Delicious Soy marinated eggs, perfect for a warming bowl of Ramen soup and as a snack. A delicious blend of soy sauce, mirin, garlic and ginger for wonderfully sweet and salty, divinely marinated eggs!
Recently I’ve been on a bit of an Asian cooking kick, and these simple soy marinated ramen eggs have become an absolute favourite of mine. They work amazingly for big bowls of ramen, other noodle and rice dishes, as well as served with some of the marinade sauce and some sesame seeds/ a drizzle of sesame oil- Yummy.
The mixture of soy sauce, mirin, garlic, ginger and sugar ( or natural sweetener of your choice) yields amazing flavour for all your tastes; sweet, salty, earthy, with a wonderful umami quality too. And, although I recommend a 3 hour minimum marination time, these eggs can be marinated overnight ( or even three nights!) and will get more and more deliciously tasty.
I’ve cooked these eggs to a delicious ‘soft boiled egg’ gooey yolk consistency because that is the way I love to enjoy them, and that is what I personally prefer in my bowls of ramen too. However, you can customise the cook time depending on the type of boiled eggs you prefer.
These soy sauce eggs are also a new favourite simple egg recipe of mine for the fact that they can be eaten straight out of the fridge. Once prepped in the liquid, keep them in the refrigerator for up to four days (After three days they’ve truly hit their flavour sweet spot. mine don’t usually make it that long though before I’ve gobbled them all up).
How to Make the Soy Marinated Eggs:
What’s needed:
- 6 eggs
- 1 tBsp white vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 slices of ginger
- 1 tBsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ( I used dark soy sauce for more depth of flavour and colour)
- 2 tBsp mirin sauce (optional)
- 1.5 cups water
The How-To:
- Carefully prick the large end of the eggs with a needle or an egg piercer. This will allow the air to escape the shell to give you a smooth, rounded end to your egg.
- Bring plenty of water to boil and add 1 tBsp white vinegar. This will help make the eggs easier to peel, which is crucial to a perfect ‘aesthetical’ marinated egg. The marinade will cling to any imperfections in the egg otherwise, making them obvious.
- Carefully dip the eggs in the boiling water and boil for exactly 6 minutes. Timing is critical to keep a slightly runny yolk.
Note* I know there are a lot of different methods for boiling eggs. From bringing room-temp water to boil, shutting off the heat when boiling etc. I prefer this method of using boiling water throughout the cooking process as I find it the easiest way to get perfect results whenever timing the eggs.
- As soon as 6 minutes are over, place the eggs in ice water ( an ice bath) for 4-5 minutes. Alternatively, you can run cold water over them for a minute or two ( until the eggs are completely cooled down). This is crucial to stop the cooking process and keep the egg yolk creamy.
To Prepare The Marinade:
- First, slice 3 pieces of ginger and chop or smash the garlic.
Note* You can experiment with different spices for your marinated eggs. Just make sure that you heat the marinade so that the spices and various flavours properly infuse into the liquid. - Heat up the soy sauce and mirin sauce together with the sugar, garlic and ginger. Keep on the heat for a couple minutes until the sugar dissolves and the mixture caramelises a bit.
- Turn off the heat and add 1.5 cups of water. Remove the ginger and garlic.
Note* if you find the eggs too salty when marinating for longer than 3 hours, you may want to add extra mirin sauce for sweetness or dilute it a little with extra water in the future. - Carefully peel the eggs. To have a perfect egg white surface, gently tap the egg against a hard surface to break the shell in multiple spots and they’ll be easier to peel.
- Transfer the eggs to a glass container and cover them with the soy sauce mixture. Marinate for a minimum of 3 hours ( This can be done at room temperature, although any longer then I’d transfer them to the fridge).
- In as little as 3 hours, you get marinated, slightly coloured eggs with a runny gooey yolk. You can then either remove the eggs and store them in the fridge for up to 4 days. Alternatively, leave the eggs in the marinade in the fridge.
