Japanese sando is the new flavour of the season; here is everything to know

Almost every culture has a toast with an ingredient fried in it According to Lakhan Jethani chef partner at Bandrarsquos Izakayastyle Japanese restaurant Mizu the Japanese sando is made of shokupan milk bread and became popular in the 1900s as part of yoshoku or Western influenced Japanese cuisineldquoYou cook down a slurry on a pan and then put it into the bread dough to make it chewy Today chefs are recreating childhood food memories and packing them into sandos mdash from pork cutlets to wagyu with a slather of bulldog saucerdquo says Jethani adding that it was the Michelin chefs in Japan who made the concept spread across the whole worldKatsu prawn sandoOn his menu is a prawn sando Rs 920 version inspired by the McDonaldrsquos Japan lsquoEbirsquo prawn burger which he had tasted in Kyoto ldquoIt has a soy milk emulsion homemade bulldog sauce and fried emulsified prawn cutlet Usually the sandos are nongrilled but a lot of chefs toast it lightly on a charcoal grillrdquo says JethaniBandrabased chef Guntas Bhasin loves the versatile nature of the sando that can be filled with fresh seasonal fruits to pork cutlets and simple eggs ldquoSandos are very customisable The pillowy shokupan bread has a comforting texture making it stand out from all other sandwichesrdquo she explainsKatsu chicken sando in brioche bread with wasabi green apple slawThe chicken breast is dredged in corn flour egg and then panko crust right chef Amal Farooque slathers tonkatsu sauce on the chicken katsu sandoChef Amal Farooque founder of Sage amp Olio says an ungrilled sandwich remains fresh longer because the heat is absorbed by the fresh nongrilled bread ldquoItrsquos meant to be fussfree My dad used to make a mutton cutlet sandwich with pickled onions and Dijon mustard My mumrsquos version was with chicken mayo spicy lassan ki chutney and aiolirdquoINGREDIENTSThe sando is ready PicsADITI HARALKARFor katsu chickengtgt 1 chicken breast cut three slices lengthwisegtgt 1 tbsp miso pastegtgt 14 cup corn starchgtgt 1 egggtgt 12 cup panko bread crumbsgtgt Brioche breadFor green apple wasabi slawgtgt 12 green apple juliennedgtgt 14 cabbage shreddedgtgt 14 carrot juliennedgtgt 1 spring onion slicedgtgt Salt to tastegtgt 1 tsp vinegargtgt 14 tsp saltgtgt 18 tsp black peppergtgt 12 tsp wasabigtgt 1 tbsp mayogtgt 12 tsp sugarFor Tonkatsu saucegtgt 14 soy saucegtgt 1 tbsp sweet soygtgt 1 tbsp Worcestershire saucegtgt 2 tbsp ketchupgtgt 2 tbsp honeygtgt 14 tsp black pepperLakhan Jethani and Guntas BhasinMETHODFor katsu chicken apply miso paste chicken breast slices Cover and rest in fridge for an hour In three trays get the corn starch egg and panko ready Dredge the chicken slices in corn flour egg and then panko crumbs For slaw combine everything together and set aside For tonkatsu sauce mix everything and set aside To assemble the sando deep fry katsu chicken cutlets till golden brown Butter thick slices of milk loaf and place two katsu chicken cutlets on the buttered side Drizzle tonkatsu sauce on cutlets place slaw close sando Slightly press it down and cut into twoTamago sandoDisha Khurana who develops recipes on aperfectfusion makes her sandos with choice of protein or fruit condiments like kewpie mayo mustard or sweetened whipped cream and salad veggies and garnishes like chopped scallion or simple Japanese seasoning mix Her version of an Indian sando is a dahimalai mixture with chopped veggies and fresh coriander seasoned with saltpepper in white breadINGREDIENTSgtgt 3 boiled eggsgtgt 3 tbsp mayonnaisegtgt 12 tbsp spring onion greens finely choppedgtgt 12 tsp black peppergtgt Salt to tastegtgt Bread slicesMETHODChop or grate boiled eggs in a bowl and mix all the ingredients well Cut the sides of bread slices and spread the egg mixture generously on a slice of bread Place another bread slice and cut in the centreCraving sandogtgt Chef Arnez Driver has dryaged buff for three weeks for the ongoing offering steakhousestyle meals until stock lasts in their SoBo kitchen On the same menu he has a Chicago bf sando Rs 700 that uses pulled buff an 18hour braised buff A crusty hoagie bread roll is filled with pulled buff cooked with pickled assorted vegetables with a dipping broth made of buff jusAT KMC 1st Floor Shop No 2 Kitab Mahal FortTIMING 12 pm to 11 pmCall 9987653397Katsu chicken sandogtgt Mokai a new Asian cafeacute in Bandra offers three sandos Katsu chicken sando Rs 520 with panko fried chicken 3 mushroom truffle brie Rs 495 and a pandan mango sando Rs 395AT Mokai Chapel Road St Sebastian Colony Ranwar Bandra WestTIMING 7 am to 8 pmLog on to mokaiindia