The hot gourmet food of today is the egg sandwich. From thick fried egg sandwiches, legendary egg sandwiches, and even ones made with traditional Japanese foods, we tracked down the secrets and further evolution of egg sandwiches that have captivated the world. ■ Egg sandwiches when you come to Japan There is a popular egg sandwich shop at Narita Airport, the gateway to Japan's skies. It is a convenience store. Foreign tourists were seen picking up egg sandwiches one after another at the egg sandwich corner, which was lined up in rows. From Singapore "I arrived this morning, and when I come to Japan, the first thing I have is an egg sandwich." A couple from Singapore also did it right after they arrived... From Singapore "I saw a video of Japanese egg sandwiches on the plane and I just had to try them." More and more foreigners are saying "The first thing I have when I arrive in Japan is an egg sandwich." One of the reasons for their popularity was the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. Reporters from various countries who came to Japan praised the egg sandwiches at convenience stores and were surprised at how cheap they were, at around 300 yen. Furthermore, egg sandwiches are now available at convenience stores in the United States, and people are posting on social media with comments such as "This egg sandwich is really delicious." The popularity of Japanese egg sandwiches is spreading worldwide. In Japan, it is common to mash boiled eggs and mix them with mayonnaise, but overseas... From the United States, "I've never seen this in a store in LA." From Germany, "Egg sandwiches in Germany have scrambled eggs in between, and the bread is brown and hard." From Venezuela, "There's no way you'd see an egg sandwich with mayonnaise. It's just a fried egg sandwiched between two pieces of bread." In fact, the combination of creamy eggs mixed with mayonnaise and soft bread, which is commonplace for us, is said to be rare even in the world. ■ "Legendary Egg Sandwich" Rising Egg Prices For such foreigners, there is a place in Ginza that could be called the "holy land of egg sandwiches." From Australia, "I'm so excited. I was always thinking about egg sandwiches before I came to Japan. I can't wait to try egg sandwiches." Founded 41 years ago, Cafe American is always crowded with customers, and is located behind the Kabukiza Theater. It is said to be a popular shop on social media among foreigners. The "legendary" egg sandwich uses a loaf of bread and has two huge mountains of eggs piled on top. It costs 900 yen. From Australia, "This sandwich." "(Q. Do you think you can eat it all?) Yes you can." "Let's eat it. It's delicious." The combination of eggs and mayonnaise was also commented on, "After all, it's good to have a lot of mayonnaise and make it creamy. It's well-balanced." On busy days, the owner, Makoto Haraguchi (73), boils 800 eggs and peels them all by hand. One serving contains the filling of eight eggs. The seasoning is simple, just mixed with mayonnaise. The bread is delivered fresh from the bakery twice a day. They are proud of the hot, fluffy and chewy texture of their bread. Then, they put a generous amount of egg between slices of bread more than 5 cm thick and cut it into a bold shape. After serving it on a plate, they add more egg to finish it off. From Australia: "The bread is warm and very fluffy." The legendary egg sandwich, which started about 10 years ago, is actually having some problems now. Haraguchi: "Eggs were cheap 10 years ago. Half the price compared to now." Back then, eggs were cheap, and they increased the amount out of a spirit of service until it reached its current amount. However, with the high price of eggs today, Haraguchi: "I don't care. I can't reduce the amount. Everyone is looking forward to the toppings." The legendary egg sandwich, which is full of the owner's spirit, was met with comments from a visitor from Australia, who said, "It was just the best experience." ■Sandwiches nurtured by Japan's onigiri culture The origin of the name sandwich is in 18th century England, and it is said to be because "the Earl of Sandwich ate one while playing cards." In Japan, bread became popular during the Meiji period, and a recipe for egg sandwiches appeared in a cooking magazine in 1915. After the war, fresh eggs were relatively cheap, and mayonnaise became popular, so egg sandwiches spread to coffee shops and other establishments. In addition, various sandwiches unique to Japan were born. The long-established pork cutlet restaurant "Isen" in Okachimachi, Tokyo, is said to be the birthplace of the cutlet sandwich. It was invented by the first proprietress about 90 years ago. It is still made the same way today, with a soft bite-sized cutlet that can be cut with chopsticks, coated with a special sauce, and sandwiched between thin bread. The small size makes it easy to eat, and it was popular among geisha in the Ueno area at the time. You could certainly cut it with chopsticks. Recently, popular fruit sandwiches are said to have been served at the fruit restaurant of Senbikiya Sohonten in Nihonbashi, Tokyo in 1868. Four types of fruit are currently used: strawberry, pineapple, papaya, and kiwi. Fruits that do not release much juice are used. The whipped cream is not too sweet. The sourness of strawberries and pineapples, the flavor of papaya, and the texture of kiwi make this an elegant fruit sandwich that Japan is proud of. In Japan, where onigiri culture existed, people are said to have created their own unique arrangements of sandwiches using easy-to-find bread. ■ "I want to eat it every day" A man living in Japan is actually one of the people who started the egg sandwich boom among foreigners. When he posted a video of himself eating an egg sandwich from a convenience store on social media for the world to see, he received a huge response with comments such as "Wow, that looks delicious" and "I really want to go to Japan." Sparks (27), who is from New Zealand, is a teacher at an international school, but he happened to eat an egg sandwich from a convenience store and became addicted to it. Sparks says, "I eat it every day. Thank you for the meal." He says the taste is simple and deep, and you never get tired of it. This time, Sparks headed to "TAMASAN PARK," a specialty egg sandwich store located a 10-minute walk from Omiya Station. Before lunch, there were many customers in the store. Sparks: "There's an evolved egg sandwich. It looks like a cake." The new product is the "King of Egg Sandwiches," a French toast sandwich with egg sauce made from mayonnaise and mustard. And the most popular one is... Sparks: "Wow. This is it! It looks perfect." What? Is this an egg sandwich? At first glance it looks like a cake, but in the middle is a thick egg omelet. It's called the "Sunny Egg Sandwich." The ingredients are egg yolk, mayonnaise, milk, cream, sugar, etc. Egg whites are made into meringue and added. The secret to making this fluffy sandwich is actually in a rice cooker. TAMASAN PARK Nishikawa Ippei (51) "It circulates and cooks evenly." After much trial and error, including baking in a frying pan, he came up with the method of using a rice cooker. The finished product is fluffy and jiggly. The bread is a layered combination of sweet brioche dough and crispy croissant dough. Let the eggs cool, then place them between the bread and it's complete. Sparks: "The eggs are sweet, but the bread is salty too. It's a great combination. The bread is soft and really tasty. I want to eat it every day." ■ "Japanese egg sandwiches are the best!" Next we headed to the egg sandwich that Sparks is most interested in at the moment. It is said to use traditional Japanese ingredients. Sparks: "I have no idea what it tastes like, so I want to try it and see for myself." This is BAKER Aoyagi, a popular specialty bread store that just opened last year in Setagaya, Tokyo. When you open the bag, the scent of wood wafts through the air. They say it uses traditional Japanese ingredients, and there is a crunching sound. Sparks: "Thank you for the meal. It's crunchy. What can I say... It has a smoky smell, like the scent of wood." "Crunchy and smoky." The secret added to the egg sandwich is... The filling is made by finely chopping up smoked pickled takuan (pickled radish) "Iburi-gakko," a local Akita dish, and combining it with eggs, mayonnaise, cream cheese, and Italian parsley. Sparks is excited about the combination of traditional Japanese pickles and egg sandwiches. "I want to explore the ever-evolving world of egg sandwiches even more," Sparks says. "Japanese egg sandwiches are the best!" [TV Asahi News] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp