The Inkigayo sandwich is a three-layered Korean snack made of cabbage slaw, egg potato salad, and strawberry jam. If you asked avid K-pop fans, they would know about it.
Not only has it combined two sandwiches, but the inclusion of strawberry jam makes it very special. Surprisingly, the sweet jam brings out the flavour of the savoury salads, complementing each other perfectly.
Originating from the canteen of SBS, Korea's national television broadcast centre, the K-pop sandwich has held its name for being one of the most unique sandwiches. This K-pop treat has piqued the interest of K-pop fans and foodies alike.
Using our recipe, here's how to make the perfect Inkigayo sandwich, which many Korean idols are obsessed with.
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Ingredients
The key ingredients used to make the Inkigayo sandwich are:
- Potatoes
- Eggs
- Cabbage
- Imitation crab or kani sticks
- Cucumber
- Japanese mayonnaise
- White bread
- Salt and pepper
White Bread
The original version uses white loaf bread. Therefore, our recipe will be using white bread.
The softness of the bread also helps when you let the prepared snack rest for 10 minutes to really help absorb the moisture of the ingredients. Therefore, making the Inkigayo sandwich feel more intact and firm.
However, you can also use brown bread or seeded bread. We recommend going for something that doesn't add any other taste to avoid disrupting the taste and texture.
Mayonnaise
Japanese kewpie mayonnaise uses only egg yolks, while regular mayonnaise uses the whole egg. So, kewpie mayo tends to be creamier and richer. It can be commonly found in an Asian supermarket. Kewpie mayo comes in various brands and flavours to suit your taste buds. We recommend using the Kewpie brand, which is used in many Japanese roll and crab salad recipes.
However, if you can't get hold of Japanese mayonnaise, regular mayo would do just fine. For our recipe we're using regular mayonnaise.
Inkigayo Sandwich I K-POP Idol Sandwich
Ingredients
- 8 slices white bread
- strawberry jam
For the potato and egg salad filling
- 1 large potato peeled, boiled, and cubed (about 250g)
- 1 egg hard boiled
- 1-2 tablespoon mayonnaise
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
For the cabbage slaw filling
- 1 cup cabbage thinly sliced
- ¼ cup imitation crab sticks kani, shredded
- ¼ cup cucumber thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoon mayonnaise
Equipment
Cooking Instructions
- For the potato and egg salad filling, start by peeling your hard-boiled egg in a medium-sized bowl. Add it to a bowl along with the boiled potatoes.
- Mash the potato and egg together with a fork or a potato masher. Halfway through, add the mayonnaise until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- For the cabbage slaw, toss the sliced cabbage, cucumber, and shredded imitation crab in a large bowl. Add the mayonnaise and mix well until the salad is evenly coated.
- Now that all your fillings are done, it's time to assemble your Inkigayo sandwich. Lay out three slices of bread on a flat surface, generously spreading your fillings and jam on each.
- Starting with the cabbage slaw as the bottom layer, stack the strawberry jam pieces first before adding the one with the potato salad. Once all your layers have been stacked, close the sandwich with the remaining piece of bread and carefully cut off the crust.
- Wrap the Inkigayo sandwich in saran or cling wrap. Let it rest for approximately 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
- Peel, cut into cubes, and boil your potatoes in a pot of boiling water along with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes or until they are soft enough to pierce a fork through.
- In another pot, boil your egg for approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Once completely boiled, remove the egg and immediately submerge it into a bowl of ice-cold water for easier peeling.
- An optional ingredient is to put chives into your potato salad. If you do, it is best to combine it while you are seasoning the salad.
- If you cannot get hold of Japanese mayonnaise, using regular mayo would be just fine.
- Pressing on the Inkigayo sandwich before letting it rest helps incorporate the contents together, creating a more fulfilling bite.
Nutrition
Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimate.
Cooking Tips
It is easier to construct the Inkigayo sandwich than you think. You can make your K-pop sandwich at home in less than 30 minutes with only a few ingredients. Here are some essential cooking tips for you to make this Korean sandwich at home.
