Try this simple and delicious Japanese Egg Salad Sandwich with Kewpie mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar. Pack the Tamago Sando neatly in your kid‘s (or your own) favorite bento box for on-the-go lunch.
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I am usually pretty good at organizing and following my constantly updated to-do list. But once in a while life does get overwhelmingly busy and I fail to plan ahead especially when juggling too many things at the same time. What ends up happening is I call my husband at the office asking him to meet me and the kids at a restaurant for dinner at the last minute.
One of the drawbacks of not cooking dinner at home is that I don’t have “leftover” to pack for my son’s bento (lunch box) the next day. I try to save some leftover in the freezer for an emergency like these, but sometimes no luck. On those days, the easy sandwich comes in handy.
Now for those living in the States, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich might be a common menu for children’s school lunch. However, both of my children always preferred hot panini sandwich than typical soft bread sandwich like these.
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The turning point was when we were in Japan last April. My mother loves bakeries and we often visited many local bakeries to pick up fresh bread.
My children really enjoyed freshly baked bread from Japanese bakeries and they especially loved Egg Salad Sandwich, or we call it Tamago Sando (たまごサンド). Japanese sandwich usually uses crust-less white bread slices, probably from British influence. Compared to typical American egg salad sandwich, the Japanese version is very simple – there are no celery, chives or green onions. The eggs are seasoned simply with Japanese mayonnaise, salt and pepper, and sugar.
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Now speaking of mayonnaise, I receive several questions from some of you about Japanese mayonnaise. What’s the difference from regular kind? Well, you can read more about it here.
My son loves this Egg Salad Sandwich and this menu is now one of my favorite backup bento plans. I hope you will give it a try and enjoy this simple egg salad sandwich!
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Check out my latest Japanese Egg Sandwich (Tamago Sando) recipe and video!
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Egg Salad Sandwich Bento
Ingredients
- 2 slices bread of your choice (try Shokupan (Japanese Milk Bread) for an authentic taste)
- 1 soft or hard-boiled egg (peeled)
- 1 Tbsp Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt (to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 pinch sugar (optional; a little bit of sugar is a typical ingredient for Japanese egg salad)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. Make 1 boiled egg on the previous day to save time in the morning.
- In a small bowl, mash 1 soft or hard-boiled egg with a fork.
- Add 1 Tbsp Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise and mix well. If it‘s not moist, you can add ½ Tbsp more.
- Season with Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (and 1 pinch sugar, if you‘d like). I like to add a bit more salt and pepper to give good flavor.
- With 2 slices bread of your choice, spread the egg mixture on top of a slice of bread and put another slice of bread on top.
- [Optional] Cut off the crusts of the bread. Japanese sandwiches usually don’t have crusts. Tip: Don‘t throw away the crusts! Use them to make Shokupan Crust Rusks. These crunchy, buttery snacks are so delicious! You can make them now or freeze those crust strips and make them later.
- Cut the sandwich in half or thirds, depending on the bento box size.
- Pack the sandwich in a bento box. Add some fruit and vegetables to fill the empty space. Enjoy!
I love Japanese egg salad more than almost anything else. I use 1/2 regular hard boiled eggs and 1/2 soy/marinated ramen eggs. It is so delicious!
Hi Candace! Wow, I LOVE your creativity on mixing two types of boiled eggs! Thanks so much for sharing your cooking experience with us!
Thank you for your recipe! I went to my local Japanese grocery store and bought the Japanese imported mayonnaise. I couldn’t find Japanese Pullman bread so I’ll use some soft white bread to try. Egg salad is my favorite.
Hello! You’re very welcome! I hope you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Who knew something so simple would be so delicious? My husband got spoiled with eating tamago sando in Japan and now I try o remember to trim off the crust. I think the Kewpie mayo makes all the difference, too!
Hi Donna! Yeah, I agree. Without the kewpie mayo, tamago sando won’t be the same! 🙂
I love all the quick and simple recipes you provide! I always hated egg salad growing up but I decided to try yours since its so simple and I enjoyed it! So now I have a super simple sandwich option for when Im short on time. Thank you 😊
Hi Mei! Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m glad you liked my recipe and thank you for trying it! 🙂
Hi Nami
What should I do to avoid the bread get soggy by the time we eat in the afternoon? I use English mayo (instead of Japanese mayo) and it is moist.
Really like your recipes – makes me want to cook more!
Thank you.
