This Is How People Make Egg Salad Around The World

You know when you forget about a certain food, but when you remember it, you can't wait to try it again? Egg salad is a bit like that. It's so nostalgic that in a world of ever-increasing creative sandwich fillings that it's sometimes forgotten. Recipes for this retro classic vary more than you might imagine, too, from the most basic egg salad to a mayo-free version, as well as a spicy one, and even an egg salad with mashed avocado. 

Most egg salads are made with hard-boiled eggs, but what happens after you've cooled and peeled them is another story. Have you ever thought about adding peanuts to egg salad? What about fish sauce? Find out how people make egg salad around the world, and how different ingredients elevate the flavors. Why not try these recipe ideas for yourself and pair them with other culinary delights from the same places?

In plenty of countries, egg mayonnaise is a soft sandwich filling served on bread that's doughy. In other words, there's absolutely no bite. What stands out in the U.S. version is that some added goodies that create a wonderful crunch. These ingredients not only change up the texture, but also expand the flavor, too. A classic version of egg salad is to add in celery. You might want to chop this fairly finely, otherwise, it'll make the egg salad too bulky and overpower the egg. Add herbs and spices too to amplify the taste, and if you love a tangy bite then you can add some pickles. 

You could also add minced onion to boost that contrasting texture without going over the top. Red onion, again chopped into small pieces, is a nice addition, and if you want to back this up with a little heat then a squirt of yellow mustard adds a tangy flavor. 

Going out for a traditional afternoon tea in the U.K. is a lovely treat. Imagine pots of loose-leaf tea in ornate china teapots and a cake stand with tiers of scones and crustless sandwiches. A must are cucumber sandwiches and egg mayonnaise which is what Brits call egg salad. One important ingredient added to egg mayo is cress. This isn't watercress, however, but mustard cress or salad cress. The delicate leaves add a distinct peppery taste that isn't too overpowering but undoubtedly enhances the taste so that it's not too creamy. 

The former Queen of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II loved visiting Royal Ascot races and enjoyed the British high tea there. This includes egg and cress sandwiches. To make this regal recipe, chop 3 hard-boiled eggs and mix them with a tablespoon of mayonnaise. Add to buttered sliced bread and top with mustard cress. Quite often, the cress is mixed in with the mayonnaise, and using one slice each of white and brown bread for each sandwich is a classic way to make them too. It's easy to grow your own cress on your windowsill, and once it's ready to use all you have to do is snip the stalks with some scissors. 

Egg salad is often served as a sandwich filling, but it can also be enjoyed with some lettuce, cucumber, and other salad ingredients. In Ukraine, egg salad is more akin to a creamy dip. It looks great on a buffet table with some crackers for dipping and the taste is so moreish. And that's because of one extra ingredient that's added to eggs and mayonnaise is cream cheese. To get some idea of ratios, you can mix 6 hard-boiled eggs with 400 grams of cream cheese and 70 grams of mayonnaise. Add 6 cloves of garlic and ½ an onion to the mayo, along with seasoning and a teaspoon of paprika. 

You can also make egg salad with hard cheese, Ukrainian-style. The consistency of the salad means you can mold it into a shape, and it will stay in place as it's not so mayonnaisey. The key to making egg salad this way is to grate the hard-boiled, shelled eggs. Do the same with the cheese, making sure it's finely grated. Minced garlic goes into the mix and a spoonful of mayo. While denser than some egg salads, the grated ingredients give this dish a lighter texture, too. 

While some egg salad sandwiches, especially if they're made with brown bread, can be somewhat hearty, the Japanese version is the total opposite. The soft, almost pillow-like egg salad sandwich eaten in Japan is known as a tamago sando. The taste is creamy in a light and airy way, and this along with the softness of the bread, gives these sandwiches an airy quality. So, what makes them so different?

The essential difference is that the hard-boiled egg yolks are whisked in with the mayonnaise rather than being chopped. Instead, the whites of the eggs are cut up and added as actual pieces. The crusts are always cut off so that the bread feels lighter. Rather than regular mayonnaise, the Japanese Kewpie brand is used, which is sweeter because it's made with the yolks of eggs rather than the whole egg. If you're whipping up a Japanese egg salad sandwich then add some sugar and Dijon mustard to the eggy mayo to elevate the sweet, tangy flavor. In Japan, this popular sandwich is sold in convenience stores, and is a popular snack to grab on the go rather than being presented as part of a teatime ritual.

There are a myriad of recipes that direct how people make egg salad around the world. This is certainly the case in Scandinavia with Sweden, Denmark, and Norway offering their own takes on a globally enjoyed dish. The overall flavor profile is tangy and herby that's often served on a dark slice of rye. It's not uncommon in these parts to serve open sandwiches, as well. To make a Swedish-style version you might add hard-boiled eggs to sour cream with some dill which is a commonly used herb in the region. Lemon juice and zest plus capers create a citrusy, sour punch, too. 

