Assorted fillings sandwich bento! Perfect to make for an outdoor picnic!
ABOUT SANDWICH BENTO
This sandwich bento is so simple to put together and perfect for sharing with friends! The sandwiches are full of delicious Japanese flavors that are sure to satisfy everyone. The great part of this bento is that the different sandwich fillings can serve a variety of tastes. Follow along with the instructions below, or pick and choose to cater to your tastes. Either way, you’re sure to create a perfect assortment of sandwiches! To complete the perfect picnic set, pack some sushi to go with the sandwiches and some sanshoku dango for dessert! Enjoy this for a picnic while you admire the beautiful nature, or make it to share at a get together with friends!
COMPONENTS OF SANDWICH BENTO
All of these are completely customizable to suit your own taste!
- ☆ Egg Salad: Japanese-style egg salad sandwich. This egg salad is made with boiled eggs, Japanese mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and a little sugar. This is one of the most popular Japanese sandwiches, and I think many people online are familiar with this!
- ☆ Katsu Sando: Japanese katsu sando (カツサンド), aka cutlet sandwich. Filled with a cutlet, typically made with pork coated in panko and deep fried, and tonkatsu sauce. You can also add shredded cabbage or cheese to suit this sandwich to your tastes! This is also one of the most popular Japanese sandwiches that many people online are familiar with!
- ☆ Tomato Cucumber: This simple sandwich is filled with slices of tomato and cucumber with a little Japanese mayonnaise for richness and moisture. It’s very refreshing and goes great to balance the other richer sandwiches.
- ☆ Ham and Cheese: A simple ham and cheese sandwich with a slight Japanese twist. Made by spreading roasted sesame dressing on two slices of bread and layering cheese, ham, and lettuce.
MATERIALS
- ☆ Plastic wrap or parchment to wrap sandwiches
- After putting the sandwiches together, we want to wrap it up and let it rest to allow the fillings to set together. This helps for when we slice the sandwich later, but do whatever works best for you!
INGREDIENTS (+ SUBSTITUTIONS)
This is a basic list and explanation of the key ingredients. For full list and measurements, please scroll down to the recipe below!
- ☆ Japanese shokupan
- Japanese milk bread that is very popular to use for sandwiches. I got mine at my local Japanese bakery, but I think many Asian groceries also have bakeries that carry it. I highly recommend it if you can find it! However, if not, don’t worry as regular sandwich bread works just as great! I recommend using white bread over whole wheat, but any you prefer works!
EGG SALAD INGREDIENTS
- ☆ Eggs
- Hard boiled eggs. To make them, bring a pot of water to a boil, there should be enough water to cover the eggs completely by about 2cm or an inch. Once boiling, gently add in the eggs and let cook for 10 minutes. Then transfer to an ice bath and let sit for a few minutes. The sudden temperature drop will cause the egg to shrink slightly inside the shell, making it easier to peel.
- ☆ Japanese mayonnaise
- Japanese mayonnaise is made using only egg yolks so it is smoother and richer in taste. If you can’t find any, you can make it yourself, or use American mayonnaise. To make American mayonnaise taste similar to Japanese mayonnaise, you can add a little rice vinegar and sugar to it. In this case for 3 tablespoons, 1.5 teaspoons rice vinegar and ½ teaspoon sugar, mixing until it’s all smooth.
- ☆ Sugar
- A lot of Asian savory dishes are also a little sweet. If you add sugar to egg salad, it doesn’t taste sweet, rather it enhances the savoriness. However, if you don’t want to add sugar, you may omit this.
- ☆ Salt and pepper
- Add these to taste, making sure to taste as you go so that it doesn’t get too salty. You can adjust it as needed to make the egg salad more salty or peppery as you like.
KATSU SANDO INGREDIENTS
- ☆ Pork loin
- Katsu sando are made with a variety of cutlets, but I think the most popular one is pork. However, it is not a must that the cutlet be made with pork. In fact, I actually prefer chicken or tofu. You can use any protein you like including beef, fish, egg omelette, ground meat (menchi katsu), etc.!
