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 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 slices of ginger
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ( I used dark soy sauce for more depth of flavour and colour)
- 2 tablespoon 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 tablespoon 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 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 slices ginger
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon mirin rice wine 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 tablespoon 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.Â
- 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.Â
- 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.
Iulia
What brand of eggs did you use that gave you such a spectacular yolk?
Support @ Alphafoodie
Hi Lulia,
I use free-range eggs and they tend to have more of an orange yolk.
Drew
This recipe was VERY helpful, especially with boiling the eggs since I really *despise* peeling the little suckers when their shells start sticking. The key is to follow your boiling and cooling instructions, but PEEL THEM IMMEDIATELY! Once the eggs sit for more than an hour or two, the shells get clingy again and that weird opaque skin covering each hard-boiled egg causes problems.
As for flavor, definitely marinate for a few days to achieve spectacular flavor; nothing delicious happens in mere minutes, haha…
Support @ Alphafoodie
Thank you so much for your comment, Drew. Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
audrey
can I reuse the marinade the next day and add eggs I boiled?
Support @ Alphafoodie
Hi Audrey,
It’s better to make the marinate again for each new batch.
Ka
Better not reuse the marinade – I’ve done it once and destroyed a batch of eggs. They just went bad and didn’t really “soak” any juices from marinade. I guess the acidity, salt and/or flavor wasn’t there anymore? I don’t know, but it certainly didn’t work.
Support @ Alphafoodie
Thank you for your feedback. Indeed, it’s best to make a new batch.
Amy
Hi, I’ve tried several egg marinade recipes only to be disappointed by how salty or plain the eggs turned out to be. I didn’t give up until I found your recipe. It’s wonderful! The eggs tasted great whether I marinated them for a few hours or a few days. I was wondering if there was a specific reason why you take out the ginger and garlic after heating them up, because I usually just leave mine in
Support @ Alphafoodie
Hi Amy,
Thank you for your comment. Glad you’ve enjoyed the recipe.
No specific reason to remove the ginger and garlic besides thinking the marinade would become stronger over time. As long as you like the taste, feel free to leave them.
Paul
I just did this recipe today and I’m excited to taste the eggs tomorrow.
I wish that the yolks would be runny but I am concerned that they might be cooked hard because the eggs I used are rather tiny.
I also noticed that I didn’t hit the air pockets when I pierced the eggs but it turned out well. I’m just worried about my yolks. 😀
Support @ Alphafoodie
Thank you for your comment, Paul. I am glad you’ve tried this recipe. Hope the yolk turned out OK for you.
G-G-P
Bet they were tasty but took a bit to long to marinate.
Support @ Alphafoodie
Hi,
The eggs can be used in as little as 3 hours. Within 3 hours you get marinated, slightly colored eggs with a runny gooey yolk. You can of course keep marinating them further for more intense flavor and color. I hope this helps.
Victoria Ruth Barnett
My eggs turned out undercooked in 6 minutes. The whites were too runny and fragile to peel them, so I’d go for six and a half minutes next time
Support @ Alphafoodie
Hi Victoria ,
Were the eggs at room temperature or from the fridge before boiling them? If you get directly from the fridge and put them right away to boil, it would be best to add an additional minute for cooking them.
Sam
Hey, thank you for the recipe! Very helpful. If you were to serve these with a hot meal, like ramen, how would you go about heating them back up without overcooking the yolk?
Support @ Alphafoodie
Hi Sam,
Thank you for your comment. You can either just add the egg to the hot ramen and it will warm up, or you can submerge it in boiling water for 10-15 seconds. I hope this helps.
Emily lynn
Hey! Awesome flavor and love the easiness. I ran into a tad problem with my tiny poked hole at the top. My egg whites spewed out of the eggs for the first 4 minutes as if the hole was gigantic! (Twas micro indeed) Any suggestions on this?)
Support @ Alphafoodie
Hi Emily,
Maybe you could try using a small needle to make a small hole. This is only needed so that you don’t get the flattened end of the egg white. When there’s a hole, the air escapes and you get a smoother rounder end. I sometimes boil the eggs without pricking the shell and they are still great.
I hope this helps.
Brianna
Great recipe! I’ve made 2 batches now. I prefer my eggs cooked at 7-8 minutes. The vinegar in the water made pealing eggs easy for the first time in my life. No missing chunks of egg! The second time I made this, I added 2 tbs saki and reduced the water to 1 cup. Best ramen egg recipe I’ve found to date. Thank you!
Samira
Thank you so much for sharing this, Brianna. I am so happy you enjoyed the recipe.
I will give your version a try 🙂
Kat
Hi! Just wondering, if I marinate the eggs for 3 days, are they still good up to 4 days later? Or should they be eaten sooner?
Samira
Hi Kat,
You can definitely marinate the eggs for 3 days but then they should be eaten faster. Depending on how soft-boiled or hard-boiled they are, you should consume them within a week (from when boiling them). I hope this helps and you make the recipe 🙂
Ed Howard
Hi there, I just tried this recipe and everything was fine until it was time to peel. They were stuck to the egg shells and a lot of the whites broke off. I am still going to use them so there is still hope. But for next time are you suggesting I leave them in the water 30 – 60 seconds longer and that will make them easy to peel?
Support @ Alphafoodie
Hi Ed,
Thanks for your comment. Sorry to hear you had issues with peeling the eggs. I find that adding white vinegar to the boiling water helps for peeling them. And then yes, as you suggest, leaving them a little longer to cool should also help. 🙂
Ebishy
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!
AlphaFoodie
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.
Elizabeth
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!
AlphaFoodie
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.
Jacqueline
Are you starting with room temp or fridge temp eggs?
Samira
Hi Jacqueline,
I usually use room temperature eggs. If you get directly from the fridge and put them right away to boil, it would be best to add an additional minute for cooking them.
I hope this helps and you enjoy the ramen eggs. 🙂
Bernadette
Cooking time can vary too cuz there r diff size eggs jumbo large small ect
Support @ Alphafoodie
You are right, Bernadette. Thank you.
I would also suggest using eggs with similar sizes when possible 🙂