As a resident of the far east for nearly 5 years now, I’ve noticed that there are quite a few dishes that have the same name as typical dishes in the west but take on a totally different form of preparation over here.
For example?
A “hot dog” here in Korea is what we would call a “corn dog” back in the States. They have the usual deep-fried dog in some breading. However, they’ll add extra fun shit on it like crunchy potatoes, stringy cheese, rice cakes, or even crunchy uncooked ramen.
I’m always a bit hesitant when I run into things like this. It’s just…different than what I expected.
But then I try them and realize they fucking slap.
Another example would be an “egg sandwich.”
If someone mentions an “egg sandwich” to me, the first thing that pops into my American-bred mind is a drippy New York-style bacon-egg-cheese on an everything bagel or a savory McGriddle from McDonald’s.
So when I was first introduced to the pillowy, rich, soft, meatless, semi-sweet flavor of the tamago sandwich by my girlfriend, I was again, hesitant.
And again, my mind was totally changed.
It’s nice to have your beliefs about a certain food challenged and humbled every once in a while.
Here’s my girlfriend’s recipe for her egg sandwich.
Jihyun’s Fluffy-Ass Egg Sando’s
Here’s Jihyun’s tamago sandwiches. Notice that she actually bastardized these ones to fit my American taste by adding bacon and toasting the bread. Immediately afterward she said she regretted toasting the bread and that she recommends using untoasted, soft, pillowy bread.
Ingredients:
2 Servings / Sandwiches — she doesn’t measure anything so bear with me
4 slices soft white bread (popular Korean/Japanese choice is to use “milk” bread)
5 eggs
~1/4 onion, finely chopped
~3 “spoons” of mayonnaise (Kewpie or Korean mayo if you got it)
~1/2 “spoon” of sugar
Salt + Pepper to taste
Optional:
Mustard / Sriracha for a kick
Parsley
Steps:
1 - Bring a pot of water to a boil and boil the eggs for 10 minutes. Transfer to an ice bath to stop them from cooking.
Make sure they are dry before adding them to the bowl in the next step. You can use a kitchen towel to pat them off.
2 - Take off the shells and add all of them to a big mixing bowl. Smash them up with a fork, then add all of the other ingredients: onions, mayo, sugar, salt, and pepper. Combine well until it’s nice and fluffied up.
If you want to be extra, you can add some mustard or sriracha for a kick or parsley for color and brightness. If you have a fussy American boyfriend (me) you can add bacon.
3 - Apply beautifully to the bread. And eat.
I asked my girlfriend for the recipe and she was just like “uh just put it all in a bowl and mix it” and looked at me like I was an idiot.
Simple and fuego.
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Yumm. my favourite. you won't be disappointed!!