- ☆ Flour
- For dredging. Any kind of flour works; I prefer all-purpose or cake flour for dredging.
- ☆ Egg
- For dredging. You can also make a mixture of about equal parts flour and water to make a batter instead. The batter should be thick enough to grip onto the floured protein but thin enough that the excess can drip off.
- ☆ Panko
- Panko is Japanese breadcrumbs. Pan (パン) means “bread” and ko (粉) means “powder.” They are larger in individual size than regular breadcrumbs, giving fried foods a crispier texture, and don’t absorb oil as much which also contributes to the crispier end product. If you don’t have panko, you can use regular breadcrumbs, or make your own panko! Please see the tips section of my aji fry recipe for instructions on how to make your own panko.
- ☆ Tonkatsu sauce
- Tonkatsu sauce is a sweet and tangy sauce made of fruits and vegetables. You can typically find it in most Asian grocery stores, but you can also make it yourself. Mix together 2 tablespoons of ketchup, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (preferably Japanese Worcestershire), ½ tablespoon oyster sauce (or soy sauce or stir-fry sauce), and 1 teaspoon sugar. You can store any extra in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for 3 weeks or in the freezer for 3 months.
TOMATO CUCUMBER INGREDIENTS
- ☆ Tomato
- I used vine tomatoes, but use any you like!
- ☆ Cucumber
- Any kind of cucumber works! Use your favorite!
- ☆ Japanese mayonnaise
- As explained above, if you don’t have Japanese mayonnaise, you can make American mayonnaise taste like it by adding rice vinegar and sugar. In this case for 1 tablespoon, ½ teaspoon rice vinegar and ⅙ teaspoon sugar, mixing until it’s all smooth. Additionally, because the mayonnaise here is not part of the main foundation of the sandwich filling, you may replace it with any other sauce you like.
HAM AND CHEESE INGREDIENTS
- ☆ Roasted sesame dressing
- This dressing is typically used for salads, but it tastes amazing in this sandwich. It’s made with a variety of ingredients, but the most important ingredient are the deep-roasted sesame seeds which add a bold, rich, and nutty flavor. You can find this in most Asian grocery stores, but if you can’t there are a few recipes online on how to make this at home! I’ve never used those recipes before, so I can’t tell you which is the best. Alternatively, you can substitute this with mayonnaise or any other sauces as well.
- ☆ Ham
- I used deli ham slices, but you can also use any sandwich meat or meat-replacement you like. You can also omit it or replace it with vegetables such as tomatoes!
- ☆ Cheese
- I used cheddar cheese slices, but feel free to use any cheese you prefer! You may also omit it if you don’t like cheese.
- ☆ Lettuce
- Green leaf lettuce. I think this kind of lettuce is best for sandwiches, but you can use other lettuce instead such as romaine, butter lettuce, iceberg, etc.
TIPS FOR MAKING SANDWICH BENTO
- ☆ When boiling the eggs, you can also lightly tap on the bottom of the eggs to make a tiny crack before adding the eggs to the water. The boiling water will be able to travel underneath the shell which can make peeling the eggs easier. On the other hand, you can add about a tablespoon of vinegar and a pinch of salt to the water. The salt and vinegar slightly permeate and break down the shell, making them easier to peel.
- ☆ The measurements of sauce to put in the katsu, tomato cucumber, and ham and cheese sandwiches are all estimates and to my taste. Therefore, please adjust it accordingly to suit your taste!
CHECK OUT MY OTHER OUTDOOR PICNIC RECIPES! ♡
MORE EASY LUNCH IDEA RECIPES! ♡
If you recreate this Outdoor Picnic Sandwich Bento recipe, please let me know by tagging me or leaving a comment on Instagram @maruryouri or TikTok @atsuryouri. I’d love to see your creations and hear your feedback!
Sandwich Bento (Outdoor Picnic Set)
Assorted fillings sandwich bento. The variety makes it great to share with friends! Perfect to make for an outdoor picnic!
