Try These 11 International Egg Salads And Thank Us Later

Egg salad is a wonderfully versatile dish that makes a great lunch, snack, or accompaniment to dinner. With a creamy sauce and satisfying hard-boiled eggs, the dish's distinctive flavor is loved throughout the country. But we in the States are not the only ones who are partial to egg salad. Many countries across the globe have their own versions, too.

From the vibrant yam khai dao of Thailand to the creamy Japanese tamago sando, these international versions of our classic egg salad will be an adventure for your taste buds. Each country puts its own unique spin on the dish, elevating the humble egg salad to delicious new heights.

Join us as we explore the exciting international variations of egg salad, inspiring you to put an unusual twist on your next attempt. Whether you're planning a picnic or simply looking to upgrade your lunch, your egg salad will never be the same again.

If you like your egg salad wrapped up in a pretty sandwich parcel, then you are going to love the tamago sando. This is not just any old egg salad sandwich. The pillowy milk bread and the delicious mayonnaise make it a snack to be savored.

The filling is incredibly easy to make: eggs boiled just enough to be cooked but still have a rich yolk, mashed together with Japanese Kewpie mayo and seasoned with salt and pepper. If you are unfamiliar with Kewpie mayo, it is a super-rich mayonnaise made with egg yolks rather than whole eggs, and it has a delicious, umami flavor that is just perfect for the eggs in this salad.

Beyond the basic ingredients, you can add mustard for a flash of heat or cream to make the dressing even richer. Fresh herbs will also elevate the salad sandwich and give it some bright notes. The bread used for this egg salad is crucial. Japanese shokupan is a buttery soft milk bread that keeps its fluffy texture for longer than regular bread. It has sweet notes to it that balance the savory egg mixture, creating the perfect harmony of flavors. Put all this together and you have the perfect Japanese twist on an egg salad that is delicate, creamy, and oh-so satisfying.

If fried, rather than boiled, is your favorite way to prepare your eggs, then you will be intrigued by the next salad on our list — yam khai dao from Thailand. This egg salad is a vibrant, bright dish and its unique flavors will leave you wanting more.

The key to a yam khai dao is the crispy fried egg that is the hero of the dish. Cooked sunny side up and just set, these eggs have fantastic golden edges from frying them in more oil than you would normally. Older eggs actually create more of the crispy edges, so there is no need to run out and buy fresh eggs if you already have some.

The dressing for yam khai dao is bold and uses simple ingredients, many of which will be in your kitchen cupboards if you are a fan of Thai food. Chiles (use ones that suit your level of heat tolerance), palm sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce are mixed together and pounded into a paste. The sugar balances out the spiciness of the chiles to create a delicious and zingy dressing that will have your taste buds dancing. The veggies for the salad traditionally consist of onions, tomatoes, and celery, but you can always put a twist on it and add in your favorites. Unlike many egg salads, yam khai dao is served as a main course rather than a snack or side dish, and will often be accompanied by jasmine rice.

If you like your egg salads traditional, you'd be hard-pressed to get any more classic than the French oeufs mayonnaise. In this dish, often served as an appetizer, hard-boiled eggs are elevated by a few simple ingredients that turn them into a tasty and satisfying plate.

There are few ingredients in this recipe that aren't eggs, so it's crucial to get them right for both the mayonnaise and the hard-boiled eggs themselves. Hard-boiling doesn't have to mean turning to rubber, so boil the eggs for around 7 minutes, then plunge into cold water to stop them cooking any further. For the mayo component, you must have a shot at making homemade mayonnaise. While having a jar on standby is perfectly understandable, this dish will simply not be the same if you use shop-bought. Dijon mustard gives French mayonnaise a delightful tang, so be sure to add some along with the eggs, lemon juice, vinegar, and oil.

Assembling this dish may seem ridiculously easy, but the tricky part is making such a simple dish look impressive. Cut your perfectly boiled eggs in half and lay them cut side down on the plate, then gently spoon the mayo on top, making sure there is enough to cover each egg-half and then drape gracefully onto the plate. Add some chopped chives as a garnish to bring some vibrant color to an otherwise exclusively pale dish.