Serve egg salad on rye crackers with chopped gherkins and red onion for a Norwegian take on this classic. Try combining sour cream with mayonnaise, and use a shallot to add crunch that's less overpowering than white or yellow onions. Green onions are another option, and if you're not a fan of dill then replace this with another leafy fresh herb such as tarragon or basil. Serve open on a slice of rye bread or crackers. Whisk the cooked egg yolks into the creamy mixture and chop the whites to add a richer taste to the sauce part. 

Forget the idea of egg salad being a creamy dip or sandwich filling. In Thailand, there are several recipes that are about as far removed from creamy mayonnaise versions as you can get. Yam is a spicy Thai salad made with onions and tomatoes in a spicy sauce made from lemon juice and fish sauce, with chilis and sugar added to the mix. Cabbage, seafood, noodles, and Vietnamese-style sausages are often dunked in boiling water and added as well. One favorite ingredient though is a few salted eggs, and often yam is served just with the salted yolks. The rich and creamy, salty taste is perfect with the hot salad sauce. 

Make fried eggs Thai-style by cracking eggs into a bowl and then gently tipping them into hot oil. The whites should crisp up super-quick while the yolks stay soft. Serve the eggs with a dressing spooned on top made up of fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar, as well as chilis, lemongrass, and shallot. Add some green onions and cilantro as well. A Chinese-inspired Thai egg salad dish involves using black eggs, which are also called thousand-year eggs or century eggs. They are preserved eggs, often duck eggs, and taste a little cheesy with a gelatinous texture. Try them with a spicy chili sauce with some chilis, ginger, peanuts, ginger, and onions.

Herbs, olive oil, and vegetables are common ingredients used in Mediterranean-style recipes. In Spain, a seasoning that's used frequently in recipes is paprika, and egg salad is no exception. To really bring out Spanish flavors, try making egg salad with diced Serrano ham that's been crisped up in a pan. Slices of pimento-stuffed green olives are a wonderful addition, too, along with parsley, Spanish onion, and paprika dusted over the top. Serve as a salad as opposed to a sandwich. 

Another way to serve hard-boiled eggs is with extra virgin olive oil spooned over the top that's been mixed with parsley and garlic. You can also add this herby oil to mayonnaise and make egg salad with this. How fine you chop the herbs is up to you, and if you're making this with mayonnaise then add some lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and smoked paprika as well. Maybe you can serve this egg salad as part of a tapas selection to really embrace the Spanish culinary experience. 

Egg salad is often referred to as egg mayo, as hard-boiled eggs and mayonnaise are two key ingredients. Or are they? Not necessarily if you're Hungarian. Tojáskrém is the name of egg salad from Hungary and it is distinct from how people make egg salad around the world, or at least in plenty of places. You use sour cream instead of mayo for starters. Try mixing 6 hard-boiled eggs that you've already chopped with ½ cup of sour cream, and also a couple of tablespoons of butter so that the mixture is creamy when you spread it on bread. Season and add a couple of sliced green onions into the mix. Sprinkle on some sweet paprika.

A recipe variation is to whisk the cooked yolks into the sour cream and butter along with some distilled white vinegar. This leaves the whites of the eggs to add texture when you chop them. Other ingredients to fold in that enhance the taste and consistency are anchovies, capers, red onion, as well as chives. No matter what recipe you follow, the key element is swapping out the sour cream, and then adding in butter. 

Delicious Jamaican foods include jerk chicken and baked beef patties made with curry powder and Scotch Bonnet peppers. What they have in common is that they pack a spicy punch in just the right way. So, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that egg salad, Jamaican-style is a little hot, too. One version is to mix Sriracha-mayo with mayonnaise along with yellow mustard which has some heat behind it. To boost the fiery taste, add Scotch Bonnet pepper sauce or another hot sauce of your choosing that's even spicier. And why not add a sprinkle of hot pepper powder for good measure? How hot can you go? 

Add some chopped chives and dried dill for an herby edge and some color. Spread cooling cream cheese on toast, top with your spicy egg salad, and drizzle on some tangy pepper sauce to finish. Serve with a glass of water to cool you down. If you're not stocked up on pepper sauces, another option is to use spicy boiled potatoes with curry powder. You can also add sliced and diced onions and green bell pepper. Crackers with cream cheese are the perfect accompaniment to this Caribbean egg salad so that you get a range of heat and creaminess. 

