japanese egg salad sandwich

Egg salad sandwiches (sando) are a staple of convenience stores called “konbi” in Japan. This is my version which I have made with mayonnaise and Dijon mustard, but there are other types of sandwich spread that come to mind: Kewpie (a Japanese brand) mayonnaise, wasabi mayo, even Sriracha mayo. The last two add considerable zing if your palate so desires.

But, you say, boiling eggs is such a pain. More precisely, peeling hard boiled eggs is a frustrating chore. Despite chilling in cold water, the shells never seem to come off without a chunk of egg coming away with it. However, I have a new method to boil eggs that will make peeling them a breeze, thanks to Kenji Lopez-Alt’s research on how to make perfect boiled eggs that are easy to peel.

How to Steam-Boil Eggs

6 large eggs

1 quart saucepan

steamer basket

Fill the saucepan with 1 inch of water. Put the steamer basket, if using, in the pot and bring to a vigorous boil over medium heat. Using a spider or slotted spoon, carefully lower four eggs one at a time into steamer basket in the boiling water. The water does not have to cover the eggs. Cover the pot and continue boiling vigorously over medium heat, 12 minutes for hard boiled eggs. When the eggs are done, remove from the heat source and let them cool until you can handle them safely. Don’t throw off the water.

Bring the water in the pot back to boiling. Lower the remaining two eggs into the basket. This time, only cook them for 6-8 minutes to achieve a custard-y yolk. Six minutes will get a more liquid yolk. Eight minutes will be firmer.

Crack the egg shells all over then peel. Set the eggs aside in a medium bowl to cool to room temperature.

Japanese Egg Salad Sandwich

Yield: 4 sandwiches

2 tablespoons mayonnaise of choice

Salt and Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons celery, onion, scallions and/or cilantro, finely chopped, optional

Dijon mustard

8 slices of soft sandwich bread, thinly sliced. Japanese milk bread is traditional but I’ve used whole wheat sandwich bread

Crush the hard boiled eggs with a potato masher or pastry blender. Season with 2 tablespoons mayonnaise. Add salt, pepper, and celery/onion/scallions/cilantro, if using, to taste. As a guideline, use enough mayo to make the egg salad spreadable without falling apart. Chill 30 minutes or more to firm up. Slice the soft boiled eggs in half and chill 30 minutes or more or until you are ready to make the sandwiches.

To assemble, take two slices of bread and stack them. Trim the crusts and discard. Open the bread and spread mayo on one side and Dijon mustard on the other. Spread a thin layer of egg salad on either the mayo or the mustard side. Place an egg half in the middle and mound more egg salad around and on top. Cover with the other slice of bread. Chill, covered, to firm up the egg salad sandwich. Repeat with the remaining bread slices, egg salad, and egg halves. When ready to serve, slice each sandwich with a serrated bread knife. Use a sawing motion to cut the sandwich right through the middle.

creamy corn pasta with prosciutto and basil

Creamy corn pasta with prosciutto and basil

In Jamaica I grew up enjoying a creamed corn drink concoction sweetened with condensed milk. While this is not that, the principle is the same beginning with creaming fresh corn or tinned corn niblets. This creamed corn pasta is served with prosciutto pinwheels and generously sprinkled with basil. Without the prosciutto, this recipe would be vegan because there is no milk in this dish just a sauce made from corn kernels stripped from the cob and cooked with shallots and scallions. It comes together quickly as a main meal or as a side. This recipe is adapted from Melissa Clark @nytimescooking.

Creamy Corn Pasta with Prosciutto and Basil

Yield: 4-6 servings

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Salt

12 ounces of dry elbow macaroni (orecchiette or farfalle)

1 tablespoon of olive oil, plus more for drizzling

8 scallions, trimmed and sliced thinly on the bias, with whites and greens separate

3-4 shallots, sliced thinly

3 medium or 2 large ears of corn, shucked and kernels removed (about 2 cups fresh corn kernels or 2 tins niblets)

Freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons/42g unsalted butter

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese or to taste

1/3 cup torn basil plus more basil chiffonade for garnish

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste (leave out if desired)

1/2 fresh lemon

Prosciutto rolled into a cigar shape and sliced into 1-inch pinwheels, about 3-4 per person, optional

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add 2-3 heaping teaspoons salt to the water. Cook pasta one minute less than instructed on the package. Reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain the pasta. Set aside.

Heat oil over medium heat in a 12-inch sauté pan or wok. Add the scallion whites and the shallots with a pinch of salt. Cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2-cup tap water and all but 1/4-cup of the corn. Simmer the scallion-shallot-corn mixture until the corn is just tender, 3-5 minutes. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and purée until smooth and thick, or it can be chunky if you desire. Reserve the skillet to use again. Add more water if the mixture is too thick or to taste.

Re-heat the skillet over high heat this time. Add butter. When it has melted, add the reserved 1/4-cup corn and cook, stirring, 1-2 minutes until tender and the butter becomes brown and fragrant. Pour the corn purée back into the pan, stirring while cooking to combine, 30 seconds.

Reduce heat to medium heat. Add the pasta and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss to coat the pasta, which will absorb the liquid. Add more of the reserved pasta water if needed to thin the sauce. Stir in half of the green parts of the scallions, Parmesan cheese, torn basil, and the red pepper flakes, if using. Squeeze lemon juice all over. Stir. Taste and add salt, freshly ground pepper, and additional lemon juice to taste.

To serve, spoon pasta with sauce into bowls and garnish with reserved scallions, basil chiffonade, a drizzle of olive oil, and freshly ground black pepper. Top with prosciutto pinwheels, if you wish, but leave out to make this dish vegan.