Roti John
A baguette split lengthways and cooked on a hot griddle with a layer of spiced egg, onion and minced meat, served with chilli and mayonnaise.
Photograph credit: Roti John from Mukarn Store at Changi Village by Geoffrey Rhodes · CC BY 2.0 · Flickr
Make Ahead and Storage
Best eaten straight away.
How to Make Roti John
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Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a frying pan. Cook the onion for 2 minutes, add the beef and curry powder and cook for 4 minutes until browned. Cool slightly and mix with the eggs, salt and pepper.
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Heat the remaining oil in a wide pan over a medium heat. Pour in half the egg mixture and spread it to the size of a baguette piece.
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Press a baguette piece, cut side down, onto the egg. Cook for 3 minutes until the egg is set. Flip, and repeat with the second piece.
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Serve with the chilli sauce and mayonnaise drizzled over, with the cucumber on the side.
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Worth Knowing
- Cook the meat first so it is not raw in the middle.
- Press the bread firmly.
- Use a griddle plate if you have one.
Why the Method Is What It Is
A hawker favourite and a sandwich with a name that nobody can fully explain, roti john is bread cooked in the egg that goes inside it. A baguette is split lengthways, the cut sides pressed into a pan of beaten egg, minced meat and onion, and cooked until the egg sets into a golden layer on the bread.
The filling is simple: minced beef or lamb, chopped onion, a pinch of curry powder, salt and pepper, mixed into two beaten eggs. The mixture should be loose enough to pour. Pour it into the pan before the bread goes in. Spread it thin so it sets in 2 minutes and sticks firmly to the crumb.
Use a long, soft baguette, cut into two 20 cm pieces and each split along one side. Lay the bread cut-side down in the egg, press it with a spatula, and cook for 3 minutes until the egg is set and the bread is toasted.
Flip, so the egg side faces up, and drizzle with chilli sauce and mayonnaise. Cut into pieces and eat hot. Sliced cucumber and onion are the traditional sides.
Serving Ideas
Sliced cucumber · Pickled onions · Iced tea · Extra chilli sauce
Changing the Recipe
- Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the chilli. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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