Until recently, I was unaware of Australian celebrity chef Adam Liaw, cookbook author, host of the TV show “Destination Flavour” and columnist for various newspapers. Now, I know him as the hero of every parent of a school-age child, coming to the rescue of anyone whose kid has come home from school and said, “I need to take in a snack for the whole class tomorrow.”
Liaw earned his hero cape after the humorous, satirical website The Onion posted this tweet.
Son Needs Costume, 30 Individually Wrapped Treats Tomorrow Morning For Some School Celebration https://t.co/pYQKoTMUzZ pic.twitter.com/3nfuTA96sM
— The Onion (@TheOnion) March 20, 2019
The article may have been fictional, but the situation is all too real for many parents, including Liaw. In response, he posted this tweet:
I am going to write a recipe for something that you can make 25 portions of in 5 minutes that can keep unrefrigerated for 8 hours and contains no dairy, nuts or eggs. I don’t know what it is yet but I will make it work for the good of us all.
— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw) March 20, 2019
He also tweeted it would “fit in a standard Tupperware, cost less than $10 in ingredients, weigh less than 1 kg for transport, and be able to survive a bus ride in a school backpack without destroying its integrity. I GOT YOU ON THIS PARENTS.”
Anyone who can pull that off deserves a medal — and Liaw did it.
He created what he calls a “fat pocky.” Pocky is the name of a specific brand of Japanese snack, but more generically, it’s a breadstick dipped in chocolate. Liaw made his version a little fancy by adding some “strands of nonpareil,” better known in the United States as jimmies. Here’s his breakdown of cost:
25 plain breadsticks – $2.50
375g dark chocolate – $2.50
Pack of sugar strands or nonpareil – $2
TOTAL: $7
This is where you end up after about 10 minutes of dunking and sprinkling. Of course, if you get the kids to do them themselves this will take YOU zero minutes. You can even make them fancier if you want. For example… pic.twitter.com/UrkxE7lIKL
— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw) March 21, 2019
His instructions are simple. Melt the chocolate. Dip the breadsticks in the melted chocolate and then sprinkle with jimmies. Allow to cool. Then put them in Tupperware, or other plastic container, which Liaw says “your kid will somehow lose even though they spend the entire day in ONE ROOM.” (He’s right about that.)
One commenter said Liaw was doing “the Lord’s work.” Another said he was “a magical unicorn” that she was “indebted to forever.” As much as I appreciate all these responses, I relate closest to the Twitter user who replied: “Sure, just as my youngest is about to graduate.”
Related on MNN:
Why every parent of a grammar school student needs to thank this celebrity chef
Australian chef Adam Liaw creates an easy, 3-ingredient snack for an entire grammar school class for less than $10.
