Japanese-Style Egg Salad Sandwich Recipe

The gourmet glory that is the Japanese convenience store! Known as konbini, these 24/7 mini-marts are found on nearly every street corner in urban Japan. They are filled with perfectly packaged, mouth-watering grab-and-go selections to satisfy any craving, be it sweet or savory. Magical places, these convenience stores, and I spent a moderate sum of yen exploring their shelves.

A standout option at any konbini is the egg salad sandwiches. The standard egg salad sandwich might be one that many of us residing state-side would consider "meh," but Japan has crafted it into a well-seasoned, thoughtfully executed wonder. The construction is simple: egg salad + bread, but it is the ingredients and configuration that make it special.

The egg salad is made by whipping hard-boiled egg yolks, Kewpie mayonnaise, and cream into a silky puree. The hard-boiled egg whites are chopped and folded into the puree and seasoned with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar. Milk bread, a soft, pillowy white bread, is slathered in softened salted butter to enhance flavor as well as help prevent sogginess. Soft-boiled eggs are peeled and placed in the center of each sandwich for a creative presentation. Absolutely egg-cellent! I opted for a smattering of fresh chives for a fresh, spring-onion pop.

For the egg salad, you will need 8 eggs, Kewpie mayonnaise, heavy cream, salt, black pepper, and granulated sugar. I highly recommend using Kewpie brand mayonnaise for this recipe for an authentic presentation and a delicious umami-rich flavor. Most grocery stores carry Kewpie. If not, it can be easily sourced online. For constructing the sandwiches, you will need salted butter, skokupan or milk bread, and fresh chives.

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat.

Once the water is boiling, place 2 eggs in the pan, and cook them for 7 minutes.

Immediately remove the eggs using a slotted spoon and submerge them in ice water. Keep the saucepan of water boiling. 

Add the remaining 6 eggs to the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove the eggs using a slotted spoon and submerge them in another bowl of ice water.

Allow both sets of eggs to cool completely, about 15 minutes per batch.

Once cooled, peel the 6 hard-boiled eggs.

Slice the eggs in half and separate the yolks from the whites.

Place the yolks in the bowl of a food processor and add the mayonnaise, cream, salt, pepper, and sugar.

Pulse the yolk mixture until it's smooth and creamy. Transfer it to a medium bowl.

Dice the egg whites.

Place the diced egg whites into the bowl with the yolk mixture.

Stir to combine the egg salad. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Peel the two soft-boiled eggs.

Cut the soft-boiled eggs in half. Set aside.

Divide the softened butter between the bread slices, spreading it out evenly.

Sprinkle the softened butter with fresh chives.

Divide the egg salad between the buttered bread slices, spreading it out evenly.

Place the halved soft-boiled eggs in the center of 2 of the bread slices, gently nestling the eggs into the salad.

Cap the soft-boiled-topped bread slices with the other egg salad-topped slices. Slice the sandwiches on a diagonal before serving.

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This is a really impressively hearty sandwich! A literal mouthful. I wanted to compose these sandwiches in a similar manner to those you would find in the Japanese convenience stores/konbini — big and beautiful.

There is plenty of egg salad to stretch this sandwich into 4 smaller servings. To do so, keep the same quantities of egg salad and soft-boiled egg filling. Only double the softened salted butter and chopped chives to accommodate. You can also scale the butter quantity down to ½ tablespoon of butter per bread slice. I love butter, but not everyone needs or cares to have that much on their sandwich — feel free to modify the amount to suit your preferences. Scale back to only one soft-boiled egg half per sandwich. Place this single half in the center of your sandwich before slicing and serving.

Thanks to the butter, these sandwiches won't get soggy as quickly as your typical egg salad sandwich. I happily munched on one of these sandwiches the day after I made the batch, and it was just as tasty. The egg salad, sans sandwich, will keep refrigerated for about 3 to 4 days.

Milk bread is a light and fluffy style of white bread known as shokupan in Japan. It's made by a special cooking technique that provides it with a distinct pillowy texture and slightly sweet flavor. A thick paste is made using a portion of flour and milk, almost like a roux. That paste is added to the bread dough, creating that unique flavor profile and texture.

This bread is magical, and I highly recommend tracking down a loaf to use in this recipe. Local Asian grocery stores will certainly carry milk bread, and as this style of bread has gained in popularity, more chain grocery chains have begun to offer it (Whole Foods, in particular). If you are a fan of homemade bread baking, feel free to make your own. I would rank making homemade milk bread as moderate in terms of ease but very hands-on in preparation. If you are not a fan of making bread, nor successful in buying a loaf, you can use a brioche bread loaf instead.

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