Don't be fooled by the Polish name of this egg salad — you won't find any pasta lurking inside it. The word pasta means paste, and refers to the egg mixture made from eggs and cream cheese.

This hearty egg salad is a staple in Poland, often served for breakfast or as a snack, and it is particularly popular around Easter time. While some versions contain the usual mayonnaise, it is often substituted with cream cheese and butter, giving it an even richer and more indulgent texture. The thick nature of the mixture means it can easily be spread on crackers or a slice of bread to make a simple and utterly delicious snack.

Making pasta jajeczna is pretty straightforward. The eggs need to be hard-boiled and then mashed into small, soft pieces. You want the perfect balance between the eggs still having a satisfying texture, but the paste being smooth enough to spread on a gorgeous piece of rye bread. You can add whatever you like to the mashed eggs, but onions and chives are traditional. Mix some softened butter with cream cheese in a separate bowl, then combine all the ingredients and mix well to form a luxurious paste. You can serve it with crusty bread or crackers as a breakfast or mid-morning snack.

If you've had enough of creamy, rich egg salads but still want your protein fix, consider the Indian egg salad known as egg chaat. Usually served as a snack, this flavor-packed dish will take your eggs to delicious places you never knew were possible, and your taste buds will be delighted.

Chaat doesn't refer to one particular food, but rather the concept of savory street food snacks. If you fancy having egg chaat as a more substantial meal, you can serve it as part of an entrée or alongside other street food-style snacks to create a sharing platter. If you're planning to serve it as a snack that you expect people to eat with their hands, be sure to cook the eggs until the yolk is fully set — guests with yolk running down their chin will not be a good look.

To make egg chaat, boil the eggs until they are either nearly set, if you want them runny, or just set — this should take between 6 and 9 minutes. As they cook, you can set up the vibrant dressing full of spicy flavors from the chiles, onion, and tomatoes, while a good handful of cilantro will add a fresh touch. Top with chaat masala seasoning (a tangy mixture of coriander, cumin, mango, pomegranate, and chiles) as well as tamarind chutney and green chutney to create a mouthwatering snack that could not be any further removed from your usual egg salad.

If you've ever been for an afternoon tea in Britain, chances are you will have sampled their egg salad in the form of egg and cress sandwiches. The Brits love a good sandwich — after all, it's named after Englishman John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich — and afternoon tea is a common way for dainty sandwiches to be enjoyed across the pond.

To make the filling for the sandwich, start by boiling eggs until the yolk has set. You don't want to totally dry it out, so 10 minutes should be enough.  Mayonnaise and a touch of mustard can then be added to create the creamy dressing. Bear in mind that English mustard is made of a different type of mustard seeds from American, so it is significantly hotter. If you are not used to it, just add a tiny drop or stick to American for a mellower flavor.

The traditional bread for English tea sandwiches is a soft white loaf. Of course, if you are making these sandwiches for yourself, you can use whatever type of bread you wish — wholegrain will work well with the eggs as long as it is fresh and soft. As well as a traditional English afternoon tea, these egg salad sandwiches are ideal for a picnic or simply a tasty lunch. The creamy filling and pillowy bread will leave a smile on your face. Don't forget to serve them with a piping hot cup of English tea.

For a more substantial egg salad than the rest, you should try the Russian version, known as Olivier salad. Its French name comes from the Belgian chef Lucien Olivier, who first created it in Moscow in the 1860s. Originally a high-end recipe, it is now considered an economical salad and contains ingredients that are easy to prepare and will fill you up.

The Russian egg salad is a great option if you want to get the health benefits of eggs without the flavor being overpowering, since there are many other delicious ingredients in it, too. A classic Olivier salad contains potatoes, carrots, peas, and pickles, and will often have some sort of meat such as ham, though it can be served vegetarian if you prefer.

To make your Olivier salad, hard boil the eggs and cook the carrots, peas, potatoes, and any other veggies you wish to add. Chop everything into similar-sized cubes along with the pickles and cooked meat, then mix with mayonnaise and dill to form a creamy salad. Olivier salad is often served at celebratory events, such as during the New Year, so why not whip up a big bowl of it the next time you are having family 'round, or take it to your next potluck? The combination of healthy vegetables and creamy dressing will keep everyone happy.

