> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://onesandwich.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Sasami Katsu with Shiso and Ume (しそ梅ささみカツサンド)
- URL: https://onesandwich.com/sasami-katsu-with-shiso-and-ume/
- Published: 2026-05-16T06:59:59.000Z
- Updated: 2026-05-26T15:39:17.000Z
- Description: Sasami katsu with shiso (perilla leaf) and umeboshi (pickled plum) paste inside; refreshing, tangy.
- Author: Andrew Lekashman
- Tags: Japan, Japanese Sandos, #auto-imported, The Katsu Sando

**🇯🇵 Japan** · Family: [The Katsu Sando](https://onesandwich.com/tag/katsu-sando/) · Heat: Fried · Bread: shokupan · Proteins: chicken

---

Ingredients

shokupan · chicken tenderloin · panko · shiso · umeboshi · cabbage

Take the lean, delicate *sasami katsu sando* and thread two sharp Japanese flavors through it, and you get this: a chicken-tenderloin cutlet sandwich layered with *shiso*, the green perilla leaf with its bright herbal-minty edge, and *umeboshi* paste, the salted, sour pickled plum pounded smooth. The additions are small in volume and enormous in effect. Where the plain *sasami* sando is a study in quiet, this one is built around a tart, aromatic jolt that runs straight down the middle of every bite.

The craft is the same fried-tenderloin discipline plus a balancing act. The *sasami* still has to be pounded even and fried fast and hot so the lean meat stays juicy under a fine *panko* crust, and the bread is still a soft, crust-trimmed *shokupan*, lightly buttered. The new work is dosing the *ume*. Umeboshi paste is intensely salty and sour, so it goes on as a thin restrained swipe, not a layer; too much and it overwhelms the mild chicken and turns the whole sandwich into pucker. The *shiso* leaves are laid whole or roughly torn against the cutlet so their aroma reads as fragrance rather than just more green. The mayonnaise or *tonkatsu* sauce, if used at all, is pulled back, because the *ume* is already supplying the acid the lean meat needs. A good one tastes clean, herbal, and brightly tart against warm crisp chicken, the plum cutting the fry without erasing it. A clumsy one is either a salt bomb that buries the *sasami* or a timid version where the *shiso* and *ume* barely register and you have paid attention for nothing.

Variations adjust the ratio and the carrier. Some kitchens fold the *ume* into the mayonnaise for a gentler, more diffuse tang; others keep a defined plum stripe for a sharper hit. *Shiso* is sometimes joined by a thin cucumber layer for extra cool crunch, or the cutlet is pressed for a crisper shell against the soft herbs. The plain *sasami katsu sando* without these accents is its own restrained thing and deserves its own article rather than being crowded in here.

---

## More from this family

Other [The Katsu Sando](https://onesandwich.com/tag/katsu-sando/) sandwiches in Japan:

- [Chicken Katsu Sando - Breast (胸肉チキンカツサンド)](https://onesandwich.com/chicken-katsu-sando-breast/)
- [Chicken Katsu Sando - Thigh (もも肉チキンカツサンド)](https://onesandwich.com/chicken-katsu-sando-thigh/)
- [Chicken Katsu Sando (チキンカツサンド)](https://onesandwich.com/chicken-katsu-sando/)
- [Cream Korokke Sando (クリームコロッケサンド)](https://onesandwich.com/cream-korokke-sando/)
- [Depachika Katsu Sando (デパ地下カツサンド)](https://onesandwich.com/depachika-katsu-sando/)
- [Ebi Fry Sando (エビフライサンド)](https://onesandwich.com/ebi-fry-sando/)
- [Ebi Katsu Sando (海老カツサンド)](https://onesandwich.com/ebi-katsu-sando/)
- [Ginza Katsu Sando (銀座カツサンド)](https://onesandwich.com/ginza-katsu-sando/)

[See all The Katsu Sando sandwiches →](https://onesandwich.com/tag/katsu-sando/)