Japanese Egg Sandwich (Tamago Sando)
I saw this sandwich on the internet and thought "it's just an egg sandwich." I was wrong. It's ART. Japanese egg sandwiches — tamago sando — are pillowy milk bread filled with the creamiest, most perfectly seasoned egg salad you've ever tasted, and they've ruined every other egg sandwich for me permanently.
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 3-4 tablespoons Kewpie mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- Pinch of salt and white pepper
- 4 slices Japanese milk bread or the softest white bread you can find
- Optional upgrade: 1 teaspoon chilli crisp
Method
Perfect Soft-Boiled Eggs
- Lower eggs into boiling water. Cook exactly 8 minutes for jammy centres, 10 minutes for fully set but still creamy. Ice bath immediately for 5 minutes. Peel carefully. The yolks should be slightly soft in the centre — not runny, but not chalky. This creamy yolk is what gives the egg salad its luxurious texture. Overcooked, grey-green yolks make dry, crumbly egg salad. We're not doing that.
Make the Egg Salad
- Roughly chop the eggs — some pieces chunky, some finely mashed. This variety of texture is important: you want both creamy bits and substantial chunks. Mix with Kewpie mayo, sugar, salt, and white pepper. The sugar sounds odd but it balances the tang of the mayo and is traditional in Japanese egg salad. Taste it. It should be creamy, slightly sweet, savoury, and incredibly smooth. If you want the Polish Mom upgrade, stir in a teaspoon of chilli crisp. The smoky crunch in creamy egg salad is addictive and my personal addition that nobody in Japan asked for but everyone who tries it loves.
Assemble
- Take two slices of milk bread. Spread a thin layer of Kewpie on each slice (butter the bread with mayo — this creates a moisture barrier and adds flavour). Pile the egg salad on one slice. Close the sandwich. Using a sharp knife, cut the crusts off all four sides. Then cut diagonally into two triangles. The crustless, triangular presentation is what makes this look like it came from a Tokyo convenience store. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes before eating — this lets the flavours meld and the bread compress slightly around the filling.
Notes
Regular mayo is made with whole eggs, distilled vinegar, and a neutral flavour. Kewpie uses only yolks (richer), rice vinegar (tangier), and a touch of MSG (more savoury). The result is a mayo that's creamier, more flavourful, and specifically designed to enhance rather than just lubricate. I now use Kewpie for everything — egg salad, coleslaw, spicy mayo for bang bang shrimp, even as a spread on schabowy burgers. My Polish taste buds have been colonised by Japanese mayonnaise and I have zero complaints.