Quiapo is full of wonderful finds, but that’s only If you’re patient enough. While I do admit that my patience can be questionable at times, when we went to Quiapo a few months ago, we were actually able to score a good haul of budget buys such as fruits, slices of ham, toys, kesong puti (soft white cheese) and vegetables. Now, I was quite excited with the kesong puti because it was freshly made according to the seller plus it’s been years since we last had kesong puti at home.

When we got home, I felt very lucky because there was a paper bag of pandesal (bread roll) in the kitchen. As such, after stacking our purchases in the kitchen, I proceeded to prepare a “light” snack of toasted pandesal with kesong puti and strawberry jam.

Toasted pandesal is a super simple breakfast or snack; even someone with no talent in the kitchen can prepare this. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Three pieces pandesal (you can use leftover pandesal)
• Three slices of kesong puti
• Strawberry jam (or your choice of jam)
• Unsalted butter (optional)

For the kitchen tools, you will need a saucer or plate, a bread knife, and either an oven toaster or an air fryer.

To make toasted pandesal with kesong puti, you can follow these easy and simple steps:

• Slice the pandesal in half and then spread butter on both sides.
• Put a slice of kesong puti on one side and then spread strawberry jam on the other side.
• Toast in the oven or air fryer for around 5 minutes, or longer if you want the edges to be crispier. I like to toast my pandesal open-faced to allow the cheese to melt a little and the butter to seep into the bread.

Serve it while it’s warm. You can enjoy the toasted pandesal with coffee or hot chocolate or even a cold drink. 

For variation, you can replace the fruit jam with honey (this goes really well with kesong puti) and enjoy a sweet-salty sandwich treat. If you want an all-savory option, you can replace the jam with slices of ham, bacon, pastrami, or sausage.

Anyway, I shared the toasted pandesal with kesong puti and strawberry jam to my youngest son and he liked it as well. I’m glad that he found kesong puti to be delicious, although he prefers strawberry jam on his bread most of the time.

Toasted pandesal with kesong puti and strawberry jam is simple to make yet it’s very satisfying. I’m not sure if this is still a popular breakfast or snack among Filipinos but I think it’s still good to acquaint our children to pandesal and kesong puti, a popular breakfast combo from many years ago.

Have you had pandesal and kesong puti lately?

More recipes:

• 3 easy sandwich recipes to refuel you after exercising
• 5 Healthy Meals To Make In Your Microwave Oven [Recipes]
• How To Make Cauliflower Nuggets
• Two Classic Filipino Dishes To Keep You Warm During the Rainy Season
• The 5 Surprising Health Benefits of Pepper Elder (Pansit-pansitan)
• TheBasics Peanut Butter: A Healthy Choice Without Compromising Taste