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    Home » Recipes » Vegetarian

    Updated: Mar 13, 2023 by Marc Matsumoto · 7 Comments

    Japanese Egg Sandwich

    Japanese Egg Sandwiches or Tamago Sando are the Japanese take on egg salad sandwiches. With a flavorful egg salad made with Japanese mayonnaise, sandwiched between milk bread, it has a comforting taste and texture that makes it one of the most popular sandwiches in Japan. For my take, I've taken the best parts of the sandwiches offered by Japan's three largest convenience store chains and included them to create the ultimate Japanese egg sandwich.
    Recipe Video Pin
    This protein packed Japanese egg salad sandwich recipe has a triple dose of eggs, packed with medium boiled eggs, egg salad, and mayonnaise.
    What is Tamago Sando?

    Tamago Sando (卵サンド) literally means "egg sandwich" in Japanese, and it refers to the Japanese version of the egg salad sandwich. Although both sandwiches and egg salad are Western inventions, it's evolved into something uniquely Japanese. 
     
    There are a couple of variations including one that's made by stuffing a Japanese omelette into a sandwich, but this one is for a more traditional egg salad made with boiled eggs and mayo.

    How is a Japanese egg sandwich different?

    Japanese egg salad sandwiches have three key differences from their western counterparts. The first is that the sandwich is all about the egg, so there typically aren't any vegetables such as onions, celery, or pickles included. The second is that the eggs are mixed with Japanese-style mayonnaise. The third is that the egg is sandwiched between slices of Japanese sandwich bread.

    What is Japanese mayonnaise?

    Japanese Mayonnaise is a condiment that comes in plastic squeeze bottles and is used in a variety of foods in modern Japanese cuisine. It comes in a plastic squeeze bottle, and the most common brand is Kewpie. Although it's creamy, it has a balancing tartness and sweetness that keeps it from getting cloying. The simplest way to describe it is that it tastes like homemade mayonnaise.Japanese style egg sandwich including whole eggs on a wooden plate with cherries and arugula.

    What is Japanese sandwich bread?

    Japanese sandwich bread is called shokupan (食パン) in Japan, and it has a unique texture that makes it light and fluffy, and yet dense and a little chewy (in a good way) at the same time. It tends to be a little sweet, and because it's baked in a covered loaf pan, the bread has a perfectly square shape which makes it well suited for making sandwiches. I think the closest thing I've had to shokupan in the US from a texture perspective is Wonderbread, but the Japanese bread is denser and more flavorful.

    Why are Japanese convenience store sandwiches a thing?

    Convenience stores, known as konbini in Japan, are basically small supermarkets with a large selection of prepared foods. The three major konbini chains are 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson and they each do their own take on the egg sandwich. Riding on the coattails of another konbini favorite: katsu-sando,  Japanese-style egg sandwiches have picked up a following outside Japan which I'm guessing is why you're here😉.

    Which convenience store egg sandwich is the best?

    I recently did a three-store egg sandwich taste test comparing the egg sandwiches from 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson. You can click the link to watch the full review, but in short, all of the sandwiches had their strengths and weaknesses. That's why I set out to make my own version that takes the best parts of the three convenience store sandwiches to make one egg salad sandwich to rule them all.

    How do you make a Japanese Egg Sandwich?

    The first thing is to get Japanese mayonnaise and sandwich bread. They should both be available in most Asian supermarkets. Then you need to make medium-boiled eggs. I have a recipe for making perfect boiled eggs that you can check out, and using this method; I cook mine for 8 minutes for this sandwich. Then it's just a matter of chopping the eggs up and mixing them with the mayonnaise and a touch of mustard and seasoning it with some white pepper onion powder and salt. I also like to add a halved boiled egg in the center of the sandwich, which not only has a visual impact; it lends a wonderful texture that makes this like a giant deviled egg.

    📖 Recipe

    This protein packed Japanese egg salad sandwich recipe has a triple dose of eggs, packed with medium boiled eggs, egg salad, and mayonnaise.