Ingredients
- 8 slices Japanese shokupan or sandwich bread
Egg Salad
- 3 boiled eggs
- 3 tablespoons Japanese mayonnaise
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Katsu Sando
- 1 boneless pork loin
- 1 egg for dredging
- 70 g all-purpose flour for dredging
- 70 g panko
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 1 tablespoon tonkatsu sauce
Tomato Cucumber
- 1 tomato
- ½ cucumber
- 1 tablespoon Japanese mayonnaise
Ham and Cheese
- 1 tablespoon roasted sesame dressing
- 1 slice cheddar cheese
- 3-4 slices deli ham
- 1 leaf lettuce
Instructions
Sandwich fillings
- Prepare 3 boiled eggs and remove the shell. Cut each egg in half and pop out the yolks into a separate container. Chop the remaining egg whites to make mashing it all together easier.
- Add 3 tablespoons of Japanese mayonnaise to the eggs and season with the sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Mix it all together to the texture of your liking. If you prefer it more chunky, don’t mix as much or set some egg whites aside to add in later. Set aside
- Pound the boneless pork loin under a plastic wrap using a meat tenderizer or rolling pin until it becomes a little less than a centimeter thin. Season with salt and pepper.
- In three separate plates or bowls, place the flour and panko and beat the egg. Begin dredging by first coating the pork loin with flour and dust off any excess. Transfer the pork loin to the egg and fully coat it to ensure the panko will stick completely. Finally coat the pork loin with panko and lightly press in to make sure the panko pieces stick.
- In a deep pan or saucepan, heat about an inch to an inch and a half deep of vegetable oil or any other neutral oil. When the oil has reached 340-355°F/170-180°C carefully place the breaded tonkatsu into the oil. Let fry for one minute then flip and let the other side fry for one minute as well or until golden brown. Remove from oil and place on a frying rack or cooling rack to allow excess oil to drip.
- Prepare the vegetables. Cut two slices of tomato, both about 1cm in thickness, and cut both in half, creating four half moon shapes. Cut off both ends of a cucumber and cut to match the length of your bread slices. Cut a long slice of cucumber also about 1cm thick. You should have a long and flat rectangle of cucumber.
Putting together sandwiches
- Prepare two slices of bread by spreading a thin layer of Japanese mayonnaise on both slices. Lay the halfmoon tomato slices on the opposite sides of the bread with the curved sides facing each other, fitting in like a puzzle. The tomatoes should occupy the two outer thirds of the slice of bread, leaving the middle third for the cucumber. Place the cucumber rectangle in the middle and place the other slice of bread on top, completing the tomato cucumber sandwich. Wrap with plastic wrap or parchment paper and set aside for now.
- For the next sandwich, spread roasted sesame dressing on two slices of bread. On one slice lay down the slice of cheddar cheese, followed by the slices of ham. Place the leaf of lettuce on top of the ham, fold as needed to fit the slice of bread. Cover with the other slice of bread and the ham and cheese sandwich is done. Wrap with plastic wrap or parchment paper and set aside for now.
- For the egg salad sandwich, simply prepare two slices of bread. On one slice, spread a generous layer of the egg salad mixture that was prepared earlier. The egg salad should be about 1.5cm or half an inch thick. Cover with the other slice of bread, completing the egg salad sandwich. Wrap with plastic wrap or parchment paper and set aside for now.
- For the last sandwich, spread tonkatsu sauce evenly on two slices of bread. Place the tonkatsu onto the bread, and finish the katsu sando by placing the other slice of bread on top. Wrap with plastic wrap or parchment paper and set aside for now.
- After the sandwiches have rested for about 10 minutes, cut them in half. Make sure to check the orientation of the cut for the tomato cucumber sandwich so the pattern of the colors is visible. Place the sandwich halves into a bento and the sandwich bento is done! 完成です！
Notes
- I make hard boiled eggs by first bringing a pot of water to a boil then adding the eggs and letting them cook for 12 minutes. There are quite a few different methods for boiling eggs so just do what works best for you!