This Sardine Sandwich is so delicious! For a quick and easy meal, layer canned sardines in olive oil, cilantro, and cucumber in a baguette. The Kewpie Mayonnaise and Maggi Seasoning is what makes this sandwich extra special ^_^
Canned sardines are amazing.
Specifically, canned sardines in olive oil.
There are so many things you can do with them! You can make Sardine Salad (so good spread on crackers), sardine pasta, or Sardine Pupu (wonderful with a big bowl of rice).
Sardine Sandwich is one of the easiest and most delicious things you can do with canned sardines.
All you need is a baguette, canned sardines in olive oil, cucumbers, and cilantro. To season, we use Kewpie Mayonnaise and Maggi seasoning.
If this flavor combination sounds familiar, it's because it's inspired by Vietnamese banh mi. We ate lots of banh mi growing up in Hawaii and one of my favorite types of banh mi is sardine banh mi. Vietnamese sardine banh mi calls for canned sardines in tomato sauce and many different ingredients, but spirit of the sandwich is captured via sardines, cilantro, and Maggi seasoning.
It's a straightforward recipe, one made with mainly pantry ingredients. We hope you enjoy ^_^
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Sardine Sandwich Ingredients
Here's what you'll need:
- Sardines in olive oil
- Baguette
- Mayonnaise - ideally Kewpie Mayonnaise.
- Maggi seasoning
- Cucumber
- Cilantro
See recipe card below for quantities.
Sardine Sandwich Instructions
Let's make a sandwich!
Prepare bread.
Slice the baguette in half lengthwise (don't slice all the way through, keep one of the sides intact). Toast for 2-3 minutes.
Season with mayo and Maggi.
Drizzle mayonnaise on the bottom inside of the bread. Drizzle Maggi seasoning on the top inside of the bread.
Add sardines.
Remove the sardines from the tin (no need to keep the oil, you can just discard the oil). Layer the sardines on top of the mayonnaise.
You can use a fork to slightly "smash" the sardines into the bread so that they don't slip out later.
And for those who are wondering, don't remove the sardines bones! The bones are soft enough to each and have calcium...which is good for you bones ^_^
Add greens.
Then add the cilantro on top of the sardines. Just scatter it on top, use as much or as little as you like.
Then placed the sliced cucumbers on top of the cilantro.
Close and eat!
Close the sandwich, and press lightly to "seal" everything in. Eat hot and enjoy ^_^
Substitutions and Variations
Where to begin! There are many options. Here are a few:
- Different types of canned sardines in olive oil - there are so many different kinds of canned sardines! We mostly keep plain canned sardines in olive oil in the pantry because of how versatile it is. But we also love branching out into sardines in olive oil flavored with lemon or seasoned with chili, basil, or even curry. And don't forget canned sardines in tomato sauce - a classic.
- Avocado - add a layer of thinly sliced avocado to the sandwich, so good!
- Maldon - sprinkle some Maldon sea salt on the sandwich right before you close it up. It gives the sandwich a little extra oomph ^_^
- Different bread - I love this recipe most with baguette, but you can use any other type of crusty bread (just don't use something super soft like milk bread or white sandwich bread). You need something hearty to support the sardines.
- Pickle it - We use plain sliced cucumber in the recipe, but if you have the time this sandwich is even better with Simple Japanese Pickled Cucumbers.
This is a flexible recipe. Think of it as more of an outline of ingredients as opposed to a recipe that you need to follow precisely. And most importantly, just enjoy the sandwich!
Storage
Leftovers don't keep. Eat this right away ^_^
Top Tip
Make sure to use canned sardines in olive oil and NOT canned sardines in water. Use good quality sardines, the best you can reasonably get. The higher quality, the better, because this recipe is all about the sardines. You can really taste the difference in quality when it comes to canned sardines.
FAQ
This recipe is best with Maggi Seasoning. But if you don't have Maggi, then use soy sauce.
With that said, it is definitely worth going out of your way to get a bottle of Maggi. We use it in a lot of recipes and just for general seasoning and nothing quite comes close to the exact taste of Maggi. It's just so tasty.
As with the Maggi, this recipe is best with Kewpie Mayonnaise. If you don't have Kewpie, then just use regular mayo.
You've come to the right place! Try our Sardine Salad and Sardine Pupu. We're also working on a sardine pasta recipe, coming soon ^_^
Sardine Sandwich Recipe
Sardine Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 tins sardines in olive oil
- 2 pieces baguette, about 4-5 inches
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise ideally Kewpie mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Maggi seasoning
- 1 small cucumber, sliced
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Slice the baguette in half lengthwise (don't slice all the way through, keep one of the sides intact). Toast for 2-3 minutes.
- Drizzle mayonnaise on the bottom inside of the bread. Drizzle Maggi seasoning on the top inside of the bread.
- Remove the sardines from the tin (no need to keep the oil). Layer the sardines on top of the mayonnaise. You can use a fork to slightly "smash" the sardines into the bread so that it doesn't slip out later.
- Then add the cilantro on top of the sardines. And then the cucumbers on top of the cilantro.
- Close the sandwich, and press lightly to "seal" everything in. Eat hot and enjoy! ^_^
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LOL! Your sardine sandwich is the high-class type. In my day, our sardine sandwich was just mashed Holmes sardines with mayo on plain bread! I used to love this sandwich, although my late wife and current wife hated them, Lol. So nowadays, I don't make sardine sandwiches anymore. I also used to like chilled, canned salmon with thinly sliced round onions. But again, with only me eating this kind of food, this dish is no longer in my rotation.
Hi Alan! Hahah I have to try it mashed with mayo, I bet that tastes pretty good! I haven't tried the salmon with onions but will def try that combo next time! I also love onion and mayo sandwiches 🙂
- Kathy