Marinated ramen eggs taste delicious on a bowl of ramen or as a snack. Learn how to make these delicious soft-boiled eggs at home!
If you’re already a big ramen fan, you’re probably familiar with ramen eggs, known in Japan as Ajitsuke Tamago or Ajitama. The lightly browned egg with its slightly runny egg yolk is what makes any bowl of ramen soup perfect! I love to serve them on my Tofu Miso Ramen or my Vegetarian Tan Tan Ramen!
To make them, fresh eggs are boiled until waxy soft, quenched in ice water, and then soaked overnight in a Japanese marinade consisting of soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar. This provides the typical brown color of ramen eggs and a wonderful, salty umami flavor.
Ramen eggs can also be used as a topping for salad, bento box, poke bowl, as a sandwich filling, or as a snack. For example, I like them on crispbread with some chili oil, toasted sesame seeds, and sliced scallion. They are very tasty, low in calories, low in carbohydrates, and high in protein!
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Here you can find valuable tips on how to make this marinated ramen egg recipe at home with only 5 ingredients – they taste as good as in your favorite ramen bar, I promise! 😉
Ingredients
- Eggs: Use fresh organic eggs if possible.
- Soy Sauce: For the saltiness!
- Mirin: A sweet Japanese rice wine (containing alcohol). You can get the best one at the Asia Shop. If you don't have it on hand, the best mirin substitute for ramen eggs is a simple mix of rice vinegar and sugar - it gives you a very similar balance of sweet and tangy flavor.
- Sake: Sake is a Japanese alcoholic spirit made from rice. Can be drunk neat or used in cooking. It's available in larger supermarkets or at the Asia Shop. You don't need the best quality for cooking. High-quality sake can be very expensive. 😉 If you don’t have sake on hand, you can omit it for this recipe.
- Sugar: To taste.
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make
- Cook Ramen Eggs: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully add eggs (room temperature) to the boiling water (with a slotted spoon/ladle) and simmer gently for 6 minutes (set timer). Hint: If you prefer hard-boiled egg yolks, cook the eggs for 8-9 minutes!
- Prepare a bowl with ice water and quench the eggs in it.
- Prepare Marinade Mixture: Add soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Peel cold eggs and place them in a freezer bag/ziplock bag. Pour marinade over them, seal well, and let them marinate in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.
- Cut marinated eggs in half using a sharp knife and use them as a topping for a ramen of your choice!
Make-Ahead & Storage Instructions
It is best to prepare the ramen eggs 12-24 hours before use and leave them in the marinade in the fridge for that time. If you are in a hurry, 2 hours will do it too.
After 24 hours, you should remove the ramen eggs from the marinade (otherwise, they take on too much flavor) and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Either use the marinade the same day as a sauce for a stir-fry dish or throw it away.
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📖 Recipe
Ramen Eggs (Ajitsuke Tamago)
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Plus, enjoy weekly doses of recipe inspiration as a bonus!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Carefully add eggs to the boiling water (with a slotted spoon) and simmer gently for 6 minutes (set timer).
- Prepare a bowl with ice water and quench the eggs in it.
- Add soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Peel cold eggs and place them in a freezer bag/ziplock bag. Pour marinade over them, seal well, and let them marinate in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.
- Cut eggs in half and use as a topping for a ramen of your choice! I love to serve them on my Tofu Miso Ramen or my Vegetarian Tan Tan Ramen!
Notes
- Quick Ramen Eggs: Boil eggs according to the recipe, quench them, and use for ramen. Marinating is essential for the umami taste, but can be omitted for spontaneous ramen enjoyment.
- Mirin can be replaced with 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar and 2 teaspoons of sugar. If you don’t have sake on hand, omit it.
- Hint: To make sure all the eggs are lying in the marinade, use as small a freezer bag as possible. That’s why I don’t recommend marinating the eggs in a jar or container – you’d need too much of the marinade for that.
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