Moroccan cuisine is spiced, rather than spicy, and fruity with plenty of citrus notes. You only have to think of the taste of a slow cooker chicken tagine recipe to imagine the complex flavors that are so mouthwatering. Egg salad is hardly the most complicated dish, however, how people make egg salad around the world is often influenced by the culinary ingredients and preferences of a particular country. To make Moroccan-style egg salad, the key ingredient is lemon. Add the juice of 2 lemons to 3 garlic cloves that you've mashed up with salt. Mix with 4 sliced hard-boiled eggs before folding in minced parsley and 5 tablespoons of olive oil. The lemon, garlic, and olive oil connect a simple egg mayo to the flavors of Morocco so well, giving it a bright, fresh flavor. 

As well as serving Moroccan-inspired egg salad in a sandwich, it also works as a dip with the olive oil and eggs creating a creamy texture. It's amazing how many countries don't use mayonnaise at all. Can you imagine a lemony egg salad served as a dip with pita bread alongside a bowl of lemon hummus? Instead of stirring in the olive oil, try pouring it over the top so that it creates a wonderful sheen. You might want to use a good-quality olive oil for this. In place of fresh garlic, try adding authentic aioli instead, and what about adding some chopped olives as well?

A classic creamy Greek dip is tzatziki which you make with Greek yogurt and cucumbers, as well as dill, lemon juice, and garlic. Another favorite from Greece's recipe books is Greek salad with salty, crumbly feta cheese. Feta, and in some recipes tangy Greek yogurt, too, makes its way into egg salads. Combine hard-boiled eggs with feta and Greek yogurt, as well as other ingredients commonly used in Greek cuisine: olive oil, lemon juice, dill, and oregano. It's a good idea to take out as much liquid from the yogurt as you can so that it's even thicker than it already is. 

Try making an egg salad that takes inspiration from a classic Greek salad. Add quarters of hard-boiled eggs to a medley of chopped tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, and Kalamata olives. Sprinkle on some broken-up feta cheese after pouring on a good glug of Greek olive oil. Imagine digging into this with some hot toasted bread. 

Some of the best French food is also some of the simplest, including classic dishes such as a steaming bowl of moules marinières or even a soft, French-style omelet. The way that some people make egg salad around the world involves a long list of ingredients. Not so with the French. All you need to make Parisian-style egg mayonnaise are eggs, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard, along with white wine vinegar. Mix the creamy dressing and spoon onto halved hard-boiled eggs arranged yolk-side down on a plate. There's no fuss or fanfare with the presentation or adding unexpected ingredients. Make sure the mayonnaise dressing isn't too watered down by the other ingredients. It should still be thick rather than like a sauce. 

It's not uncommon for even this recipe to be simplified, with an egg salad consisting of a halved egg covered with mayonnaise. That's it. Of course, how the egg is hard-boiled, the quality of the ingredients, and the taste of homemade mayo make all the difference. The French are known as culinary leaders who take their food seriously. There's even an Oeuf Mayo World Championship which is overseen by The Egg Mayo Protection Association. Presentation is everything, so to ensure that no yolks are surrounded by a grayish tinge, eggs are boiled for a specific length of time. They are then plunged into iced water to cool down quickly and to prevent any discoloration.

Mint and parsley are popular herbs used in Turkish cuisine, and getting the right balance of flavors is important in highlighting the taste of a dish. Egg salad, Turkish-style isn't the same as how egg salad is made in other culinary quarters of the world. Instead of chopping up eggs and mixing them with mayo, cut them into quarters. You can hard-boil them so that the yolks are pale yellow and cooked through, or leave a little jammy texture to them so that they taste less dry. Either way, present them on a bed of parsley leaves. Add some sliced green onions, and if you're using 3 eggs, you'll want up to 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to spoon over the top, too. Season your egg salad with salt and pepper, plus some paprika and citrusy sumac. 

A variation is to combine onion slices with the parsley and flavor with sumac, salt, and lemon juice. This citrusy, herby mix is the bed to your egg salad. Slice hard-boiled eggs on top and add a little more seasoning if you like. If you prefer your egg salad with diced eggs, then mix these with chopped fresh herbs. Parsley, mint, and dill work well together and are fantastic with green onions, olive oil, and lemon juice. 

Indian food is always an incredible arrangement of flavors, and egg salad is no exception. It's creamy and lightly spiced with salty and sour flavors peeping through. Instead of chopping hard-boiled eggs, dice the whites and break up the yolks. That way you get some texture, but also a creamy yolky mashed consistency. Add grated coconut, slithers of green chili, tamarind paste, and chopped roasted peanuts. Fresh cilantro and finely chopped onion give the final flavor boost. Season, mix, and serve. 

You can also add chaat masala seasoning which is an Indian spice that gives dishes some heat, but also some fruity sourness. It's made from mangos and lends a tanginess to egg salad that superbly lifts the flavor profile. To further elevate the fruitiness, add a spoonful of mango chutney. It's often served as a condiment, but is a fantastic ingredient to add to dishes for an instant sweet and sour taste.