Ready for a unique egg-based culinary challenge? Then it's time to have a go at making the Chinese century egg salad, also known as Pidan salad. This traditional Chinese dish is the most striking egg salad on our list to look at, with its black eggs as the star of the show.

To make century eggs, you will need some patience, as they take a long time to make — no, not a full century, but somewhere between a month and three months. The eggs are cured by wrapping them in a mixture of salt, black, tea, ash, and lime (the mineral, not the fruit) and leaving them for a few weeks to allow the chemical composition inside to change completely. The result will be an extremely pungent, black-colored egg that will look stunning in your Pidan salad. If you don't have months to wait to make an egg salad, you can buy century eggs at an Asian supermarket or online supplier. Just be prepared for the smell — though they are perfectly safe to eat, the overpowering scent may surprise you if you're not expecting it. 

Once you have sourced or made the century eggs, creating the rest of this delicious salad is easy. Create a dressing full of classic Chinese flavors such as soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and chiles, then drizzle over the eggs to cut through their distinctive flavor. Your taste buds will be shocked — but in a good way!

Time to jazz up our egg salad with an African twist as we head to Senegal for la salade cote cap verte — also known as Senegalese egg salad. Senegal cuisine is famous for vibrant flavors, and this bright egg salad will not disappoint.

The crossover of African and French cooking traditions and flavors makes Senegalese dishes so compelling. Even the simple egg salad will have your mouth watering. The mix of sharp tarragon vinegar with beautifully sweet honey creates a dressing with wonderful contrasts, which matches the richness of the eggs perfectly.

Like most of the salads on our list, Senegalese egg salad consists of hard-boiled eggs, which are then chopped. While the eggs are boiling, you can make up the dressing, which is at the heart of this dish. The usual dressing consists of oil, tarragon vinegar, garlic powder, honey, and dried herbs, but you can, of course, add your own seasoning to adapt. The type of honey you use is up to you, but honey that is as unprocessed as possible — ideally raw — is rich in antioxidants that provide numerous health benefits. As a rule, the darker the color of the honey, the more beneficial it will be. The dressing ingredients need to be mixed throughout before being drizzled on top of mixed greens and the chopped boiled eggs. Serve it immediately for a delicious dish that will surprise and delight you with its sweet and savory notes.

Let's head to Turkey to get their take on an egg salad, with the punchy version known as nergisleme. Named after the narcissus plant — which we now know as the daffodil — its distinctive colors of yellow, green, and white will evoke springtime memories, with a light flavor to match. You won't find any creamy mayonnaise in this egg salad; instead, the dish pops with flavors of sumac and spicy peppers.

If you haven't used sumac before, it is a fragrant spice that is commonly used in Middle Eastern cuisine. It has a distinctive tangy flavor that is similar to lemon, and it will add a bright dimension to your salad. If you don't have any sumac to hand, you could use lemon zest or lemon thyme for a similar touch.

To create the salad, hard boil the eggs, then dice them and mix with spring onions and fresh herbs. Then, sprinkle some chili flakes and sumac or lemon zest over top. Drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil to finish it off. This salad may be simple, but it is bursting with flavor and will give you a fresh new take on the usual creamy egg salad.

If you're looking to make an egg salad that is comfortingly familiar but with a bit of a twist on your usual salad, add in some Hungarian influence and try a tojáskrém. The usual mayonnaise makes way for butter and sour cream, but since tojáskrém translates literally as "egg cream," you needn't worry that the signature richness will be lost.

The butter and sour cream may sound like an overly heavy combination, but the overall dish manages to be light but still satisfying. The hard-boiled eggs are separated into whites and yolks, with the yolks being mashed up and mixed in with the dairy. Once a dressing has been made by adding vinegar and seasonings, the chopped egg whites can then be mixed in with everything else. Anchovies or capers will give a delicious salty twist and balance the richness of the dressing.

Fresh herbs can also be added to lift the dish and add a fresh note. This Hungarian egg salad works equally well as a side dish along with a more substantial entrée, or as a spread on some crusty bread.