7-Eleven Egg Salad Sandwich

In Japan, convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Family Mart, and Lawson’s are great spots for cheap and delicious snacks. You can get several types of onigiri, yakitori, korokke, katsu sandwiches, and even steamed pork buns. Many people visit the convenience stores, so the food is always fresh. I was in Japan last year, and I didn’t miss the opportunity to grab an egg salad sandwich for a snack. Soft Shokupan and creamy egg salad are what makes the sandwich so good. Here’s how to make it at home.

7-Eleven Style Egg Salad Sandwich

Makes 3 sandwiches

• 4 extra-large eggs
• 1 tablespoon white rice vinegar (or any vinegar)
• 6 tablespoons Kewpie mayonnaise (or any mayonnaise), plus additional for spreading on the bread
• 1/4 teaspoon hot mustard powder
• salt and pepper
• 6 slices Shokupan (or any white sandwich bread)

1. Hard-boil eggs: fill a small saucepan with water, add a tablespoon of white vinegar, and bring to a simmer. Carefully place the eggs in the simmering water, and cook for 10 minutes. Place eggs in an ice bath for about 10 minutes. I like to crack the shells, and place them back in the ice bath for another 5 minutes so the water can help loosen the shells from the eggs. Peel eggs and cut into quarters.
2. To the bowl of a food processor, add the eggs, Kewpie mayo, hot mustard powder, salt, and pepper. Pulse 5-6 times. You want all the ingredients to incorporate, but not to make the eggs into a paste. Taste the egg salad and add more salt, pepper, and mustard powder to your taste. Transfer the egg salad to a bowl, and refrigerate for one hour. The egg salad will last 2-3 days in the refrigerator. I find that refrigerating the egg salad helps it firm up, which allows you  to have a thicker layer of egg salad on the bread without it spilling out.
3. Cut the crust off the Shokupan. Spread each slice with a super thin layer of mayo. Divide the egg salad between three slices of bread and spread it out evenly making sure you don’t go all the way to the edge. The filling will spread out to the edge when you slice the sandwich. Top with the other three slices of bread. Slice each sandwich on the diagonal.