How to Make Perfect Soy Sauce Eggs at Home

Soy sauce eggs, known for their unique flavor and beautiful presentation, are a delightful addition to any meal. These eggs are soft-boiled, peeled, and marinated in a seasoned and sweetened soy sauce. The outer layer of the eggs gets dyed a coffee-brown and infused with salty, slightly sweet, garlicky, and gingery flavors. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to make perfect soy sauce eggs at home.

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 6 tablespoons mirin
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/4-inch piece unpeeled ginger, smashed
• 6 large eggs, cold straight from the fridge
• Ice, for chilling the eggs

Method

Make the Marinade

1. Combine Ingredients: In a small saucepan, add the water, soy sauce, sugar, mirin, garlic, and ginger.
2. Heat and Simmer: Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer, swirling the pot occasionally for 3 to 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the marinade reduces slightly.
3. Cool the Marinade: Transfer the marinade into a heatproof container with a tight-fitting lid, wide enough to hold 6 eggs in a single layer. Set aside to cool.

Cook the Eggs

1. Prepare Steamer: Fit a medium saucepan with a steamer basket and fill it with enough water to reach the bottom of the steamer basket. Cover the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Steam the Eggs: Use a slotted spoon to carefully add the eggs into the steamer basket in a single layer. Cover the saucepan and steam the eggs over medium-high heat for 6 to 7 minutes. For a custardy, almost runny yolk, go for 6 minutes. Seven minutes will give you a slightly firmer but still jammy yolk.
3. Alternative Boiling Method: If you don’t have a steamer basket, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the eggs and cook for 7 minutes, ensuring they are fully submerged.

Chill the Eggs

1. Prepare Ice Bath: While the eggs are cooking, make an ice bath. Fill a medium bowl with ice and cold water, and set it next to the stove.
2. Cool the Eggs: When the eggs are done cooking, use a spoon to immediately transfer them into the ice bath to fully cool.

Peel the Eggs

1. Crack and Peel: One egg at a time, use the back of a spoon to tap it all over to crack the shell. Peel the egg starting at the wide bottom end, where the air pocket divot is, making it easier to peel. Rinse off any stuck-on eggshells in the ice bath. Pat the peeled eggs dry with a paper towel.

Marinate the Eggs

1. Soak in Marinade: Add the peeled eggs to the cooled marinade, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours. The eggs will become saltier the longer they sit in the marinade, so don’t let them marinate longer than 24 hours.
2. Store Leftovers: Remove any leftover eggs from the marinade and store them in a container with a tight-fitting lid. The marinade can be kept and drizzled over rice for added flavor. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.

The Many Varieties of Soy Sauce Eggs

Soy sauce eggs are a common delicacy in several Asian cuisines, each with its unique twist. Here are some popular variations:

Japanese Soy Sauce Eggs (Shoyu Tamago or Ajitsuke Tamago)

These are often called ramen eggs. They are soft-boiled until the yolks are thick, runny, and custard-like, then marinated in soy sauce or a combination of soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and/or sake.

Chinese Soy Sauce Eggs (Lu Dan)

These are hard-boiled and simmered in soy sauce, sugar, and either ground 5-spice seasoning or whole aromatics like cinnamon sticks, star anise, orange peels, cloves, Sichuan peppercorns, bay leaves, and chilis.

Korean Soy Sauce Eggs (Gyeran Jangjorim)

These eggs are braised with dried anchovies, garlic, onions, scallions, chilis, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.

Tea Eggs

Tea leaves are added to the marinade, and the eggshells are cracked but left unpeeled when marinating, creating a beautiful, marbled surface when peeled.

Cooking Tips and Variations

Steam the Eggs

Steaming eggs instead of boiling them helps cook them more consistently and quickly. It also reduces the chances of the eggs cracking during cooking and makes them easier to peel.

Marinate for 4 to 24 Hours

The eggs can be eaten after marinating for 4 hours, but the best flavor is achieved around the 8-hour mark. Longer marinating times will result in bolder flavors and a different texture.

Make it Your Way

• Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free soy sauce.
• Soy Sauce Variations: Use dark soy sauce for a sweeter, thicker, and darker color.
• Sugar Alternatives: Use brown sugar or rock sugar instead of granulated sugar.
• Alcohol Variations: Swap half of the water in the marinade with sake or use alcohol-free mirin.
• Aromatics: Use scallions in addition to or instead of garlic and ginger.
• Customizing Flavors: Omit garlic and ginger if desired.

How to Serve Soy Sauce Eggs

Soy sauce eggs can be enjoyed in various ways:

1. As a Snack: Serve them chilled as a quick snack.
2. With Rice or Noodles: Serve on a bowl of furikake-topped rice or nestle them in a bowl of noodle soup.
3. On Avocado Toast: Slice and top avocado toast.
4. Deviled Eggs: Make into deviled eggs by boiling them slightly longer.

Let us know how you like to eat soy sauce eggs in the comments below!

Conclusion

Soy sauce eggs are a versatile and delicious addition to any meal. Whether enjoyed as a snack, atop a bowl of ramen, or served with rice, these eggs are sure to delight with their unique flavor and beautiful presentation. Try making them at home and experiment with different variations to find your perfect recipe.