    Japanese Egg Sandwich

    By: Marc Matsumoto
    5 from 5 votes
    Print Pin Discuss
    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time 0 minutes mins
    Total Time 5 minutes mins
    Yield 1 sandwich

    Units

    Ingredients 

    • 2 slices Japanese sandwich bread
    • 3 medium-boiled eggs peeled
    • 1 ½ tablespoons Japanese mayonnaise such as Kewpie
    • ¼ teaspoon dijon mustard
    • ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
    • ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
    • 1 pinch salt to taste

    Instructions

    • Slice one boiled egg in half.
      Cutting a medium boiled egg in half for a sandwich.
    • Roughly chop the remaining two eggs and add them to a bowl, along with the mayonnaise, mustard, white pepper, onion powder, and salt. Mix well to combine.
      Mixing chopped boiled eggs along with Japanese mayonnaise and seasonings to make an egg salad.
    • Place two slices of sandwich bread on a flat surface and add the halved eggs to one slice with the tapered end of each egg pointing towards opposite corners.
      Japanese sandwich bread topped with a halved egg.
    • Cover the halved egg with the egg salad mixture.
      Japanese sandwich bread topped with egg salad.
    • Place the second slice of bread over the first, and gently press the edges down to mold the bread to the shape of the eggs.
      Smashing a Japanese style egg sandwich together.
    • Cut the crusts off if you like and then slice the sandwich diagonally to reveal the halved eggs in the center.
      Japanese style egg sandwich with halved medium boiled eggs and egg salad.
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    Nutrition

    Calories 510kcalCarbohydrates 27gProtein 24gFat 33gSaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 568mgSodium 618mgPotassium 247mgFiber 1gSugar 5gVitamin A 780IUCalcium 205mgIron 3.6mg

    More Vegetarian

    • Side-view of a bowl of Pasta Pomodoro, showing the depth and layers of spaghetti intertwined with chunks of ripe tomatoes and basil leaves.
      Pomodoro Sauce with Spaghetti
    • Japanese sandwich bread (left) can easily be turned into panko bread crumbs (right).
      How to Make Panko Bread Crumbs
    • Homemade seaweed salad with a nutritious blend of Japanese seaweed and crunchy cucumbers, just like at sushi restaurants.
      Seaweed Salad (Wakame Salad)
    • Breaking a raw egg over a bowl of golden Tamago Kake Gohan (raw egg on rice).
      Tamago Kake Gohan (Egg on Rice)

    Reader Interactions

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Dawn Araki says

      July 23, 2019 at 7:52 am

      I love Japanese egg sandwich but have never had one with the cut egg in the middle. Will definitely have to try next time. Thanks for the recipe.

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        July 24, 2019 at 10:23 am

        Hi Dawn, it adds a nice texture (both from the white and the yolk) to the sandwich. It kind of reminds me of eating a deviled egg. Hope you enjoy it!

        Reply
    2. Tuffy says

      October 05, 2019 at 9:49 am

      Awesome!! I’d probably add another whole halved egg for taste, texture, and balance;)2

      Reply
    3. Sarah says

      September 29, 2020 at 3:55 am

      Wonderful Egg Salad! At a local ramen shop in Nebraska we had octopus balls that were served on an egg salad. We were enamored with the egg salad. Upon an internet search, I found your website. I instantly subscribed for your recipes! I tried making the eggs according your method. They were so delicately prepared. I enjoyed your step by step process. We used all of your recommended ingredients, except for the bread. We substituted it with Sara Lee Brioche Artisan bread. I can only imagine how magical it would have been with suggested bread. Not only was your recipe similar to the restaurant’s recipe, it was better! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes! Thank you for sharing your gift with the world.

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        September 29, 2020 at 11:54 am

        Hi Sarah, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this! Thanks for stopping by to let me know how it went. Great idea substituting brioche, it will be closer in texture than most supermarket breads (Wonderbread is another good alternative). I've been at this for a while, so there's a lot of recipes for you to try out 😉

        Reply
    4. Anastassia says

      December 18, 2020 at 3:20 am

      In my homeland we used to make sandwiches with egg butter. It was a simple mixture of butter and smashed boiled eggs with a bit of salt. I remember it because we always had for the lunch at school. But salad with mayo tastes much lighter then egg butter, so I changed the tradition and use your recepie for almost a year already! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        December 18, 2020 at 3:04 pm

        Hi Anastassia, thank you for sharing. That sounds like an interesting combo and I'd like to try it someday (thought it does sound like it would be heavy). I'm glad to hear you've been enjoying my recipe. Thank you for taking the time to let me know. Have a great weekend!

        Reply

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