Japanese Egg Sando

Chris and I went on our first snowboarding run of the season. I know, I know. We’re starting a bit late this year. We ended up only doing a day trip since we didn’t have much time to prepare beforehand. We loaded the car with our gear and off we went (after dropping Xena off at doggie boarding). For lunch, we relied on the ski lodge food which leaves little to the imagination. Don’t get me wrong, ski resort food is fine but it’s always the same: burgers, hot dogs, fries, chicken tenders, and soups. As I stood in line staring at the menu, all I could think about was eating an egg sando.

“Sando” is the nickname that Japan has given sandwiches. Japanese egg salad sandwiches are literally the best things ever in Japan and can be bought at any convenience store. Convenience stores in Japan aren’t like ours in the states; you can buy entire meals of quality food from 7-11s. I don’t know what it is about egg sandos, but they are so addicting. Once you have one, you just keep going back. Luckily, the trend has reached the shores of California, but in LA first (sad tear). There aren’t many places in SF that make the Japanese egg sando so I had to figure it out myself.

What’s the difference between American and Japanese egg sandwiches? Let me count the ways:

• The yolks in the Japanese version are silky smooth whereas American style is typically mashed.
• Japanese egg salad uses kewpie while American egg salad uses regular mayo.
• Many American egg salads include ingredients like celery and herbs. Japanese egg salad is purely eggs – making it the star ingredient.

Kewpie is Japanese mayonnaise but it is typically thicker than American mayo and has more of a tang in taste. I love this stuff and sometimes replace regular mayo with it. If you don’t have kewpie or it’s unaccessible where you’re at, don’t despair. Here’s a little hack: mix 1 cup mayonnaise with 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon vegetable bouillon powder, and a pinch of dry mustard powder. It’s as close to kewpie as possible without hunting it down at any specialty grocery stores.

Tip for this sandwich: do not ever toast the bread. The whole idea of this egg sando is that it’s soft and fluffy. No hard edges at all. Everything should melt in your mouth. Typically, egg sandos are made with Japanese milk bread (shoku pan) that’s super fluffy. Honestly, I find that the sliced bread we have at our grocery stores work quite well. I use slices of untoasted wheat bread and it tastes just as delicious.