Intro

This isn’t “my” recipe — it’s a copycat adaptation of the egg katsu sando that Dominique Ansel x Shake Shack did a collab on a while back. Even though I’ve never actually tried that sandwich, this recipe is a mixture of a couple recipes I’ve been making forever: steamed egg and katsu. The Chinese, Korean, and Japanese all have variations of a steamed egg dish that are all pretty simple and deceptively delicious. I took the basic concepts of chawanmushi, tamagoyaki, and katsu (all Japanese) and adapted them for this based on the following changes:

This is closer to the texture of tamagoyaki, but doesn’t require the delicate seafood tastes since we’re frying them as a katsu and the sauces will overpower those flavors
Since we’re eating this on a Japanese milk bread (similar to a brioche i.e. light, airy, slightly sweet), the sauce for this sando will be kind of similar to a traditional katsu sauce, but less overtly tangy since we’re not trying to cut the richness of a fried meat (katsu sauce is a perfect complement to a very rich fried meat)

What You'll Need

Makes 1 large sandwich (I usually eat ½ a sandwich per meal)

8 large-XL organic eggs + 1 (for coating)
1 tsp soy sauce
½ tsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp sugar
Drizzle of heavy cream (optional)
Drizzle of sesame oil
Panko (enough for breading the egg patties)
AP flour (enough for breading the egg patties)
Japanese milk bread (or brioche)
Neutral oil good for high heat (enough to shallow fry in a skillet/pan; I used organic canola oil)
Sauce: Kewpie mayo, honey mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Sriracha, black pepper, miso (optional)

Instructions

Prepare the egg patties:

Prepare your steamer set up; I used 4 cups of water in my shabu/hot pot
Crack the 8 eggs into a large bowl and add the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar and heavy cream + sesame oil (if using); whisk until mixed together well
Take an oven/heat-proof container * and rinse it with water, pouring off excess fluid; take some plastic wrap and line the inside of the container
Strain and pour the egg mixture into the container ^ and skim off any leftover air bubbles on the surface
Place the egg container into your steamer set up and steam for 7 min
Once steamed, chill the egg patty in the fridge, covered so it doesn’t lose moisture or pick up fridge smells

Prepare the sandos:

Heat up a skillet of frying oil and cut the egg patty in half
Prepare your fry station: plate of AP flour, whisked egg in a wide and shallow bowl, plate of panko
Cut the egg patty into a good size for your bread, dip in flour, then egg, and get a good amount of panko on all sides of each patty
Fry each patty until the panko is crispy and golden-brown
Prepare the sauce: combine kewpie, honey mustard, ketchup, miso, Worcestershire sauce, Sriracha, and black pepper to taste

* I used a rectangular Pyrex container that measures 7 x 5 x 1½ inches; this produced ~ 1½ inch tall patties

^ Straining helps get rid of the air bubbles

How to Enjoy!

Spread a good amount of the sauce on both pieces of bread before sandwiching the egg katsu patties. These are surprisingly filling — remember there are 8 XL eggs used — so the recipe above is enough for 2 meals/people. Enjoy with an Amber Ale, Pilsner, or standard Lager 🍻🥚🥪