Soy Sauce Eggs
味付け玉子 (Ajitsuke Tamago)
Soy sauce eggs are soft-boiled or hard-boiled eggs which are marinated in a sweetened soy sauce. They are commonly served with ramen and other noodle soups, as a side to other dishes, with congee, or just on their own as a snack. Unfortunately, often soy sauce eggs are made by placing hard-boiled eggs into a hot braising liquid, resulting in overcooked whites and chalky yolks. The key to a great soy sauce egg is to separate the cooking and marinating steps—cooking the eggs to precisely the desired doneness and then doing the marinade cold.
Ingredients
6 eggs
1 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
Start by bringing a pot of water to a boil for the eggs. For this recipe, we’ll use Kenji Lopez-Alt’s method for perfect boiled eggs. [1] When the water is boiling, and place the eggs gently into the water.
Boil the eggs for 30 seconds, then cover the pot and reduce the heat to low, maintaining a gentle simmer. Prepare a bowl of cold ice water to heat shock the eggs. Time this cook carefully—7 minutes for soft-boiled eggs, 8-9 minutes for custardy yolks ideal for ramen, or 10-11 minutes for hard-boiled eggs. Remove the eggs from the pot at the desired time and immediately cold shock them by placing them into the ice water. Let the eggs cool in the water for 15 minutes, then peel them.
In either a plastic zipper bag or a container large enough to hold the eggs, mix the soy sauce and sugar. Place the peeled eggs into the container, and then add water until the marinade covers the eggs. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for at least 3 hours before serving. The longer the eggs soak in the marinade, the more soy sauce and sugar they will absorb, so time this soak to your taste. I personally go for about 8 hours, and would not recommend marinating for longer than 12 hours. After that, remove the eggs from the marinade. They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Substitutions
Some other ingredients you can add to this marinade include mirin, rice vinegar, or a bit of chili. You can use the same method for duck eggs and quail eggs.
If you are serving the eggs alone as an appetizer, some good garnishes include sesame seeds, minced scallions, and flaky sea salt.
[1] For more on the science behind this method, read this article.
Recipe
Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 10 min Total Time: 3 hr 20 min
(+3 hrs inactive)
Difficulty: 2/5
Heat Sources: 1 burner
Equipment: pot, plastic zipper bag or container
Servings: 6 eggs
Ingredients
6 eggs
1 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
Instructions
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, and lower the eggs into the water. Boil for 30 seconds, then cover and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for 7 minutes for soft-boiled eggs, 8-9 minutes for a custardy yolk, or 10 minutes for hard-boiled eggs.
2. Remove the eggs from the pot and immediately place them in cold water. Let the eggs cool for 15 minutes, then peel them.
3. In a plastic zipper bag or container, mix the soy sauce and sugar to form the marinade. Place the peeled eggs into the marinade, and add water until the marinade covers the eggs.
4. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 and up to 12 hours, until eggs reach the desired flavor. Serve the eggs, or remove from the marinade and store in the refrigerator.
