Korean marinated eggs, or Mayak Gyeran, is an addictive side dish made of soft boiled eggs marinated in a delicious soy-based sauce, spruced up with chilies, green onions, onions, and sesame seeds. The marinade is sweet, savory, and insanely flavorful.
We first came across this dish on Tiktok and it looked so simple yet mouthwatering, we had to re-create! We made our own version, by adding some dark soy sauce with adds even more umami flavors!
What is Mayak Gyeran (마약계란)
It directly translates to "drug eggs", meaning that these are so delicious that they are highly addictive! Essentialy, this banchan (Korean side dish) consist of soft boiled eggs marinated in a soy sauce mixture in which we've added red chilis, honey, garlic, green onions and sesame seed. These are perfect to elevate any bland dish, or to to substitute your ramen eggs with. We love to enjoy these soft and jammy eggs with a steaming bowl of white rice. Add some more sauce on top, and enjoy! You will see why these are known to be so addictive, they are packed with umami flavors.
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Tips to make the best Korean Marinated Eggs
- Use room temperature eggs and boil for exactly 6 minutes. By using room temperature, you diminish the chances for your eggs to crack because of the sudden change of temperature. Boil for exactly 6 minutes for soft boiled eggs with runny yolk, but if you prefer your egg yolk to be more cooked, boil for 8 minutes.
- Prepare an ice bath for your soft boiled eggs. To stop the cooking process, put your eggs in an ice cold bath right after boiling. Let cool down for 5-10 minutes.
- Start peeling only when your eggs are completely cooled down. The ice bath will also help peeling the shell as the egg will contract and making space to peel without creating dents in the eggs.
- Marinate your eggs for at least 6 hours, but best is overnight. The longer your marinate your eggs, the more flavorful it will be! And they will have this great color on them.
- Enjoy with more marinade over your egg. Once you're ready to enjoy, cut your eggs in half and add more marinade on top.
FAQ's
They are best eaten within 24 hours, but can be stored for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container.
I wouldn't recommend making another batch of eggs as the marinade won't be as fresh after 3-4 days, but can definitely be used for a stir-fried sauce.
Ingredients
- Eggs are the star of the show and since we will be soft-boiling them with a runny egg yolk, make sure to get fresh, good quality ones.
- Sea salt will help balance out the flavors in the dish.
- Vinegar adds a little tanginess to the dish.
- Low-sodium soy sauce is the base of our marinade. As soy sauce is very salty, we like to mainly use low-sodium. This one is our favorite.
- Dark soy sauce to add a little extra humph, and will make your eggs darker in color.
- Water is needed to dilute the soy sauce and create our marinade.
- Honey will add sweetness to the dish. You can use any liquid form sweeteners, such as corn, rice or maple syrup.
- Garlic to add flavor, and honestly, garlic is staple in asian cuisine!
- Green onion for some greenery.
- Red chili to add some spice in your dish! We used Thai red chili, but you can also swap for jalapeños or any other chili you like.
- Sesame seeds will add nuttiness to your Korean marinated eggs, and makes your dish look so pretty!
- Onion add some crunch and juice.
- Sesame oil is optional, but excellent to drizzle on top of your egg before serving.
Instructions
Boil your eggs. In a medium sauce pan, boil enough water to cover 4 eggs. Boil the room temperature eggs for 6 minutes for soft boiled eggs.
Cool your eggs. Immediately transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice cold water and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
Prep your marinade. In the mean time, prepare your marinade. Put all low-sodium soy sauce, dark soy sauce, water, vinegar, salt, honey, sesame seeds, garlic, onion, green onions and red chili in an air-tight container.
Marinate your eggs. Once cooled down, gently peel your eggs and put in the marinate. Tightly cover with saran wrap, and cover. Let marinate for at least 6 hours, or overnight, in the fridge.
Assemble and enjoy! Once ready to enjoy, cut in half and put extra marinade on top. Drizzle with sesame oil, optional.
Korean Marinated Eggs
Korean marinated eggs, or Mayak Gyeran, is an addictive side dish made of soft boiled eggs marinated in a delicious soy-based sauce, spruced up with chilies, green onions, onions, and sesame seeds. The marinade is sweet, savory, and insanely flavorful.
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tbsp vinegar
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 stalk green onion chopped
- 1 red chili chopped
- 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1/4 medium onion diced
- drizzle sesame oil optional
Instructions
-
In a medium sauce pan, boil enough water to cover 4 eggs. Boil the room temperature eggs for 6 minutes for soft boiled eggs.
-
Immediately transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice cold water and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
-
In the mean time, prepare your marinade. Put all low-sodium soy sauce, dark soy sauce, water, vinegar, salt, honey, sesame seeds, garlic, onion, green onions and red chili in an air-tight container.
-
Once cooled down, gently peel your eggs and put in the marinate. Tightly cover with saran wrap, and cover. Let marinate for at least 6 hours, or overnight, in the fridge.
-
Once ready to enjoy, cut in half and put extra marinade on top. Drizzle with sesame oil, optional.
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