Fruit Sando (フルーツサンド)

Today is the second anniversary of my very first blog post here at Miss Mochi's Adventures. I'm still wrapping my head around that fact. Do me a favor and don't look back too far, some of the pictures definitely need updating! I'm still not very confident in my photography skills, but anyone can see I've made a big improvement.

The very first recipe I posted for this blog was ichigo daifuku mochi, so in celebration I decided to post another recipe involving strawberries. This one garnered a lot of interest when I mentioned it in my katsu sando post, after all, who here in the states has heard of a fruit and cream-filled sandwich?

The Japanese definitely treat bread and sandwiches differently than we do. They don't balk at strange sweet sandwich fillings, because they don't have a long standing history of savory sandwiches like we do. Fruit and cream sandwiches as well as other sweet sandwiches like chestnut cream are on the convenience store shelf right along with ham and cheese. And if you think about it, we certainly have sweet sandwiches that are immensely popular: PB+J anyone? Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are so ubiquitous that they have an acronym in popular use! No one would think twice if you made a peanut butter and banana sandwich, or a peanut butter sandwich with some strawberry slices thrown in.

Strawberries are the most popular fruit sando filling, where the sandwich is sometimes referred to as "Ichigo Sando" (いちごサンド) rather than the more generic title of "Fruit Sando" (フルーツサンド). Other popular fruit choices are kiwi, mango, and banana.

Fruit Sando (フルーツサンド)

2 slices of shokupan (see this post for info)
or substitute regular white sliced bread
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tbs of granulated sugar
1 kiwi, peeled and sliced into 1/4" thick rounds
2 strawberries, hulled and cut into half lengthwise

Beat the cream and sugar until the cream is stiff and holds soft peaks on a whisk, do not over-beat. Cover and place in the fridge while you prepare the fruit. Chill for about 10 minutes.

Cut the crusts off the bread slices, and spread each slice thickly with cream. Top one slice with the sliced fruit, and sandwich with the other slice.

Before slicing the fruit sando, I recommend placing them in the freezer for about 15 minutes, just so that way the cream is stiffer and doesn't ooze all over the place when you try and slice the sando. Slice into triangles or into rectangular halves and serve immediately.

If you don't feel like whipping cream, do not substitute the canned whipping cream, it's too loose to make a good fruit sando. I'd recommend substituting Cool Whip, which has much more body to it. If you want to throw in an American-hapa twist, try peanut butter instead of cream, or even marshmallow fluff!

See Also:
Katsu Sando
Beni Imo Daifuku
Strawberry Bing Tanghulu