The Two Things You Should Have on Hand to Make the Best-Ever Sandwiches, According to the Internet's 'King of Sandwiches' (Exclusive)

Owen Han's Turkey Crunch Sandwich with Frico Crisps

It all started with shrimp toast. In the summer of 2021, Owen Han, who was "just a guy who loved food" at the time, posted a video making shrimp toast inspired by his grandmother's recipe and it gained some traction on social media. So he made some salmon and then baked pasta—and then more sandwiches. And one of those sandwiches, chicken bacon avocado sandwich, was his first video to break a million views.

After that, Han's sandwiches took off—in a big way. How big? Big enough that he felt comfortable turning down a full-time job offer and leaning into food content creation full-time. Fast-forward to today and Han has more than 7 million people following his ASMR-focused food videos, the majority of which are sandwiches—and his first cookbook, Stacked: The Art of the Perfect Sandwich, which will hit shelves on October 15.

Han defines sandwiches as "anything that can be stacked and held in your hand," which means the book includes lots of delicious creations between two slices of bread, but also tacos and bao and wraps and ice cream sandwiches. Much like his social media content, the recipes in the book are inspired by his Italian and Chinese heritage, plus his lifelong love of food, a passion that was fueled by summers in Italy with a nonna who did things like sign her grandson up for fresh pasta making lessons at a local restaurant.

In this Parade exclusive interview, we sat down with Han to talk about his food journey, his new book and what home cooks can do to take their sandwich game to the next level. Based on our conversation, we created a little cheat sheet to help you chop, sauce, stack and slice your way to a much better sandwich.

Related: My Chef-Husband Just Taught Me the Best Way to Make a BLT and My Sandwich Life is Forever Changed

5 Next-Level Sandwich Tips from Owen Han

As Han says, "there's no right or wrong way really to make a sandwich," but there are ways to play around with your sandwiches to take them up a notch. The exact way you do that is up to you, but here are some tips from Han to inspire you to get more creative in your kitchen.

• Step up your condiments. Han is hesitant to make bold pronouncements (and we appreciate that), but when pressed he told us that there are two condiments that he reaches for the most when he's making great sandwiches for himself: Calabrian chiles and pickled onions. "These two ingredients are always in my fridge," he says. By adding either of these to your sandwiches it "just feels like you're eating something so leveled up," he adds. The Calabrian chiles, a nod to his Italian heritage, bring the heat and pickled onions, which keep forever in the fridge, add a hit of acidity that offers a nice contrast to the often rich sandwich ingredients (meat, cheese, creamy mayo-based sauces).

• Buy the best bread. "I would say one of my biggest tips would be sourcing really good bread, says Han. "That's the foundation of the sandwich. I feel like if I get a fresh loaf and add just bologna and Kraft cheese, I would still love it." When he's creating his videos (which each take about two days to plan, film and edit) he sources his bread from local bakeries in L.A., where he's based, but almost every area has some solid local bakery options these days. Han uses a lot of baguettes (check out the bubbly beauty on the cover of his book), but your choice of bread should match your preferences and the sandwich you're making. A PBJ is great on squishy white bread, a breakfast sandwich is ideal on a bagel or a homemade biscuit, which is one of two homemade breads that Han includes in his book—the other is schiacciata, a thin focaccia-like bread from Tuscany.

• Mix up your mayo. If McDonald's has taught us anything, it's that special sauce makes the sandwich. For Han, DIY sauces are key to making sandwiches sing and the base of a great sauce is likely in your fridge right now. "A lot of times my sauces are mayo based, so I have a full section in the book," he says. "I think there are 10 different sauces that can be made with either homemade mayo or store-bought. There's lemon herb, jalapeno aioli and obviously Calabrian chili mayo, which is probably one of my all-time favorites. There's so much mayo on my fridge, it's kind of scary."

And although he can and sometimes does make his own mayo, more often than not he uses store-bought. "Kewpie mayo is my favorite," he says. "I feel like it's more flavorful and has a richness to it." Pro tip: For the full Kewpie experience, buy it at an Asian market, where you'll get the original Kewpie with MSG, which adds an extra boost of umami.

• Create some contrast. To really make your sandwiches special, think about contrast. If you have rich Italian meats, layer on some tangy pepperoncini peppers and maybe a handful of fresh, peppery arugula. If you have soft bread, deli turkey, and creamy cheese and mayo, add a handful of chips for crunch (or make your own cheese crisps, aka frico, as Han likes to do) and some pickled onions for bright hit of acid. In the end, if you have a mix of flavors and textures your sandwich will be more delicious—and more fun to eat. It'll also look better in photos, if you're into that kind of thing.

• Think outside the deli. Deli meats are convenient (and delicious), but they're not the only meaty game in town. One of Han's favorite sandwich meats is steak. In fact, the cover sandwich on his book is a skirt steak sandwich, which was his first video to ever break 10 million. He also loves a Philly cheesesteak and has a version in his book that adds ginger, garlic, some sriracha and soy sauce for a "hint of Beijing beef that works really well with the melted cheese." The next time you make steak for dinner, you might want to consider cooking up a little extra for sandwiches the next day.

Up next: Patti LaBelle’s Secrets for Making the Best-Ever Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich