Take Your Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich Up A Notch With One Unexpected Condiment

The teriyaki chicken sandwich is an underrated hero among the list of Japanese sandwiches you should know about. While most people reach for an egg salad or tonkatsu sando due to how protein-filled and delicious they are, the teriyaki chicken variety is just as tasty and loaded with protein. It makes for a pretty filling and energizing meal and since it often gets overlooked, there are usually a few teriyaki chicken sandos sitting on shelves while the others are sold out. The one drawback of teriyaki chicken sandwiches is that they tend to be overly sweet, especially the ones available in convenience stores. 

However, there's an easy way to counteract this: Add a dollop of yellow mustard. The acidity of this common condiment easily balances out the syrupy sweetness often found in teriyaki sauces, creating a more palatable flavor profile overall. Once you cut down on the sweetness, you can either eat the sandwich as is or add a few extra ingredients to further boost its flavor including other toppings, different condiments, and more. Feel free to experiment!

Yellow mustard is just one way to cut down on the sweetness of teriyaki sauce and upgrade your teriyaki chicken sandwich. You can easily swap out yellow mustard for other ingredients that accomplish the exact same effect too, if you're not much of a mustard person. Popular substitutes include horseradish, Dijon mustard, or Greek yogurt. If you can find real, authentic wasabi, that also works really well on a teriyaki chicken sando. But, if you want to just make a bigger meal out of your teriyaki chicken sandwich, there are tons of add-ins you can use. 

Typical toppings, like Swiss cheese, pepper jack cheese, or deli ham are easy to add and can really beef up its size with little effort. Vegetables such as sliced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, cucumbers, and onions bring much-needed freshness and brightness to a teriyaki chicken sando. If you're willing to put in a little more effort, try making some homemade coleslaw and adding that.

For more adventurous sandwich-makers, try adding a slice of grilled pineapple to your teriyaki chicken sando; the fruity flavors of the pineapple pair well with the slightly sweeter taste of the teriyaki sauce. Mango pieces also make for a good addition for similar reasons. Last but not least, try adding an over-easy egg to your sando for extra protein and a more breakfast sandwich vibe.