Admittedly, I'm not a big TikTok guy. I know, I know, I'm missing out. The platform has just never captured me, to be honest since I'm a Twitter (oh, sorry, X) guy through and through. However, the remarkably popular Owen Han —who has become known as the platform's "King of Sandwiches" — is someone whose dishes might convince me to spend more time on the platform.

Angling all of his videos through a sandwich-heavy lens, Han's staccato, ASMR-influenced TikToks have racked up millions and millions of views. Now, he's releasing a cookbook, fittingly titled "Stacked: The Art of the Perfect Sandwich."

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Inspired by his Italian and Chinese heritage as well as cult-classic favorite sandwiches worldwide — and all across the interwebs — Han's channel capitalized on food that is immediately appealing to the TikTok audience in easily digestible (pun intended) videos that, clearly, made a real mark on followers.

Han, who bills himself a "culinary content producer, social media celebrity and self-proclaimed professional eater," is not professionally trained, but his recipes are simple-to-follow while also incorporating unique aspects to help them "pop." One great example is his Turkey Crunch Sandwich with Frico Crisps. Now, I might be a bit biased because frico —lacy, gossamer, uber-crispy cooked flats of parmesan cheese — is one of my favorite things on earth, but Han's inclusion is both simple and ingenious: The frico adds additional cheese flavor while also providing incredible texture.

"Ultimately, Stacked is an ode to my love for sandwiches and a collection of my favorites which differ from others," Han said.

Han spoke with Salon recently, touching on everything from food's importance in his upbringing to honoring his father, plus his goals for the future, his favorite sandwiches and much more.

Lamb-Stuffed Pitas (Arayes) (Photo by Ren Fuller)

The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

There's been such an influx of sandwich cookbooks on the market this year. How would you say that "Stacked" differentiates from the others?

The author is more handsome? Kidding, kidding.

I have a lot of respect for any cookbook author and especially my fellow sandwich lovers. In terms of what makes Stacked special: the devil is in the detail. I’m drawing inspiration from my own heritage, upbringing and experiences in the kitchen to put some fun (and delicious) spins on the classics.

The recipes in "Stacked" may seem familiar at first glance, but when you dive in, you’ll notice there are endless fun tweaks to upgrade the classics making them truly unique. Ultimately, "Stacked" is an ode to my love for sandwiches and a collection of my favorites which differ from others.

How would you say your Chinese and Italian heritage imbues your cooking and recipes?

My Chinese and Italian heritage are the foundation and inspiration for my cooking, use of ingredients and technique. Anyone who grows up with immigrant parents or grandparents are introduced to unique ingredients and cooking techniques that likely differ from that of their next door neighbors in the US.

Some examples from my life include my Chinese grandmother's Shrimp Toast recipe — a unique packed lunch for a 3rd grader living in Florida — or my Italian grandmother's technique for doing meatballs (she will roll them and add them directly to sauce to cook for supreme tenderness).

This might be a tricky one, but would you say you have a singular, absolute favorite sandwich in general? Or specifically from the book?

Tricky indeed, but I came prepared!

For my favorite, I have to go with the Not So Classic Cheese Steak. In short, it’s my heritage in a recipe. When I was initially recipe testing to create a cheese steak, I looked in my pantry and pulled out my staples:........

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