I think that Japan is very creative with their sandwiches because it was a new concept to them. Bread only came to Japan in 1543, while rice was more popular and their main source of carbs. They may have not known what to do with the bread and started experimenting with putting different food items in it. Japan is also a very creative country in general, and some Japanese people come up with bizarre ideas. There also isn’t a right or wrong way to make sandwiches so they had the freedom to put whatever they liked in it. Japan also has different bread styles than us and so they will take a different approach to sandwiches. Our bread is more dense, thick and savoury. Japan’s bread is more light, soft and sweet. The most popular bread that they have is shokupan which is a soft, white milk bread. This bread became popular after WW2 when the government promoted bread as an alternative for rice because there was a shortage. Canadian sandwiches are very big, dense and is almost always savoury. It almost always contains some sort of meat, vegetables (lettuce, tomato…), sauce and bread. Japanese sandwiches can be the same but are smaller, lighter, simpler and sometimes sweet.
The most creative meal that I’ve had that I could think of right now is Japanese style spaghetti. It is made with ketchup instead of tomato sauce and has wieners, peppers, onions and mushrooms. Like sandos, this dish is very Japanese-ified and they put their own spin on another culture’s dish. I think that they used ketchup because it is more popular and has a sweeter flavour (which is more of their taste). My mom makes it for me a lot because it’s a quick, easy and delicious meal. She got the recipe from my grandma who was born in Japan. Personally, I don’t think it would taste good in sando form. I wouldn’t like the texture of noodles and bread together because they are very different but like each other. Noodles are wetter and mushier while bread is dry and soft. The taste of the bread is also sweet and wouldn’t go with the tanginess of the ketchup sauce. Although I think that noodles and bread should go together, they still exist. Yakisoba pan is popular in Japan and contains yakisoba noodles in a hot dog bun. However, I think that it works because yakisoba has more of a salty, savoury flavour and a hot dog bun is used which is less sweet and light than shokupan. Still, I don’t think it would be as good as other sandos.
Right now, I would be most excited to try a classic fruit sando. It is made with un-crusted shokupan (Japanese white bread), whipped cream and fruits like strawberries, kiwis, oranges, grapes and more. Even though it is very simple, I want to try it because I always see videos with people eating these sandos, like in the video below. They hype it up and I am very curious to see what is so special about it because it seems very plain. I want to try the ones specifically from the convenience stores like 7-11 because I feel like it tastes the best. Sometimes cheap food tastes better because you got it at a good price. I also want to try katsu sando for something savoury. It’s made with un-crusted shokupan, katsu (breaded and fried pork cutlet), cabbage and tonkatsu sauce. It is another classic sando and is again very simple. This sando is more like Canadian sandwiches with meat, vegetables and sauces, so it will be more familiar to me. I haven’t made any of these sandos yet because I don’t eat and make whipped cream and katsu often. My family also doesn’t buy shokupan or bread that is like it. Sandos can’t really be made without shokupan because that’s what makes it unique. When I went to Japan in grade 2, I didn’t eat any sandos so I’m excited to try them when I go in the future.
If Anpanman gave me his head to eat, I definitely will. First of all, I would probably be injured for him to be giving me part his head because it has healing abilities. I would want his help because he is very friendly, and you can’t say no to his face. Secondly, his bread head contains red bean paste (anko) inside and it is one of my favourite fillings. When I go to Asian style bakeries I always get something with red bean inside. I love the lumpy texture and sweet flavour it has. Finally, I love to eat in general, and I would be curious to what his head tastes like. I also might be hungry if I am fighting off Baikinman with Anpanman. I would also want to try other characters like shokupanman, melonpanna and creampanda. I already love melonpan and I really want to try shokupan and creampan because the characters make them look so tasty.