Japanese Egg Salad Sandwich Topped with Smoked Salmon (Tamago Sando)

Once in a while I get an urge for bread, especially those milky toasts with croissant like crunchy and buttery crust. The toast used for this recipe was purchased from a local Japanese market. If you can't find milk toast around your area, a simply light and fluffy white toast will be a good alternative.

As for the smoked salmon, I used the ones sold at Costco. It comes pre-sliced and in three different flavors - traditional, pepper, and dill, which is ideal for adding different flavors to this sandwich recipe.

Japanese egg salad sandwich topped with smoked salmon -

Ingredients (for two)?

• 6 slices of milk toast
• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 4 tablespoons of Japanese mayonnaise
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• Small pinch of black pepper
• Some smoked salmon slices
• 1 small cucumber (optional) 

How?

Remove the crusts from the toasts. I usually just toast the crust and eat it as a snack, especially for the croissant-like crust. You can also bake an egg till about 70% doneness or till the yolk is semi cooked. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Just dip the crust with the yolk. For sweets lovers, nutella can be a good choice.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add in the eggs. It'll be wise to transfer the eggs with a spoon instead of dropping them in the water directly. The egg white will start bursting out if there is any crack on the shell. Wait till fully cooked through then remove the eggs from the boiling water. You can either wait till the eggs get cool enough to handle by hand or speed up the process by putting the eggs in icy cold water. Remove the shells and chop them into smaller pieces.

In a bowl, add in chopped eggs and Japanese mayo along with 1/8 teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. The ratio for the egg salad is about 1 egg: 1 tablespoon of Japanese mayo. Mix gently.

The use of cucumber is optional for this recipe. It just adds more crunch and nutritional value to the sandwich. Just chop the cucumber into tiny cubes and add to the salad mix.

Cut the toasts in half so you get two rectangle shaped bread. Slightly toast them before putting the sandwich together. Scoop some egg salad onto one of the rectangular toast and top the salad with another toast. Add more egg salad on top and layer some smoked salmon slices. 

I put the last toast layer on the side. If the toasts bear slightly brown colored toast marks, make sure to keep them facing outward.

The egg salad can be made ahead and store in the fridge for couple days. For lunch box or picnic basket, simply pack all the ingredients separately and assemble the toasts, egg salad, and smoked salmon right before eating.

However, do not use the cucumber if the egg salad sandwich will be not consumed right away. The salt used and the mayo might draw out the liquid from the cucumber and will turn the egg salad into a watery mess.

Nom nom nom.