Korean Marinated Eggs (Mayak Eggs)

What are Mayak Eggs?

Korean marinated eggs are soft-boiled and marinated in a spicy soya sauce marinade.

These Asian pickled eggs are also known as mayak eggs which translates to "drug eggs" because of how good they taste.

These soy marinated eggs are suitable to eat at any time of the day.

They are also a great side dish (banchan) for a Korean meal. You can even use these as a substitute for ramen eggs.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• These addictive eggs are gooey and soft inside and are savory, sweet, and spicy in flavor.
• This recipe for Korean boiled eggs is a budget-friendly recipe.
• You can eat these as a tasty snack by themselves or enjoy them as a simple meal with a hot bowl of steamed rice or noodles.
• You can make a big batch to enjoy all week long.
• They are healthy and low in calories.

Ingredients

Please note that below is a guide for some of the ingredients we used in the recipe. The printable recipe further down the page has the complete list of ingredients, including quantities and step-by-step instructions.

You don't need very many ingredients to make this mayak eggs recipe. You may already have most of these in your fridge and pantry.

Eggs - for this side dish, we used large eggs that weigh about 58 grams (2 ounces).

Water - you will need a sufficient amount of water (about 1 liter / 4 cups) for making the marinade.

Soya sauce - Use light soy sauce or all-purpose soya sauce but don't use dark because it is too strong in flavor.

Mirim (Korean rice wine) or Japanese Mirin can be used as they are almost identical in flavor.

Brown sugar - is for sweetness. If you don't have brown sugar, use white granulated sugar with a small amount of molasses or use honey or rice syrup.

Dashima (dried sea kelp/kombu) - this is an edible kelp that adds a unique umami flavor to Korean cooking. If you don't have it leave it out, or use some Japanese dashi powder if you have it. 

Dashi powder does not have the same taste as dashima but is a good substitute for this recipe.

Garlic - use whole peeled garlic cloves.

Ground black pepper - use freshly ground black pepper.

Vegetables - use brown onion, spring onions (green onions), and chili. You can use red or green chill at any heat level for this recipe, and if you don't like chili, don't use it.

Toasted sesame seeds

Equipment

• Measuring cups and spoons
• Slotted spoon
• Kitchen knife and cutting board
• Heat proof storage container large enough to hold eggs in a single layer with at least 8 cups capacity. 

Instructions

Make the marinade

Step 1 - Into a medium-sized saucepan, add the water, soya sauce, mirin, sugar, dashima (if using), garlic cloves, and black pepper, and bring to a boil.

When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Prepare the Vegetables as the marinade simmers

Step 2 - Dice the onions, finely slice the spring onions and deseed and finely slice the chili if using. 

After cutting the vegetables, place them into a heat-proof container that holds at least 8 cups of liquid.

A container this size is large enough to hold the eggs in a single layer and have them completely covered in marinade liquid.

If your container is slightly larger and the marinade liquid does not completely cover the eggs, that is okay. 

However, you must occasionally turn the eggs as the marinade to get them evenly coated.

Pour the hot marinade over the vegetables

Step 3 - After simmering the marinade for 15 minutes, remove it from the heat, pour the hot marinade liquid over the chopped vegetables, and cool to room temperature.

In the meantime make the eggs.

Make soft boil eggs

Step 4 - We use large eggs cold straight from the fridge, and our cooking time is based on this.

If you are using room temperature, larger or smaller eggs decrease or increase the cooking time accordingly.

This is how we like to make soft-boiled eggs, but skip this step if you have your preferred method of making soft-boiled eggs.

• Poke a hole in one end of the egg - Before boiling the eggs, we gently tap the bottom of the egg onto the bench top to crack the shell without breaking it completely (or you can poke a hole in the bottom of the eggshell).
  
  Doing this will release the air inside the eggs as it cooks and prevents them from cracking.

• Bring a pot of water to a boil - Half fill a pot with water or an amount to cover the eggs and bring it to a boil over high heat.

• Add eggs to boiling water -  When the water comes to a boil, use a spoon to gently place the eggs into the boiling water, reduce the heat to medium and cook for six minutes. 

• Gently stir the eggs in the first minute of cooking to center the egg yolks inside.  

Cool the eggs and peel

When the cooking time is up, place the eggs into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process and cool them completely.

Note: Use water with ice cubes or cold tap water to cool the eggs. If you are using cold tap water, replace it once or twice as the water warms up.

Carefully peel the eggs and put them aside.

Marinate the eggs

Step 5 - Once the marinade has come to room temperature, add the peeled soft-boiled eggs to the container, laying them in a single layer.

Step 6 - Generously sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 4-6 hours or 24-48 hours for the best flavor. 

Note: If the marinade has not fully covered the eggs, turn them over occasionally in the sauce while they marinate for an even covering.

Recipe Tips

Why cool the marinade before adding the eggs

You must cool the marinade to room temperature before adding the soft-boiled eggs to the liquid.

If you add the soft-boiled eggs to a hot marinade, the eggs will continue to cook, and the eggs will be hard-boiled eggs instead of soft and jammy.

How to toast sesame seeds

Place the seeds into a dry frying pan, and heat over medium flame until they become golden and fragrant - this will take about 2-3 minutes, and stir them from time to time as they cook.

Transfer the toasted seeds to a plate when toasted because they will continue to cook from the heat in the pan.

Don't have a container large enough

• Smaller containers - divide the eggs and marinade between two smaller containers.
• Use a large zip lock bag - place the cooled marinade and eggs into a large zip lock bag and squeeze out the air. Squeezing the air out of the bag ensures that the eggs are fully submerged in the marinating liquid.

Serving Size

This recipe makes 12 eggs. A serving is one egg with some marinade and marinated vegetables.

Calories Per Serve

Each serving has about 110 calories, and this includes some marinade and marinated vegetables.

Serving Suggestions

You can enjoy these eggs in so many different ways - you can:

• Eat mayak eggs on their own as a delicious and healthy snack.
• Serve them as a tasty side dish to an Asian-style meal.
• Serve them with a bowl of hot steaming rice with some marinade sauce and the veggies for a simple breakfast or lunch.
• Serve soya sauce eggs and some marinade over hot or cold soba noodles or other noodles.

What To Do With Leftover Marinade

This marinade is full of flavor, and you can use it in place of soya sauce to make stir fry, or fried rice or use it as a seasoning for tofu and meats.

Storage

Refrigerator: These soy sauce eggs are best stored in a sealed container in the fridge and will last 5-7 days.

Freezing: Not suitable for freezing.

Meal Prepping

These eggs are great for meal prepping because you can make them up to five days in advance.

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