There are so many channels on YouTube showing Korean cafe vlogs. I stumbled upon these sandwiches on one such vlog. Those sandwiches looked amazing and filling. Once I made it myself, I became a fan. They are a a bit tricky to assemble, but the effort is well worth it.

The bread to filling proportion makes this a good breakfast for people eating less carbs. It can also be customized to your liking. This blog post is more about how to assemble the sandwich and a few ideas for the filings. You can pretty much try anything you like as a filling though!

Filling ideas

• Sautéed mushrooms with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper
• Sliced cucumber, tomatoes, avocado and radish
• Greens like arugula and lettuce. Lettuce is better since it will provide better structure than arugula
• Boiled potatoes, cut into slices and seasoned with any dry herb or spices and salt
• Roasted sweet potato slices with salt
• Grilled or fried marinated tofu, chicken or other choice of protein
• Hard boiled eggs, well scrambled eggs or omelette
• Roasted bell pepper halves
• Shredded green and purple cabbage
• Deli meats and sliced cheese
• Pickled vegetables, with moisture removed

Ingredients and Tools for Assembling

• Plastic wrap
• Parchment paper (optional)
• Thick cut pillowy bread like Shokupan. I’ve also used normal grocery store bread, but it tends to tear in the middle. It’ll just take more care and effort
• Sauces of choice. Mayonnaise and mustard work on most sandwiches, but I bet tonkatsu sauce would work well with fried pork cutlets
• Desired fillings

Instructions for Wrapping

1. Prepare 4-5 fillings of choice. Make sure to pay attention to colors and shapes of the fillings. The sandwich cross section will look vibrant if the colors are coordinated correctly. The structure will be strong if the ingredients are a combination of flat, bigger pieces and flexible or chopped
2. Cut a large piece of plastic wrap and place a slice of the bread in the center of the wrap
3. Place the flat fillings on the bread slice, drizzle on the sauces and arrange big pieces on the sauces. Top with flexible ingredients and then place the other bread slice.
4. Tightly wrap the plastic wrap around the assembled sandwich.
5. Neatly wrap the parchment paper around the plastic wrap if desired
6. Cut the sandwich into two halves. Don’t forget to keep it wrapped up as you eat! Only unwrap a little at a time to avoid a mess

Recipe for Sandwich in the Picture

Ingredients

• Extra firm tofu 4 oz
• Soya sauce 2 tbsp
• Sambal 2 tsp
• Brown sugar 1 tbsp
• Sesame oil 1/2 tsp
• White vinegar 1/2 tsp
• Sliced mushrooms 1/2 cup
• Sliced tomato 2-3 slices
• Sliced avocado 1/4 of an avocado
• Lettuce 3-4 leaves
• Thick cut white bread
• Mayonnaise 1 tbsp
• Sriracha 1/2 tbsp
• Parchment paper
• Salt as required
• Ground black pepper as required
• Canola oil as required
• Sticky tape (optional)

Instructions

1. Squeeze and press the tofu to remove as much water as possible. Slice into thick pieces
2. Mix soy sauce, sambal, sesame oil and brown sugar in a container. Taste and season with salt as needed. Add the tofu and marinate for minimum of 15 mins or up to 12 hours
3. Heat some canola oil in a pan and add the tofu slices. Cool until brown and crispy on both sides. Remove to a plate
4. Add the sliced mushroom in the same pan and season with salt and pepper. Sauté till all water has evaporated.
5. In the meantime prep other ingredients as mentioned in the ingredient list
6. Cut a large square of parchment paper and lay it flat on the cutting board
7. Place a slice of bread on the parchment paper in the center. Fold 1-2 leaves of lettuce and place on the bread slice, then arrange the tofu slices on top
8. Arrange tomato slices on top of the tofu, then carefully place avocado slices on the tomato
9. Drizzle the mayonnaise and sriracha on the avocado, then carefully add the sautéed mushrooms on top
10. Fold a few more leaves of lettuce and place on top of the mushrooms. Close the sandwich with another slice of bread
11. Take one side of the parchment paper and fold it over the sandwich. Repeat with the other side, making sure the sandwich it tightly enclosed
12. Tuck in the sides of the parchment paper, much like wrapping a gift. A few pieces of sticky tape might come in handy here.
13. Slice the sandwich down the middle and enjoy!

I absolutely loved putting together different ingredients for creating different cross sections. This recipe is also a good way to get rid of any leftover veggies which might be about to go bad. I’ve made these for breakfast, taken them on picnics and also prepped the ingredients beforehand so I’d just need to assemble the sandwich every day. One half was enough for my breakfast, so my husband and me shared one sandwich. Eating this also helped maintain good digestive health due to the amazing amount of fiber they provide. I hope you give these a try and as always let me know how it goes!!!