Buttery brioche rolls generously filled with egg salad, then topped with furikake. A delicious little twist on the Japanese Egg Sandwich
Sando heaven in Japan
My husband, Tomi, and I visited Japan back in 2013. It was Tomi’s second visit, but my first. I immediately fell in love with everything about Japan, so much so that I’m surprised I haven’t gone back yet!
We went to a few themed restaurants in Tokyo. They were fun, but one terrified me. It was a prison break theme where they served us dinner in a cell. Every half hour, the lights would go off and loud sirens blasted. Then came out the criminals with their faces covered in frightening masks with their bats and chains. I knew it was all for fun, but I almost had a heart attack that night.
I have a much better memory of Japan’s food scene as is one of the best in the world! They are endless things to see and try. We had our first sando (Japanese sandwich) in Osaka.
It was a small shop near the entrance of a train station. We were running late, so we rushed by, but when I saw their beautiful range of sandwiches on display, I stopped. Tomi panicked and glanced at his watch whilst I took my time picking out the sandos I wanted. He often tells me I’m stressful to travel with… I dunno why 😂
We made it to our train with 2 minutes to spare! See plenty of time. As soon as we settled into our seats, Tomi asks for the sandos he grudgingly waited for. I grabbed us the pork cutlet and the egg sandos, and wow! They were easily one of the best sandwiches we’ve had.
Japanese Egg Sandwich (Tamago Sando)
What is the best bread for a Japanese egg sandwich?
Crustless slices of shokupan (milk bread) are used to make Japanese Egg Sandwiches. Shokupan is a yeast bread that’s incredibly soft, buttery and sweet.
What’s in the Japanese egg filling?
The egg filling is a simple mix of Kewpie (Japanese mayonnaise), and milk which makes it extra creamy with rich egg flavour.
It’s hard to get hold of shokupan where I am so I used mini brioche rolls. I sliced a little from the sides of the rolls, buttered and toasted them. This is so worth doing as it makes the sandwich more buttery with a nice crispy texture.
For the egg filling, I made a few changes to suit my taste. Finely chopped onions for texture, dijon mustard for a bit of tang, honey for a hint of sweetness and chives. Then, for extra savoury goodness, I sprinkled on some furikake.
My family absolutely loved the results and scoffed my egg sandwiches down. They hardly gave me time to take photos before they disappeared.
Are you crazy about eggs? Give these recipes a try:
Ingredients for Japanese Egg Sandwich
Brioche rolls – Japanese egg sandwiches use soft and sweet milk bread slices, but these are hard to find where I am. So, I used mini brioche rolls (approximately 10cm/4in in length). The egg filling was enough to fill 8 of these rolls generously. You could swap brioche for any kind of soft white bread rolls or bread slices.
Kewpie (Japanese mayonnaise) – Supermarkets usually stock Kewpie in their international section. You could swap Kewpie with good-quality whole egg mayonnaise.
Furikake (optional) is a savoury and dried Japanese condiment. It’s usually used on cooked rice for garnish and flavour. Furikake comes in different flavours, but it’s usually a mix of bonito (dried fish), seaweed, sesame seeds and seasoning. You could skip this, however, I love how the furikake adds more flavour to the egg sandwich.
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Watch how to make Japanese Egg Sandwich
Written step-by-step guide with photos
Fill a medium saucepan with enough water to submerge the eggs by approximately 1 inch (2.5cm). Place saucepan over high heat and bring water to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. The water should no longer be bubbling. Lower the eggs carefully into the water using a large spoon or strainer. Return the heat to high and cook eggs for 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. Transfer the cooked eggs to into the ice bath and leave for 2 to 3 minutes before peeling.
Slice the eggs in halves and separate the yolks from the whites. Place the yolks in a large bowl and mash them. Finely chop the egg whites and set aside.
Add mayonnaise, mustard, honey, salt and pepper to the mashed egg yolks and combine well. Fold in the chopped egg whites, onions and chives into the yolk mixture. Have a taste and add more salt and pepper to your liking if needed.
Slice a very thin piece lengthwise from each side of the brioche and make cut down the centre of the bread lengthwise for the filling. Butter the sides of each brioche.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat and place the 3 or 4 brioches on their buttered side. Toast for 1 or 2 minutes until golden, and toast the other side. They burn easily, so take care. Divide the filling between the brioche rolls, then sprinkle with furikake (if using).
Leftovers – The egg filling is good for up to 3 days in a sealed container when stored in the fridge.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Japanese Egg Sandwich (in a mini brioche roll)
Ingredients
- 8 mini brioche rolls (NOTE 1)
- softened butter for spreading
- furikake (optional) (NOTE 2)
- ice cubes
FOR THE FILLING
- 6 large eggs
- 2 tbsp Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise (or whole egg mayo) (NOTE 3)
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tbsp finely chopped brown onion
- 2 tbsp finely chopped chives
Instructions
- Fill a medium saucepan with enough water to submerge the eggs by approximately 1 inch (2.5cm). Place saucepan over high heat and bring water to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. The water should no longer be bubbling. Lower the eggs carefully into the water using a large spoon or strainer. Return the heat to high and cook eggs for 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. Transfer the cooked eggs to into the ice bath and leave for 2 to 3 minutes before peeling.
- Slice the eggs in halves and separate the yolks from the whites. Place the yolks in a large bowl and mash them. Finely chop the egg whites and set aside.
- Add mayonnaise, mustard, honey, salt and pepper to the mashed egg yolks and combine well. Fold in the chopped egg whites, onions and chives into the yolk mixture. Have a taste and add more salt and pepper to your liking if needed.
- Slice a very thin piece lengthwise from each side of the brioche and make cut down the centre of the bread lengthwise for the filling. Butter the sides of each brioche.
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat and place the 3 or 4 brioches on their buttered side. Toast for 1 or 2 minutes until golden, and toast the other side. They burn easily, so take care. Divide the filling between the brioche rolls, then sprinkle with furikake (if using).
