The Big Easy Mac.
Prices just seem to keep rising in Japan, with no end in sight. To make matters worse, our Tokyo-based writers have fallen victim to McDonald’s “urban pricing” system, where a Big Mac that would normally cost 480 yen (US$3.28) in many parts of Japan now runs customers 540 yen.
This is bad news for budget-conscious McDonald’s fans working in the heart of Tokyo, like our own Seiji Nakazawa. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and in his case, that means planning and preparing his own meals. So, Seiji crafted a surprisingly impressive recipe for a Big Mac substitute using simple supermarket ingredients sold all over the nation’s capital.
▼ Context is really important to understand we aren’t working with Julia Child here. First, here’s one of the few pictures we have of Seiji in a kitchen.
▼ And just to drive the point home. Here’s Seiji’s apartment at one point in his life.
Seiji drew a lot of inspiration from the Big Mac Taco trend on TikTok, because it showed him that making the key component of Special Sauce really wasn’t nearly as hard as he imagined. However, he wasn’t interested in making tacos. The main reason is that tortillas are both a little hard to come by and slightly pricey in Japan.
Instead, he wanted to make sure his recipe was cheap and accessible for people living in areas afflicted with urban pricing. His source of ingredients was the My Basket chain of supermarkets, which are easily found in Tokyo. They’re also a part of the Aeon group of stores, so you’re likely to find similar items in Aeon or MaxValu supermarkets too.
▼ My Basket
Here’s what he bought to make his take on the Big Mac:
● Top Valu Soft Bread (8 Slices) – 98 yen
● Top Valu Onion and Lettuce Mixed Salad – 108 yen
● Tokai Pickles (Kyu-chan Cucumber) – 149 yen
● Ground Beef and Pork (381 grams) – 567 yen
Total cost: 995 yen
The biggest challenge for Seiji was finding pickles, so he substituted Japanese-style tsukemono pickled cucumbers instead. Rather than buying new sauces specifically for this recipe, he opted to use common ones that most people probably already have at home: mayo, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce.
First, our hungry writer opened the Onion and Lettuce Mixed Salad, and unmixed it by separating the onion and lettuce into their own bowls.
After that, he took the onion and cut it into smaller pieces.
He then got the pickled cucumber and diced it up too.
After putting his cut-up foods into a bowl, he added a tablespoon of mayo, a tablespoon of ketchup, and just a teaspoon of Worcestershire.
And with just a little mixing, his super special Big Mac sauce was good to go!
Now, it was time to turn his attention back to the sandwich as a whole. To start, he punched a slice of bread vigorously. It’s probably not necessary, but a nice way to work out some inner demons.
Then, he filled the dent with ground meat.
The slice of bread was next placed meat-down in a frying pan.
After one minute, he flipped the slice over.
And it only took about 30 seconds for the other side to become nicely toasted.
The last step was piling on the sauce and lettuce.
Seiji used no oil in his frying pan since the juices from the meat kept everything slick and added some nice flavor to the bread. Of course, grilling times may vary depending on the camping stove you use to make this recipe.
He kept the spirit of a Big Mac Taco alive by wrapping his sliced bread around the fillings rather than making a sandwich. In the end, it resembled more of a Big Mac Gyro, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with that either.
After taking his first bite, our reporter was blown away by the taste. It wasn’t just every bit as good as a Big Mac; it was even a little better. The reason for this was that the meat came out so fresh and juicy. It was dripping with beefy goodness and alive with flavor.
He also made one with cheese to simulate a Big Mac even more closely, and it was even better!
It clearly made the grade in terms of taste, but how about cost? With the ingredients Seiji bought, he was able to make five burgers. That would work out to about 200 yen each, less than half of what McDonald’s charges for a Big Mac. Even if you consider that a Big Mac is a double burger and worth two of Seiji’s Little Macs, he was still spending significantly less than he would have for a Big Mac.
And since these were made from easy-to-find items sold at major supermarkets across Japan, there’s also a possibility to make them even cheaper through substitutions. A true joy of cooking has awakened in our reporter, and it even inspired him to clean out his apartment until he can find his kitchen again.
Photos © SoraNews24
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