a favorite afternoon merienda among Filipinos since its “discovery”. This is not like your common lumpia or any wrapped food. This is cheeeessseee! You heard that? Cheeessseee! That sometimes chewy, creamy, sticky, sweet, nutty, or buttery strips that you put as filling of your sandwich. That thing you kept on eating while mom was busy preparing it for your spaghetti and macaroni dishes. Cheese. It is more than a sandwich filling now. It is the merienda itself.
Pinoy cheese sticks can be likened to mozzarella sticks. Mozzarella cheese is not common in the Philippines; hence, this pica-pica stick makes use of the commonly available kind of cheese in the market. Cheese sticks are elongated pieces of battered or breaded cheese. So when did they come into existence? Mozzarella sticks came into being in at least 1393 in Medieval France. During this time, a recipe for fried cheese sticks occurred. And the recipe still lives and keeps on improving!
This recipe will use the usual bar cheese in the supermarket. It is sliced according to the desired length and thickness. Oh. Have you tried cutting cheese before? If not, this might help: dipping of knife in hot water to prevent the sticking of the cheese into it. And when done cooking, do not forget to drain excess il using strainer or tissue paper. This wil make eating more enjoyable.
How to Make Cheese Sticks with Bread Crumbs
Ingredients
- 2 pcs eggs
- 1 bar cheese 165g
- 2 cups bread crumbs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- cooking oil for deep-frying
Instructions
- Freeze cheese until firm so it can be sliced easily.
- Slice the cheese into sticks about 3 inches long. The thickness is up to you. Set aside when done. (Tip: Dip the knife to hot water so the cheese won’t stick to it while slicing.)
- Crack the eggs then put into a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Beat the eggs.
- Mix the remaining salt and pepper to the flour.
- Breading: Align the plates/bowls containing the flour mixture, beaten eggs, and bread crumbs. Coat 1 pc of cheese stick with the flour mixture. Next, dip it to the beaten eggs. Next, coat it with bread crumbs. Dip it again to the beaten eggs. Lastly, coat it again with bread crumbs. Repeat these breading steps for the remaining cheese sticks.
- Heat cooking oil in a pan in medium fire.
- Deep-fry the breaded cheese sticks until golden brown in color.
- Drain excess oil using strainer or tissue paper.
- Serve while hot with mayo-ketchup dipping sauce. Enjoy your cheese sticks!
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