
Soft-boiled, marinated eggs are a tasty addition to any ramen recipe. Typically, the eggs are kept overnight in a salty-sweet mixture of soy, sweet cooking wine, and some kind of base–and, in some cases, they’re left to marinate for as long as three days! I didn’t have that kind of time, so when I made homemade ramen this past weekend I just let them sit for about half a day (midnight to two in the afternoon) and they turned out great! In theory, you could make this quick recipe in the morning and the delicious, gooey goodness would be ready to go by dinner. These eggs are great when paired with ramen or any other Asian-based soup, but they’re also awesome diced on salads or just as a snack!
There are several different ways to make ramen eggs, some more “authentic” than others. As I mentioned in my ramen post, this past week I ordered a bunch of specialty ingredients in bulk on Amazon, but for this recipe the fancy stuff is largely optional. All that matters at the end of the day is the salty-sweet flavor.
This recipe makes 3 eggs (6 halves), but can be easily adjusted for a larger portion if you intend to keep a supply marinating for several days to eat over the course of the week.
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- water for boiling
- 1 cup ice + 2 cups water
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup mirin OR 2 tsp white sugar + ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 1 tsp dashi stock + 1 cup hot water OR 1 cup water
Directions:
- In a small sauce pot, mix soy sauce, mirin or sugar/vinegar, and dissolved dashi stock or water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved (if you’re not using mirin).
- Remove marinade from the heat and set aside to cool completely, about 10 minutes.
- Fill a medium pot with enough water to cover three eggs. This will depend on the size of your pot–I filled mine ¾ of the way and that was enough.
- Bring water to a rolling boil.
- In a separate bowl, add 1 cup ice + 2 cups water. This is the cold bath that will stop your eggs from overcooking inside the shell and make sure they remain soft-boiled (instead of becoming hard-boiled).
- Gently place eggs in the water, careful not to crack them. (Note: If you do, that’s fine. One of mine had a hairline crack and the end result was a little deformed but still very delicious!)
- Boil the eggs for exactly 6 minutes.
- Remove eggs from boiling water and place in ice bath to cool for about 5 minutes.
- When your eggs have cooled, gently peel the shell off the egg, making sure not to tear the egg itself. Place “naked” eggs in a ziploc bag.
- Pour the completely cooled marinade over the eggs in the ziploc bag. (Note: It’s important that your marinade is no longer warm to the touch, otherwise it will cook the eggs as if they were still in hot water.)
- Seal the bag and store upright in a bowl in the fridge so that the eggs are completely covered. When you’re ready to serve, remove desired number of eggs and let sit at room temperature for 5-7 minutes before slicing.
As mentioned, this recipe keeps for up to three days in the refrigerator in the marinade. Any longer and the eggs will become too salty to be palatable. Outside the marinade, the eggs will only last 24 hours.
Soft-Boiled Ramen Egg
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup ice + 2 cups water
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup mirin
- 1 tsp dashi stock + 1 cup hot water
Instructions
- In a small sauce pot, mix soy sauce, mirin or sugar/vinegar, and dissolved dashi stock or water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved (if you’re not using mirin).
- Remove marinade from the heat and set aside to cool completely, about 10 minutes.
- Fill a medium pot with enough water to cover three eggs. This will depend on the size of your pot–I filled mine ¾ of the way and that was enough.
- Bring water to a rolling boil.
- In a separate bowl, add 1 cup ice + 2 cups water. This is the cold bath that will stop your eggs from overcooking inside the shell and make sure they remain soft-boiled.
- Gently place eggs in the water, careful not to crack them.*
- Boil the eggs for exactly 6 minutes.
- Remove eggs from boiling water and place in ice bath to cool for about 5 minutes.
- When your eggs have cooled, gently peel the shell off the egg, making sure not to tear the egg itself. Place “naked” eggs in a ziploc bag.
- Pour the completely cooled marinade over the eggs in the Ziploc bag.
- Seal the bag and store upright in a bowl in the fridge so that the eggs are completely covered. When you’re ready to serve, remove desired number of eggs and let sit at room temperature for 5-7 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- *If you do, that’s fine. One of mine had a hairline crack and the end result was a little deformed but still very delicious!
- **It’s important that your marinade is no longer warm to the touch, otherwise it will cook the eggs as if they were still in hot water.