How To Make Japanese Cream Sandwiches At Home

I don’t know about you, but my for-you-page is always flooded with foods I can’t try, which is devastating. One in particular that I can’t get out of my head is the Japanese deep-fried cream sando. I’ve had deep fried pickles and deep fried Oreos (both rather unique experiences), and I’m a huge lover of funnel cake, so a deep fried sandwich sounds right up my alley. But of course, these sandwiches are not easy to get, generally found in Japan or in a few Japanese restaurants around the US. Which I am not close to. Luckily, some TikTok users have had the same plight and have made their own deep-fried cream sandos at home. If you’re as eager to try the sandwich as I am, here’s how to make them for yourself (spoiler alert: it’s not that hard).

What are Japanese cream sandos?

If you haven’t seen these sandwiches before, allow me to ruin your life. The cream sando, a popular Japanese street snack, is a sandwich made with milk bread (called Shokupan) and stuffed with whipped cream — they may also come topped with fruit like strawberries.

These sound delightful on their own, but these sandwiches can also come deep fried, which is what I’m most interested in. I’ve seen a few complaints about how oily the bread is, but others say that the crunchy bread pairs great with the soft, slightly sweet cream filling and potential bright toppings. Honestly, the debate only makes me want to try the snack more.

How can you make cream sandos at home?

Since I can’t take a quick trip to Japan and am nowhere near some of the places in the US that serve these sandwiches, I figured there has to be a way to make these at home. And thanks to the great foodie engineers of the internet, there is. There’s actually more than one way, too.

To start, you’re going to need a loaf of milk bread. I’ve found milk bread at some of my local bakeries or even cafes and Asian marts. If you have a Paris Baguette near you, they generally have milk bread. Cut yourself a thick slice (you need room for stuffing) and then fill a pan with 1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil. Fry up your slice until it’s “golden and crispy.” You’re probably going to want to dab extra oil off the bread with paper towels before cutting the bread diagonally. Then, create a slit in the bread to create a hollow pocket. 

You can fill this pocket with pre-made whipped cream, but making your own is going to taste fresher because unfortunately, putting in effort does result in better foods. Making the whip isn’t too hard — @eatsbyrachel recommends whipping 1 cup of heavy cream, 1 tsp of vanilla, and a ½ cup of sugar together until you get stiff peaks. Meaning if you take your whisk out, the cream makes a firmly shaped peak that doesn’t drip or move. If you want, you can flavor your whipped cream as well. 

To finish, stuff the pocket with your choice of whipped cream, using a spatula to smooth over the top. You could just eat it then, or you can top with sliced strawberries, a dusting of matcha, or anything else your stomach desires. 

How to make cream sandos using the air-fryer

Now, if you’re scared of frying oil in your house (valid), one TikTok user, @linder_surprise, found a way to make them in the air fryer. Instead of deep frying, you can coat your milk bread in oil and air fry them. Then proceed like you would if you had fried them.

Now, excuse me while I run around to my local shops to look for some milk bread — I’ve waited long enough to try these deep fried cream sandos as it is.

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