Soft Cuisine: Easy-to-Eat Dishes | 3. Steamed Sandwiches

There are times when you crave a gentle meal for various reasons, such as when you are feeling under the weather, have a toothache, or are simply feeling tired. It is reassuring to have a few ideas for menus that are soft in texture and satisfying, which you can eat gently and deliciously at any time.

Today, we are making "steamed sandwiches," which are gently warmed by steam. Steaming makes the bread fluffy and keeps the crusts moist and easy to eat.

Since we are warming them while adding moisture with steam, we need to pay attention to the moisture content of the ingredients. It offers a new, warm deliciousness that spreads throughout your mouth, with a different charm from toasted hot sandwiches. Please enjoy this in your daily meals.

Steamed Sandwiches [Serves 1-2]

✓ Deliciousness Tip
Above all, the "steaming" cooking method is the most important point.
Also, for steamed sandwiches that are warmed while being moistened by steam, you need to be more careful about the moisture of the ingredients than with sandwiches eaten cold. To prevent the bread from becoming soggy when steamed, today we have added a little "breadcrumb" to the tuna filling.

Steamed dishes can be easily enjoyed by combining tools you already have, other than dedicated steamers or bamboo steamers. This time, I am steaming using a combination of parchment paper and a small earthenware pot.

1. Make the tuna filling
Lightly drain the liquid from the canned tuna, put it in a bowl, add all the <Tuna Filling> ingredients, and mix well.

The key ingredient here is "breadcrumbs."
Worrying about the moisture of ingredients is always a part of making sandwiches, but the oil and soup in canned tuna are full of the tuna's delicious flavor. If you squeeze it too hard out of concern for the moisture, you will significantly reduce the deliciousness of the ingredients themselves. Therefore, adding a little breadcrumb has the effect of absorbing the moisture from the canned tuna and binding it together.

Also, if you have it, adding mustard as a flavor accent is recommended, as the subtle acidity tightens the taste and the unique aroma adds a stylish touch, enhancing the compatibility with the creamy avocado.

2. Assemble the sandwiches
Spread butter on one side of the two slices of bread.
Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, peel it, and cut it into 1cm thick slices.

Avocado is a recommended ingredient for warm sandwiches because it has a cute color and does not easily release moisture even when heated. It tends to turn black due to oxidation when cut, so lemon juice is often used to prevent discoloration, but it is not a problem if you are eating it immediately or cooking it.

Place the avocado slightly offset on the buttered side, layer the tuna filling and sliced cheese, and top with the other slice of bread.
If you pile the ingredients in the center, the ingredients will be clearly visible in the cross-section, adding a sense of glamour and volume.

3. Steam
Line an earthenware pot (or a regular pot or frying pan) with parchment paper, pressing it in. Cut the sandwich in half and place it inside, add about 50cc of water between the pot and the paper, and turn on medium heat.

Parchment paper (oven sheet) has the property of allowing steam to pass through while being resistant to liquids, and by utilizing this characteristic, you can easily create a steamer mechanism. Of course, if you have dedicated tools like a steamer or bamboo steamer, please use them.

Once the water boils and steam appears, cover and steam for 5-6 minutes. Keep the heat at a level where steam continues to come out quietly from the lid's hole (a medium-low heat is a good guide) and steam. (If using gas, be careful that the paper sticking out does not catch fire, so cut off any excess and keep it inside the lid.)

Since all the ingredients are ready to eat as they are, it is done once everything is well warmed. As it warms up, the sweet scent of the bread will gradually drift around, which is also a guide for how well it is steamed.

Please enjoy it while it is piping hot from the steamer. Be careful as it will be very hot when holding it with your hands.

The bread, steamed to be fluffy, shows a completely different expression from toast; it is white, delicate, and moist and smooth even to the crust.

When you take a bite of the fluffy, warm sandwich, the sweetness of the bread is the first thing that strikes you. By steaming and warming it, the flavor and aroma of the sweetness expand significantly, and the combination with the saltiness of the tuna filling and cheese feels fresh and completely different from a cold tuna sandwich. To use an analogy, it has the atmosphere of a meat bun with filling wrapped in a sweet dough.

The softness of the bread, moist even to the crust, combined with the creamy texture of the avocado and tuna mayo, makes for a gentle deliciousness that you can almost drink. You can use whatever ingredients you have on hand or prefer at the time.

Also, when you want to keep things simple but want something warm, warming up store-bought sandwiches is another idea. Please try the fresh taste created by the extra step of steaming.

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That is all for today.
Thank you for reading until the end.