How to make the perfect Ramen egg

Ajitsuke Tamago are flavorful soft boiled eggs with custard-like egg yolk soaked in soy sauce and mirin and used for topping on ramen bowls or enjoyed as a casual snack, whenever you need it.

Ramen eggs are kind of special; they are soft boiled but the egg yolk part is never fully cooked. The egg yolk can be runny, or it can be custard-like with a firm texture. In Japan, those soy sauce marinated eggs are called Ajitsuke Tamago or Nitamago. Although most commonly eaten as a topping in ramen, these super flavorful eggs can be enjoyed a side dish or a snack, or included as part of bento.

But the best of it: It's easy to make, so you just need those 4 ingredients – eggs, soy sauce, mirin, and water. Of course, every ramen shop has its own secret sauce and seasonings they’ve added to the marinade.

First of all, you boil your eggs to your prefered method. There are many ways to make soft boiled eggs. For most people this might be 6min to 6min 30sec.

When the eggs are done, you could run the cold water over them to cool down, but more professionally you can use an ice bath because it stops the eggs from cooking any further immediately. It’s also an easy way to control the exact time for cooking your eggs and they peel easier. This is what you do now.

Then you can marinade the ramen eggs with the three other ingredients for just a few hours or even overnight which gives of course more flavour. For only some eggs you can use a plastic bag and put them in a bowl or if you have a bigger bunch, you can go with a mason jar. That way you can prepare your ramen the next day while the eggs stay marinated in the fridge waiting for their show-off. Leave the rest in the fridge and use them whenever needed, they are now preserved for a pretty long time.

MYCONBINI Tip: Eat it straight out of the fridge with some Kewpie Sesame Dressing.

Pic by Freepik.