Katsu Sando Is The Japanese Sandwich That Marries Crunch And Fluffiness

If you've run the gauntlet on fast food chicken sandwiches, then it's time to spread your wings and find a new fried fix. The Japanese katsu sando is a lunchtime delight combining sweet and savory flavors with soft and crunchy textures. Katsu is similar to pork schnitzel with its cutlet base, but it has a craggier, harder coating due to the panko breadcrumbs. You can prepare it at home like any breaded and fried meat dish by putting the protein in an egg wash, tossing it in breadcrumbs, and letting it fry until cooked all the way through. Typically, you'll see tonkatsu (pork) or torikatsu (chicken) as the base protein, but pricy wagyu is a popular luxe option.

A katsu sando wouldn't be the sando it is without shokupan, a fluffy milk bread. It's not carried in many Western supermarkets, so you'll want to check for a loaf in East Asian grocery stores or order a box mix online. The good news is that the ingredients to make shokupan from scratch can be found anywhere — flour, sugar, yeast, butter, and milk. Any soft and thick bread will work in a pinch, however.

The flavors and textures of a katsu sando come together perfectly, though the taste can be a little rich. Kewpie mayonnaise and tonkatsu sauce add a savory and zesty edge to the sandwich, and some people like to add shredded cabbage for some extra crunch and coolness. You'll definitely want to add this meal to your lunch rotation.

The katsu sando has been around since the 1930s, and its invention is credited to Isen Honten in Uedo, Japan. This restaurant specialized in making delicious katsu dishes that were reported to be so tender that you could cut them with chopsticks. Its location was positioned in an entertainment district where geisha performed, and the restaurant's proprietress wanted to serve them food that wouldn't disrupt their elaborate makeup. Katsu is flaky and juicy, and by wrapping it in white bread, it was easy to grab and take small bites without smudging any lipstick.

Dishes such as katsu and sando were relatively new at the time, as they were influenced by Western foods. The words for each are spelled in katakana as transliterations of the English words "cutlet" and "sandwich," making this name an easy one to remember. Should you ever find yourself in Tokyo, you can grab a katsu sando from a convenience store or swing by Isen Honten, which still proudly serves its signature dish today.