Thinly slice
By thinly slicing your cabbage slaw, it'll be easier to fit between the bread slices. We also find it tastes better when the slices are similar to the size of the shredded kani sticks.
Don't over-mash
It's important not to over-mash the potatoes and eggs in our Korean sandwich recipe. You want to retain some of the chunks, which will create different textures and a better mouthfeel.
Less is more
While filling each slice of bread with a thick layer of filling is tempting, less is more in our recipe. In fact, our recipe works best with moderate amounts of cabbage slaw, jam, and potato egg salad. Each filling is already quite flavourful, so adding too much filling will start to overwhelm the presence of the white bread.
Cling film wrap
The key to making it as flavourful as possible is to press and leave the snack alone in the cling film for approximately 10 minutes before serving.
You can press the bread with your palm or the back of a heavy plate. This helps incorporate all the fillings together, so you're satisfied after every bite and not in a mess of cabbage and potato salad going everywhere.
We also recommend letting it rest in the refrigerator as it is best served cold.
Substitute for Imitation Crab
Since imitation crab is unsuitable for vegans and vegetarians, mushrooms are a good substitute for an Inkigayo sandwich. The best kind would be enoki as they are already thin and stringy by nature, otherwise, any mushrooms would do - but just thinly slice them. You can either sauté or steam your jackfruit beforehand and toss them into the salad.
Reddit has a wide range of vegan alternatives for other seafood substitutes to add to your K-pop sandwich. We recommend asking the subreddit r/kpoppers if you have any further questions, too.
Where To Buy Inkigayo Sandwich?
The snack has spread to almost all convenience stores, such as Family Mart. It can be found all over Korea and in other overseas countries, like Singapore.
As the K-wave continues to hit the shores of other Asian and Western countries, the popularity of this K-pop sandwich continues to grow. For places where they are not sold in stores, there has been a surge of people searching for home recipes to make the sweet and savoury treat at home.
If you're still not convinced, try it for yourself by making and saving our inkigayo sandwich recipe!
The Story Behind Its Popularity
The specially made meal was first introduced when the SBS cafeteria owner at Inkigayo thought of making a food item for staff only. This menu was exclusively for their K-pop stars as a way to provide a quick meal in between shows.
What they didn't expect, however, was how much they would enjoy them. Many idols, such as Jennie (BLACKPINK) and Kai (EXO Group), have been caught eating the Inkigayo sandwich in and out of the studio. Other also include popular groups such as:
- BTS
- SEVENTEEN
- TWICE
- BLACKPINK
- G-Dragon
- And many more!
Did you know: Since the original snack was only made at SBS Inkigayo, they were in such high demand in 2019 that there was a 3-month waiting list! Now, we see more and more netizens on forums such as Reddit discussing the wondrous K-pop snack online.
Inkigayo Sandwich and Kpop Dating
The Korean sandwich made its comeback when BIGBANG star Seungri revealed the secret behind why it did so well in the cafeteria. He stated that fellow idols would use the Inkigayo sandwich as an excuse to hand out phone numbers or notes to other fellow K-pop artists as a show of interest.
As any form of romantic relationship is prohibited in the K-pop industry, they sneakily insert a small piece of paper between the saran or cling wrap that covers the treat to make it look less suspicious. So, as the receiver opens its wrapping, they are met with a discreet little note from their admirer.
Though Seungri himself claimed that he has not had his own scandalous story with the inkigayo sandwich before, another couple was caught in the light for using the same technique.
Circling Reddit, EXO group member Kai was caught using the snack to catch the eye of a particular BLACKPINK member, Jennie. Many believe that was why they started dating — wouldn't that be the cutest love story ever?!
So, who wouldn't try to make the Korean snack that brought two of our favourite K-pop stars together?
Let us know if you would try this K-pop dating snack and if you would follow in Kai's footsteps to create your own love story. Share a photo of your homemade sandwich with us by posting it on Instagram and tagging @honestfoodtalks. We would love to see it! ❤️
Still looking to satisfy your craving for Korean treats? Check out our recipes for famous Korean street foods such as fried corn dogs and fried seaweed rolls.
Jenny
Found this on Reddit <3 such a cute meal love it!!!