Tamago Sando: Japanese Egg Salad Sandwich

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Featured in Newsletter #001: here are some food photos

Now that I'm home most days, I needed to figure out what to feed myself. An easy, light, delicious, (and affordable) lunch I started making is tamago sando, or, Japanese egg salad sandwich. Popularized by Anthony Bourdain and a certain restaurant in Los Angeles (cough, Konbi), Japanese egg salad sandwiches made a comeback in 2019 and I am obviously still all about it 3 years later. Here's what you need to know:

• This isn't a fancy dish—in fact, I was first introduced to them when I was traveling in Japan several years ago through a ubiquitous convenience store chain called Lawson's. (Japanese convenience stores deserve a separate post because they are just too glorious.)

• Milk bread (shokupan) and Kewpie brand mayo are essential—they are what gives the sandwich its distinction from a regular egg salad sandwich, but you do not need to go to a Japanese bakery or grocery store to get these ingredients. Milk bread can be purchased at most Asian bakeries (or subbed for sliced brioche or white sandwich bread, if you must...) and Kewpie is available at all Asian grocery stores, Amazon, and even Berkeley Bowl.

• Try to get the best quality eggs you can—My motto is that if something is the main ingredient, it deserves to shine. I think Asia and Europe just have less processed food than we do, so their eggs just taste so much better, but try to do the best you can here. Caveat: they do not need to be super fresh because I find super fresh eggs actually harder to peel when cooked.

• It is somewhat difficult to cook and peel a flawless hard-boiled egg. Apparently many people have this problem because there are quite a few articles about this. Here's one I found helpful.

recipe

easy | time: 20-30 min

ingredients

makes 2 sandwiches (you will likely eat both)

• 3 large eggs, hard-boiled and peeled (see link here if you need some tips)

• 4 slices of milk bread

• salted butter

• 2 tbsp Kewpie mayonaise

• 1/4 tsp sugar

• 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1 tbsp chives, finely chopped

• 2 tsp (dairy) milk

directions

1. Cut one of the eggs in half lengthwise and set it aside. In a small bowl, mash the other 2 eggs with a fork until desired chunkiness.

2. Add in the condiments and combine well.

3. Butter one side of each slice of bread generously—this forms a hydrophobic layer that prevents your soft bread from getting mushy.

4. Lay each half of the set-aside egg at the center of two of the bread slices. This will form the cute Konbi-esque half-egg that you see when we eventually cut the sandwiches. Spread the egg salad around each half-egg, dividing it evenly between the two slices.

5. Close the sandwiches by placing the remaining slices of bread butter-side down on each egged half. Using a serrated bread knife (or just really sharp knife), cut off the crust of each sandwich for maximum authenticity.

6. Cut the sandwiches in half to form two rectangles and serve with sides of choice. I like cherry tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, or blistered shishito peppers.