These are now ready to dd to your favourite dishes or eat as a snack. I love to enjoy them with a warming bowl of ramen.
Further Notes:
I’ve suggested a 3-hour marinade minimum for the egg to really start picking up all the delicious flavours. However, it’s best left overnight and really reaches it’s flavour peak after 3 days of marinating. At this point, it reaches all the way to the yolk with amazing results.
You can also re-use the leftover marinade too for another couple of weeks too for a new batch of eggs ( you may be able to use it for longer too however, I’ve never tried more than 3 weeks).
The Soy-Marinated Ramen Eggs Recipe:
Soy-Marinated Ramen Eggs
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 1 tBsp white vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 slices of ginger
- 1 tBsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tBsp mirin sauce optional
- 1.5 cups water
Instructions
- Carefully prick the large end of the eggs with a needle or an egg piercer. This will allow the air to escape the shell to give you a smooth, rounded end to your egg.
- Bring plenty of water to boil and add 1 tBsp white vinegar. This will help make the eggs easier to peel, which is crucial to a perfect 'aesthetical' marinated egg. The marinade will cling to any imperfections in the egg otherwise, making them obvious.
- Carefully dip the eggs in the boiling water and boil for exactly 6 minutes. Timing is critical to keep a slightly runny yolk.*
As soon as 6 minutes are over, place the eggs in ice water ( an ice bath) for 4-5 minutes. Alternatively, you can run cold water over them for a minute or two ( until the eggs are completely cooled down). This is crucial to stop the cooking process and keep the egg yolk creamy. To Prepare The Marinade:
- First, slice 3 pieces of ginger and chop or smash the garlic. **
- Heat up the soy sauce and mirin sauce together with the sugar, garlic and ginger. Keep on the heat for a couple minutes until the sugar dissolves and the mixture caramelises a bit.
- Turn off the heat and add 1.5 cups of water. Remove the ginger and garlic. ***
- Carefully peel the eggs. To have a perfect egg white surface, gently tap the egg against a hard surface to break the shell in multiple spots and they'll be easier to peel.
- Transfer the eggs to a glass container and cover them with the soy sauce mixture. Marinate for a minimum of 3 hours ( This can be done at room temperature, although any longer then I'd transfer them to the fridge).
- In as little as 3 hours, you get marinated, slightly coloured eggs with a runny gooey yolk. You can then either remove the eggs and store them in the fridge for up to 4 days. Alternatively, leave the eggs in the marinade in the fridge.
These are now ready to add to your favourite dishes or eat as a snack. I love to enjoy them with a warming bowl of ramen.
Video
Notes
I was a little iffy about using this recipe, but the picture of your eggs told me otherwise. The marinade was awesome, the mirin really helped bring it up another level too.
I followed the soy and water amount, everything else I added to taste. The eggs were to runny when I made them the first time ( made them 3 times already), so I just used my own way for hard boiled eggs, 11 minutes from cold to boiling water. Vinegar did not help with peeling eggs, which was the hardest and most frustrating part of this recipe!
I also suggest boiling the marinade before using it to marinate eggs again.
I also took the leftover marinade to boil a stew of potatoes, carrots, chicken and onions. It was so good!
Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for the notes! Sorry to hear that the vinegar trick didn’t work for you- but I’m glad they worked out in the end.
Ooh – I may have to try that tip of adding to a stew, it sounds delicious.
6 min was certainly not enough time to get the eggs cooked through. I like a runny yolk but the whites were still clear and impossible to peel!
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that. I did lots of testing to get the perfect timings, however, I understand that it can vary depending on how high the heat is on the pan. Make sure to only place the eggs in the pan once the water is already boiled and increase the heat if needed. You may need an additional 30 seconds – 1 minute. However, eggs can very quickly go from sof-boiled to hard so I’d test with an additional 30 seconds to begin. Hopefully, you get better results next time.