Japanese Egg Sandwich · i am a food blog (2024)

A Japanese egg sandwich, also called tamago sando, is a classic Japanese sandwich: egg salad tucked between two fluffy slices of milk bread. You’ll find them in convenience stores across Japan and now in your very own home. The egg salad filling is rich and creamy and the bread is a fluffy pillowy hug!

What is a Japanese egg sandwich?

A Japanese egg sandwich is a take on an egg salad sandwich. Hard boiled eggs are mixed with Japanese kewpie mayo and put between two soft slices of bread, usually Japanese milk bread or shokupan. Egg sandwiches are super popular in Japan. They sell them almost everywhere: at grocery stores, convenience stores, bakeries – basically anywhere you would think you would buy a snack or quick lunch, egg salad sandwiches are there. They’re kind of prevalent in pop culture too: Anthony Bourdain was a huge fan of Lawson’s egg salad sandos and David Chang still says it’s one of the first thing he eats when he touches down in Tokyo.

What kind of bread for egg salad sandwiches?

The best bread for a Japanese egg salad sandwich is milk bread. You can make your own milk bread or you can go to an Asian grocery store to pick up a loaf. Usually, I like to use a square loaf, also known as a pullman loaf, so when I trim the crusts off – which is essential – you don’t lose as much bread. If you don’t have access to milk bread, go for the softest, fluffiest white bread you can find. You can also use brioche or standard sandwich bread.

Japanese egg salad sandwich ingredients:

Milk bread. You need bread for sandwiches, but if you want to eat just the filling by the spoonful, I wouldn’t judge.
Eggs. Get the best eggs you can, since this is a recipe that has so few ingredients.
Kewpie mayonnaise. Kewpie is essential, more on that below.
Cream. You need just a bit of cream to pull everything together. If you’ve had egg sandwiches in Japan, you know how creamy their egg salads are.
Salt. Just enough salt to bring out the natural flavor of the eggs.
Sugar. There’s just a hint of sweetness in tamago sando to balance out all the umami.
Butter. Sandwiches that don’t have buttered bread are a travesty. Plus if you’ve ever taken apart a sandwich from Lawson, 7-11, or FamilyMart, you’ll notice a tell tale slick of butter.

What is Kewpie mayo?

One of the key ingredients for a good Japanese egg salad sandwich is kewpie mayo. Kewpie mayo is Japan’s favorite mayonnaise and salad dressing brand and you’ll pretty much find it in every Japanese household. It’s rich, yet light, and incredibly delicious. Kewpie mayo is so beloved in Japan that they even had specialty kewpie mayo cafes to celebrate all things kewpie. You can find it, in its signature squeeze bottle with a red flip top at most grocery stores these days, in the Asian aisle. The mayo itself is a bit more golden that your standard mayo and much more creamy and luxurious. Kewpie mayo is made with just egg yolks – as opposed to regular mayo which is made with whole eggs – and rice vinegar for a hint of sweetness. It’s absolutely addictive.

What can I make with Kewpie mayonnaise?

Kewpie mayonnaise is a major condiment used in a lot of Japanese dishes. If you have a bottle on hand, here are some things you can use it for:

ebi mayo/crispy shrimp with a spicy dressing
California roll avocado toast
takoyaki
Japanese potato salad
chicken karaage
miso tuna salad
California roll nachos
okonomiyaki burger

You can also use it as you would regular mayo: in a sandwich, as a dip for fries, in salad dressing, with croquettes, in deviled eggs, in sushi, essentially it’s excellent with everything.

How to make a Japanese egg salad sandwich

Boil the eggs. Start off by cooking your eggs. You’ll need 2 large eggs, hard boiled.
Make the filling. Once the eggs are cooked, cooled, and shelled, it’s time to make the filling. Cut the cooked eggs in half and pop out the yolks, kind of like how you would if you were making deviled eggs. Mix the yolks with kewpie mayo, a touch of cream (or milk), salt to taste, and just a hint of sugar. Dice the whites then mix into the yolks.
Butter the bread. Lightly butter the bread, all the way to the edges.
Fill the sandwich. Spread the filling generously onto one slice of bread then top with the other buttered slice of bread.
Slice. Use a very sharp knife or a bread knife to trim off the crusts (chef’s treat!) then cut the sandwich on a diagonal or into even thirds. Enjoy!

If you’re on a Japanese sandwich kick, please check out these other Japanese sandwiches right here:

Japanese fruit sandwich: strawberry sando
LA’s Kombi egg salad sandwich
Japanese crispy chicken sandwich: chicken katsu sando
Japanese crispy pork sandwich: tonkatsu sando

Japanese Egg Salad Sandwich Recipe - たまごサンド

A Japanese egg sandwich, also called tamago sando, is a classic Japanese sandwich: egg salad tucked between two fluffy slices of milk bread.

Ingredients

2 large eggs
2 tbsp kewpie mayo
1 tsp milk or cream
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp sugar
2 slices shokupan
butter room temp

Instructions

Remove the eggs from the fridge as you bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath with a large bowl of cold water and ice. Bring the water to rolling boil, then add eggs in, with a slotted spoon. Maintain a simmer for 10 minutes.
Plunge the eggs into the ice bath to cool them down. Peel the eggs: Gently tap the wide end of the egg on the countertop, then flip around and tap the pointed end. Gently roll the egg and peel, under running water, if needed.
See Also
Japanese-style Egg Salad Sandwiches (Tamago Sando)
Cut the eggs in half and separate the whites from the yolks. Dice the whites.
Place the yolks in a bowl and use a fork to mash together with the mayonnaise, cream, salt, and sugar until smooth.
Gently mix in the diced whites.
Butter the slices of bread then add the filling, all the way to the edges on one slice of bread.
Top with the other slice and press down gently. Trim the crusts (chef’s treat!) and slice in half on a diagonal or perpendicularly into thirds. Enjoy!