beach chair youth

ok, so one of my favorite things to eat is japanese convenience store sandwiches. they are ultra comforting when visiting, fucking delicious and really high quality. something that US premade sandwich companies should take note of. and being someone that doesn’t partake in the carne, the egg salad was my jam. the ham/turkey and cheese sandwiches looked fuckin killer and don’t even get me started on the katsu, but i’m not eating those. anyway, i was fiending for one the other day and since i’m not in japan i decided to look online for a good recipe. everything i found was complete shit. “add pickled carrots” or “add dill” or “cucumber”. these are all horsehit ideas. you might as well say “throw some dashi up in there” or something, completely wrong. the beauty and essence of the japanese konbini sandwich is simplicity. and while folks are trying to cram so much bullshit into these, they are missing one very important step in making a proper sandwich, don’t overcook the eggs. check the pic above, see that shot of the unwrapped sandwich? see the deep yellow of the yolk? that’s the magic.
alright, enough of this shit, here’s the recipe:

boil up some eggs. put the eggs in the pot with cold water and get em to a boil. once boiling, give em about 3-4 minutes in the boiling water and then directly into a bowl of ice and water. you want the eggs to get cooked, but you don’t want the yolk to be cooked all the way through. like so:

once you have your chilled boiled eggs, peel em and throw em in a bowl. now chop em up using a fork or whatever, you want it to be pretty small chunks to make it traditional stylee, but you could leave larger chunks if that’s the way you like it/you’re lazy. next salt and pepper to taste, add a pinch of sugar (seriously a pinch. you don’t want to make it hella sweet, you just want to add a tiny bit of sweetness to work with the mayo tang and salt. amount will depend on how much you’re making, but always start off with less.) add some chopped sweet pickle, not a lot just enough for a crunch. for 4 eggs use 2 pickles (you could use relish. i’m not 100% that this is actually in the OG, so i’ll have to confirm). next comes the mayo, and it’s gotta be kewpie. so squeeze in the mayo, i would guess for 4 eggs you would use about about 1/2 cup – 3/4 cup. you just want to use enough to so that the overall consistency is somewhat paste like. it’s fucking egg salad, you know what it should be like. here’s a pic for reference anyways:
*note the dark yolk chunks, this is essential for making a proper konbini egg sandwich.

alright, let that shit rest and marry up for a little bit. enjoy a smoke, have a beer, whatever. the flavors will combine better if you let it rest a bit. it doesn’t really have to happen, but it’s mellow so enjoy yourself.

now get your bread. white bread is key. wonder bread is probably ok, but i prefer a somewhat higher class white bread. basically you want something a little sweet and not too spongy. i went with orowheat i think. “country white” (that sounds like a hick joke). alright, so grab whatever bread you want to use and pull out 2 slices. cut off the crusts. now go grab your egg salad and a spoon.

what now? spoon that shit on son! don’t put on too much. you want these to be rather slim sandwiches. so spoon it, smooth it, and put the other piece of bread on top and cut the sandwich in half making 2 triangles.

there you go. i just made some and am bringing them to a day game. they go great with good times, good friends and cheap beer. i have yet for someone from japan to taste this and tell me if it’s authentic or not, so hit me up and let me know what you think.

love, peace and taco grease.