This East meets West fusion egg salad sandwich is an umami flavor bomb that will rock your tastebuds! The classic egg salad recipe gets topped with crunchy nori seaweed sheets and fluffy cured pork floss to create the ultimate sweet, creamy and savory sandwich experience. Each bite packs a punch of addictive umami flavor that will leave you craving more. Read on to learn all about the magic of umami-rich nori and pork floss in this crazy delicious sandwich mashup.
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What’s umami?
Umami is known as the mysterious fifth taste, alongside the classics like sweet, sour, salty and bitter. It translates directly to “pleasant savory taste” in Japanese. Umami comes from glutamates, naturally occurring amino acids found abundant in foods like kombu seaweed, cured meat, mushrooms, tomatoes, and aged cheeses.
When you eat these umami-packed ingredients, your tastebuds sing with joy. Umami adds a meaty, mouthwatering savoriness that makes dishes intensely flavorful and craveable. It creates depth of flavor and makes your mouth water uncontrollably. The next time you snack on a savory food like chips, charcuterie or Parmesan, you can thank umami for that “can’t stop eating” quality.
Nori Seaweed and Pork Floss – Umami Heroes
Nori seaweed sheets are packed with natural glutamates thanks to nori’s ocean origins. These paper-thin crispy green sheets add intense savory flavor with very little nori needed. Just a light topping adds a huge hit of mouthwatering umami. Nori provides a lovely delicate crunch and captivating ocean-like essence.
Pork floss is made from shredded cured pork that is slowly dried and fluffed up into light, wispy cotton-candy-like bits. During the curing and drying process, pork floss develops a concentrated umami punch. By drying the pork, the natural umami flavors become condensed and intensified. The fluffy texture dissolves on your tongue, releasing pops of porky umami.
By topping creamy sweet egg salad with these two umami superstars, we create an umami explosion! The nori and pork floss complement each other perfectly, each amplifying the savory flavors.
Quick and Easy
Part of the beauty of this East meets West fusion sandwich is how quick and easy it is to make. Simply mix up some classic egg salad with chopped eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper. Pile the smooth, creamy egg salad onto your favorite bread.
And once you try this addictive sandwich, you’ll want it again and again. Consider making a batch of egg salad and assembling several sandwiches at once for easy grab-and-go snacks. Meal prepping these umami sandwiches ensures you’ve got a craveable snack waiting whenever you need it.
What You’ll Need
Although ingredients and tools used in this recipe should be quite familiar and easy to find in most grocery stores, we’ve included some links to the exact ones we used in this recipe. We are not endorsing these specific brands; these are similar points of references for you. Feel free to explore different brands and options that suit your preferences and availability. It’s all about creating a delightful culinary experience tailored to your taste buds. Now, let’s get ready to whip up this fantastic Asian fusion dessert!
Recipe – Umami Egg Salad Sandwich
Egg Salad Sandwich
Equipment
- 1 non stick skillet
- 1 sauce pan with lid
- 1 egg slicer
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 slices white toast if available, use fresh thick white toast
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup pork floss
- 3 sheets nori use snacking nori that are slightly seasoned and oiled
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
Instructions
- Add room temperature eggs into room temperature water into small pot. Boil with high heat for 9 minutes. Remove one egg and immediately submerge in ice water. This is your soft boil egg. Set aside and continue to hard-boil the remaining eggs for another 10 minutes.
- Remove shell and dice the hardboiled eggs after it cools.
- Mix in mayonnaise and dijon mustard with diced eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat butter on nonstick skillet just until melted. Do not overheat or else butter will burn.
- Place white toast over butter and heat until toast turns golden. Flip and repeat. Repeat for second slice of toast.
- Spread egg salad over toast. Leave a well in the middle where you will place the soft-boiled egg. Top with pork floss, and seaweed.
- Cover with the second piece of toast. Cut and serve
Notes
- Boiling the eggs is the most important step. It may sound simple but there are three details that’s going to differentiate an “OK” sandwich and an “I should be paying good money for this” sandwich. First, make sure your eggs are at room temperature. If you’re impatient like me, submerge eggs fresh out from the fridge in lukewarm water. This will bring the egg temperature down faster in a stable manner. Second, set a timer. Timing is everything when it comes to boiling your eggs. Third, submerge eggs that you removed from heat straight into ice water. This will help the egg to contract away from the shell and make peeling a lot easier and cleaner.
- Depending on the temperature of where you are and the strength of your range, this may differ a bit, usually between 8 – 10 minutes. You may need to experiment a couple of times to get the perfect effect.
- You can prep the egg salad part ahead of time and keep it in an air-tight container within your refrigerator for up to 2 days. This will make assembly much faster whenever you need a quick bite.
An Umami Explosion You Have to Try
With its clever blending of textures and flavors, this East meets West fusion egg salad sandwich is an umami flavor bomb that will blow your mind (and tastebuds!). The fluffy egg salad, crispy nori seaweed and airy cured pork floss together create a harmony of flavors and textures. Savory, creamy, crunchy – every bite is intriguing and addictive.
The contrast between the smooth egg salad, delicate nori crunch and cottony pork floss keeps your mouth watering for more. And if you’re feeling adventurous, mix it up! Customize it with spicy greens, pickled vegetables, sriracha or more mayo! Make this creative yet easy sandwich to amp up your lunch routine. Your taste buds will thank you for this umami explosion!
