Description
Learn how to make perfectly jammy soft-boiled ramen eggs at home with just 3 ingredients (4 if you want to get fancy). Also, known as Ajitsuke Tamago, Nitamago, or Ajitama, these caramel-colored umami-rich eggs are a favorite addition to homemade ramen or eaten as a snack. When cooked well, ramen eggs add creaminess, richness, and downright deliciousness to any bowl of ramen or even chicken noodle soup. Use this recipe to make the best soft-boiled eggs for ramen in just a matter of minutes.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 to 5 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup soy sauce (120g)
- 1/2 cup mirin (120g)
- 1 cup water (236g)
Instructions
- Boil the eggs. To a pot of boiling water, gently add the eggs and allow them to cook for 6 to 6 1/2 minutes for more runny yolks or 7 to 8 minutes for more custardy yolks. Remove them to a bowl of ice water and allow them to cool completely to stop the cooking. Gently peel the eggs and try not to tear them. Place them in a bowl or a sustainable plastic bag. *If you don’t have ice (this is for the European and Asian audience), cook the eggs for exactly 6 minutes, remove them to a bowl and run the eggs under cold tap water until completely cooled.
- Make the soy-mirin marinade. While the eggs are boiling, add the soy sauce, mirin, and water to a measuring cup or bowl and stir to combine.
- Marinate the eggs. Pour the marinade over the eggs to cover them. If using a plastic bag, remove all the air and twist it up and seal it so that the eggs are fully immersed in the marinade. If using a bowl, place cheesecloth or a paper towel over the top of the eggs so that it absorbs the marinade and will properly color and coat any part of the eggs that are not fully immersed. (see photos). Marinate overnight or up to 24 hours for the best flavor, or at least a minimum of 2 hours. Slice the eggs in half and Enjoy!
Notes
- If using cold eggs straight out of the refrigerator, add one minute to the cooking time.
- If you have sake on hand, you may substitute 1/4 cup (60g) of the mirin with it to make it a total of 1/4 cup (60g) mirin + 1/4 cup (60g) sake.
- If you’re making our chashu pork recipe, you can skip making this egg marinade recipe and use the leftover chashu cooking liquid to marinate the ramen eggs. This saves time and ingredients and it’s just as delicious.
- If you don’t have ice in your freezer when you decide to make ramen eggs, boil the eggs for exactly 5 minutes and remove them to a bowl of cold tap water and continue running water over them until they are completely cool.
- Adding 1 tablespoon (15g) of vinegar and 1 teaspoon (4g) of salt to 4 cups (1 liter) of water, makes it a little easier to peel the eggs, but the best trick is to not use super fresh eggs which are difficult to peel no matter what. Obviously, this doesn’t mean you should use expired eggs, but rather eggs that are just a little bit older because they’re always easier to peel.
- Be very gentle when peeling ramen eggs, because they’re very soft which makes them easy to tear. However, if you do get a crack or even a large tear it’s no big deal, pop them into the marinade anyway because they’ll still taste delicious.
- If you want to steam ramen eggs instead of boiling them, set a steamer basket over a wok or other large pot filled with a couple of inches of water. Once the water is boiling, add the eggs to the steamer basket, cover, and cook for 8 minutes. Remove the eggs to an ice bath until completely cool.
- Using dental floss or a wire to cut ramen eggs makes the cleanest cut, but if you’re only concerned with flavor and not whether they look perfect, just use a sharp knife.
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 minutes
- Category: Ramen
- Method: Boiled
- Cuisine: Japanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 egg
