7-Eleven’s Tamago Sando (Egg Salad Sandwich Recipe)

If you’ve ever been to Japan, you know the pleasure of biting into a soft and fluffy 7-Eleven tamago sando, aka an egg salad sandwich.

There’s nothing quite like arriving bleary-eyed in Tokyo after a long flight. You’re hungry, you’re thirsty, your first stop is 7-Eleven for the classic: a tamago sando.

Some consider the tamago sando the perfect sandwich

Including me. I LOVE Japanese egg salad sandwiches. They’re literally perfection. Crustless slices of soft and squishy Japanese milk bread aka shokupan hug a savory, creamy egg filling. They’re incredibly addictive and I fear that I have eaten my weight in them while in Japan. The beautiful thing about 7-Eleven egg salad sandwiches is that they’re consistently good, every single time. You could be in the middle of the Japanese country-side, not a hint of English to be found, let alone a restaurant, and you’ll still find a 7-Eleven stocked with egg salad sandwiches. It’s truly miraculous.

What is a Japanese egg salad sandwich?

A Japanese egg salad sandwich is essentially a Japanese interpretation of an egg salad sandwich. Hard boiled eggs are mixed with Japanese kewpie mayo and put between two soft slices of Japanese milk bread aka shokupan. Egg sandwiches are super popular in Japan. They sell them almost everywhere: at grocery stores, convenience stores, bakeries – basically anywhere you would think you would buy a snack or quick lunch, egg salad sandwiches are there. If you ever stumble upon Japanese Konbini TikTok, you can easily find yourself going down a rabbit hole of konbini snack hauls featuring the humble egg salad sando.

How to make 7-Eleven’s tamago sando egg sandwich

1. Boil the eggs. Start off by cooking your eggs. You’ll need 2 large eggs, hard boiled.
2. Make the filling. Once the eggs are cooked, cooled, and shelled, make the filling. Cut the cooked eggs in half and pop out the yolks, like how you would if you were making deviled eggs. Mix the yolks with kewpie mayo, a touch of cream (or milk), salt to taste, and just a hint of sugar. Dice the whites then mix into the yolks.
3. Butter the bread. Lightly butter the bread, all the way to the edges.
4. Fill the sandwich. Spread the filling generously onto one slice of bread then top with the other buttered slice of bread.
5. Slice. Use a very sharp knife or a bread knife to trim off the crusts (chef’s treat!) then cut the sandwich on a diagonal or into thirds. Enjoy!

Tamago sando ingredients

• Milk bread. If you’re going to make a Japanese egg salad sandwich, you need to go all the way and make it with Japanese milk bread. You can get Japanese milk bread/shokupan at Asian bakeries or you can try your hand and make your own. Shokupan are light and fluffy white bread loaves with a very slight sweetness and a tight crumb.
• Eggs. Get the best eggs you can, since this is a recipe that has so few ingredients.
• Kewpie mayonnaise. Kewpie is essential, more on that below.
• Cream. You need just a bit of heavy cream to pull everything together. If you’ve had egg sandwiches in Japan, you know how creamy their egg salads are. That being said, this is a very creamy filling and if you a more traditional egg salad filling, you can leave the cream out.
• Salt. Just enough salt to bring out the natural flavor of the eggs
• Sugar. There’s just a hint of sweetness in egg salad sandwiches to balance out all the umami.
• Butter. Sandwiches that don’t have buttered bread are a travesty. Plus if you’ve ever taken apart a sandwich from 7-Eleven, Lawson, or FamilyMart, you’ll notice that tell tale shine of butter on the bread.

American vs Japanese Kewpie Mayo

One of the key ingredients for a good Japanese egg salad sandwich is kewpie mayo. Kewpie mayo is Japan’s favorite mayonnaise and salad dressing brand and you’ll pretty much find it in every Japanese household. It’s rich, yet light, and incredibly delicious. You can find it, in its signature squeeze bottle with a red flip top at most grocery stores these days, but be aware that if you’re in America, you’re probably getting the American recipe version.

Japanese Kewpie mayo, made in Japan, is golden, creamy and luxurious. It’s rich and full of umami. The difference between the Japanese version and American Kewpie mayo is in the ingredients, the main difference being MSG swapped for sugar in the American version. American Kewpie mayo also is a bit looser and not as thick. If you have an Asian grocery store nearby, I absolutely think it’s worth it to go and get the stuff made in Japan. You can also get it on Amazon. Just make sure your bottle is a product of Japan.

Oh, and if you’re a fan of Kewpie mayo and you’re ever in Tokyo, be sure to visit the Kewpie mayo factory for a tour and tasting. Mike I went on a rainy day back in October and it was so much fun! We even got some only-in-Japan smoked Kewpie mayo as omiyage (souvenirs).

What else can I make with Kewpie mayonnaise?

Kewpie mayonnaise is a major condiment used in a lot of Japanese dishes. If you have a bottle on hand, here are some things you can use it for:

• ebi mayo/crispy shrimp with a spicy dressing
• California roll avocado toast
• takoyaki
• Japanese potato salad
• chicken karaage
• miso tuna salad
• California roll nachos
• okonomiyaki burger

If you’re on a Japanese sandwich kick, please check out these other Japanese sandwiches

• Japanese fruit sandwich: strawberry sando
• LA’s Kombi egg salad sandwich
• Japanese crispy chicken sandwich: chicken katsu sando
• Japanese crispy pork sandwich: tonkatsu sando

Japanese Egg Salad Sandwich Recipe - たまごサンド

A Japanese egg sandwich, also called tamago sando, is a classic Japanese sandwich: egg salad tucked between two fluffy slices of milk bread.

Serves 1

4.73 from 58 votes

Prep Time 1 minute min

Cook Time 14 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp kewpie mayo
• 1 tsp milk or cream
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 2 slices shokupan
• butter room temp

Instructions

• Remove the eggs from the fridge as you bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath with a large bowl of cold water and ice. Bring the water to rolling boil, then add eggs in, with a slotted spoon. Maintain a simmer for 10 minutes.
  
• Plunge the eggs into the ice bath to cool them down. Peel the eggs: Gently tap the wide end of the egg on the countertop, then flip around and tap the pointed end. Gently roll the egg and peel, under running water, if needed.
  
• Cut the eggs in half and separate the whites from the yolks. Dice the whites.
  
• Place the yolks in a bowl and use a fork to mash together with the mayonnaise, cream, salt, and sugar until smooth.
  
• Gently mix in the diced whites.
  
• Butter the slices of bread then add the filling, all the way to the edges on one slice of bread.
  
• Top with the other slice and press down gently. Trim the crusts (chef’s treat!) and slice in half on a diagonal or perpendicularly into thirds. Enjoy!
  

Estimated Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Japanese Egg Salad Sandwich Recipe - たまごサンド

Amount Per Serving

Calories 499 Calories from Fat 381

% Daily Value*

Fat 42.3g65%

Saturated Fat 13.7g86%

Cholesterol 443mg148%

Sodium 1127mg49%

Potassium 157mg4%

Carbohydrates 11g4%

Fiber 0.4g2%

Sugar 2.6g3%

Protein 14.1g28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.