Hi Amy! May I recommend using Japanese mayo? Unlike English or American mayo, Japanese mayo is thicker texture and not watery or liquidy. And the best part is that it tastes so much better and I hope you’ll enjoy this egg salad sandwich with Japanese mayo. 😉
Love this recipe! Came out awesome! Thanks 🙂
Wish I could post a picture…
Hi Gabriella! Awesome! So happy to hear yours came out well. I check Instagram pictures if you hashtag #justonecookbook. 🙂 Or, if you post on Facebook page. 🙂
Will the bread get soggy if I make the sandwich the night before?
Hi Anna! Nope. At least it doesn’t happen to mine. It’s not very wet filling. I’m not too sure about American mayo, though… If you use Japanese mayo, and make the egg mixture like I do, you’ll be okay. 🙂
Thanks so much Nami!! I made it last night and wasn’t soggy at all when I had it for lunch the next day!
Hi Anna! Aw so glad to hear that! Thank you for your kind feedback! xo
Hi Nami.. is it okay to make this a day in advance? do i need to store the sandwich in the fridge after i make it? cause i dont have time to make it in the morning..
Thanks..
Hi Devie! Sure, you can make a day in advance (like previous night, preferably), but make sure to keep in the refrigerator and keep it cool till lunch time. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Hi, do u mash the egg the prev. day and reheat it in the morning? How to reheat it?
Hi SK! Yes, you can mash the egg previous day and make into sandwich following day or even, make sandwich previous night (as long as you keep it refrigerated). This sandwich is supposed to be eaten cold or at room temperature. 🙂
Healthy, simple and quick! Just in time for my lunch to bring to my office on Monday! 🙂
Thank you Alicia! Oh yes quick is right, but I’m happy that it tastes really good (thank you to Japanese mayonnaise) and I don’t mind eating often. 🙂
Dear Nami San,
I really love your site especially to cook Japanese food for people like us who just love it. My family love the food and have made a point to have any kind of OIWAI in a nearby Japanese restaurant.
Like your TAMAGO SANDO, I also make potato sandwich in a similar manner and pack a mixture of egg sandwich with potato sandwich which enlightens my kids lunch box.
I would love to know how to make okhonomiyaki so that I can serve my kids with the same.
Thank you
Hi Aruna! Thank you so much for your kind words. 🙂 I’m happy to hear you enjoy my recipes. I do make (Japanese) potato salad sandwich too! My favorite is to put that in Japanese butter (dinner) roll. Arhhh so good! I need to make it this weekend since I now crave for it!
Okonomiyaki recipe here: https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/okonomiyaki/
Nami-san, I have only recently discovered your blog and I LOVE IT!!! Great recipes and photography!! I live in the UK, so sourcing some ingredients can be difficult, not to mention pricey. Thanks for coming up with alternatives for some of the condiments that are vital to achieve that authentically Japanese taste. I bought some konniyaku a week ago but have no idea what to use it for. Any suggestions? Marianna
Hi Marianna! Thank you for finding my blog, and welcome! 🙂 I’m happy to hear you enjoy my recipes already. I’m glad the alternatives I mentioned helped. I’m still (yes still….) working on the Pantry page and hope to improve it so readers can utilize the page better.
Regarding konnyaku, I have only three recipes that I used so far on my blog:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/tags/konnyaku/
I highly recommend tonjiru. I need to update that picture, but if you enjoy miso soup, this is my most favorite miso soup. 🙂
Hope this helps!
That looks like a fantastic and simple sandwich! I originally thought that the filling was scrambled eggs, but when you mentioned boiled, that seems much easier in terms of advanced preparation. And the bento-ware is very cute. =) Thanks for sharing this quick lunch bento recipe!
Hi Kimmi! That reminds me – my mom also made the sandwich with scramble eggs! Wow how could I forget about it. I need to make that really soon and evaluate which one is actually faster. 😀 Thanks for your kind comment. Have a lovely weekend! 🙂
Hi Nami, I love your recipes! Just wondering if you ever tried out your mom’s technique of making this with scrambled eggs? So curious if it is a faster substitute for hard boiled!
Hello, Amy. We’re happy to hear you enjoy Nami’s recipes!
Thank you for the reminder. Nami hasn’t had a chance to do this with scrambled eggs. She is planning to try it sometime. 😀
The sandwich looks so scrumptious. Just perfect for the lunch box 🙂
Thank you Nandita! 🙂
Thank you for this! I love egg salad sandwiches, but the recipe I’ve used in the past takes too much time to prepare for a quick lunch. Your recipe is perfect for when the craving for egg salad comes on, but I have less than an hour for lunch.
Hi Eleanor! Thank you for your kind comment! I hope you will give it a try. It’s a very simple “egg” taste with creamy mayonnaise. Hope you can find Japanese mayo too because that makes it so much better! 🙂