Ramen Eggs (Ajitsuke Tamago) are delicious as topping on ramen or enjoyed as a snack. Read on to learn how to make this flavorful soft boiled eggs recipe at home.
There seems to be a ramen craze sweeping the US lately. No, I am not referring to the instant ramen packages you find in the grocery store aisles. I am referring to the fresh ramen noodles served in a delicious hot broth the chef has been preparing for days, topped with sliced chashu (stewed pork), veggies, and a ramen egg.
Watch How to Make Ramen Egg
Flavorful soft boiled eggs with custard-like egg yolk soaked in soy sauce and mirin, used for topping on ramen or enjoyed as a snack.
Across the US, cities from New York, Nashville, to San Francisco, there seems to be always a line outside the popular Japanese chains as Ippudo (博多一風堂) and Santouka (山頭火), as well as local stores. At the recent ramen festival in San Francisco, if you wanted a bowl of ramen it was a 3+ hour wait. I’ll be sharing a series of posts for different ingredients to make miso ramen at home, starting with these ramen eggs.
Ramen eggs are a bit unique; they are soft boiled but the egg yolk part is never fully cooked. The egg yolk can be super runny, or it can be custard-like with a firm texture. In Japan, we call these soy sauce marinated eggs Ajitsuke Tamago (味付け玉子) or Nitamago (煮玉子). Although most commonly eaten as a topping in ramen, these flavorful eggs can be enjoyed a side dish or a snack, or included as part of bento.
The best part is that these eggs are easy to make and you need just 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, but today I’m going to show you the simplest yet delicious recipe.
Ramen Egg Tips & Tricks
There are many ways to make soft boiled eggs. If you already have a method that works for you, feel free to do so instead. Some recipes start off with eggs that are at room temperature instead of refrigerated eggs, but room temperature could be different depending on where you are so I like to boil cold eggs right out of the refrigerator. I use large American eggs for this recipe and knowing egg sizes do vary a bit around the world, you might need to adjust the cooking time slightly.
When the eggs are done, you could run the cold water to cool, but I like to 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.
You could marinade the ramen eggs for just a few hours or overnight which I prefer. That way I can focus on making ramen the next day while the eggs stay marinated in the fridge waiting for their appearance.
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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Gather all the ingredients. With this recipe, you can use up to 4-6 eggs.
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In a resealable plastic bag, combine soy sauce, mirin, and water (start with 3 Tbsp water and taste before adding more water). Set aside.
- Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. There should be enough water to cover the eggs (should be 1 inch above eggs).
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When boiling, take out the eggs from the refrigerator and carefully and slowly submerge the eggs into the boiling water with a mesh strainer/skimmer or ladle to prevent the eggs from cracking.
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Immediately reduce heat to maintain a simmer (gentle boil) and cook the eggs for exactly 7 minutes (See Notes). Make sure the water is simmering, but not so hot that the eggs bounce around. If you want your egg yolk to be in the center, gently rotate the eggs with chopsticks once in a while for the first 3 minutes so the egg yolk will be in the center.
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After 7 minutes, immediately take out the eggs and soak in the ice bath to stop them from cooking further. Let them cool for 3 minutes.
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The soft boiled eggs are not completely hardened so gently peel the eggs.
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Put the eggs in the sauce bag and close tightly. The eggs should be submerged in the marinade. Let them marinate overnight to up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
- Take out the eggs and cut in halves to serve. Enjoy the eggs by themselves or use them as a ramen topping.
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Keep the eggs in the refrigerator all the time. Enjoy the eggs within 4 days if your eggs are soft-boiled. If your eggs are hard-boiled, you can keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. For food safety, I recommend discarding the marinade and making a new batch if you want to make more.
Cooking Time for Eggs:
- Runny egg yolk - 6 to 6 1/2 minutes
- Custard-like egg yolk but not runny - 8 to 9 minutes
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Hi, may i know what can we do with the mirin and soy sauce marinade after we have used it to season the eggs?
Can we freeze the marinade for re-use? The eggs looked beautiful! Anna
Hi Anna! I try my best to use small portions for the marinade and I always use a bag instead of a container. Still, there will be some marinade leftover. You can definitely use it 1-2 more times within a few days, but you need to add more soy sauce and mirin as water came from egg dilutes the marinade. If you’re worried, you can cook the marinade in a pot before you use for the second time. Also, you can use the marinade for most of Japanese dishes as seasonings because Japanese food almost always require soy sauce and mirin. 🙂 I won’t freeze the marinade though. I rather want to make fresh marinade. Hope this helps! Thank you for your kind words! 🙂
Sorry, my previous response had typo, and I just edited. Sorry about that, Anna!
Thank you very much for the reply. I will try this out definitely.
Also, i would like to share with you a site than i most enjoyed reading and improving my cooking skill. i hope you will also enjoy the food from my country. Anna
http://www.ellenaguan.com/2012/07/homemade-fan-choy-aka-steamed-rice.html
Thank you Anna! Ellena (the blog owner) is my close blogger friend and have tried some of her recipes from her blog too! 🙂
Those are gorgeous soft cooked eggs, Nami.
Those are gorgeous soft cooked eggs, Nami. Even if not used in ramen, I bet the marinade gives them a delicious flavour.
Hi !
Just a little message to thank you for that recipe. My SO is eating tons of eggs as a bonus proteins for muscular training and was getting tired of it. And guess what, he loves those and it’s gonna be a while before he get tired of it ! An easy, quick way to have a twist on eggs loaded of flavours. Now it’s time to stop being afraid to do ramen, I’m sure your recipes will give me confidence ! Thanks again and keep on that awesome website. Morgane.
I guess I missclick on my phone, I meant to post a message to the author of the website, not reply…Sorry 😮
Hi Morgnane! Thank you for your kind feedback. I’m so glad to hear he enjoyed the recipe! And don’t be afraid of my ramen recipe as it’s really easy and simple. But you do need the right ingredients as the ingredient list is short and each ingredient plays an important role. 🙂
I always wondered about the eggs that top ramen! They look delicious as is–I think my family wouldn’t wait for the ramen!
Hi Donna! Haha that is highly possible! 😀
How could this method of boiling eggs work for you without the refrigerated eggs cracking as soon as you put them in boiling water?
Hi Allan! That never happened to me… You are not dropping the eggs to the boiling water right? Do you slowly submerge the eggs with a ladle and release them?
I carefully dropped them this time. No crackling! Maybe o was just too eager the first time. 😃
Hi Allan! AHAHAHHAAHA! Thank you for your feedback and for confirming that it works! xoxo 😀
Oh Nami, I don’t think I have the patience to wait three hours for a bowl of ramen! I’m sure there are those though who say it was well worth the wait. Your eggs are perfectly cooked and I use the same method as you including throwing them into a container of ice xx
That’s why you make these the night before!
Hi Tiffany! I think Charlie (Hotly Spiced) meant she has no patience to wait in line for a bowl of ramen at SF Ramen Festival. I mentioned in the post that it was a 3 hour wait just to get a bowl… When you click that link on “3 + hours” you see the picture that I attached. Can you believe the street packed with that much people? I am kind of glad I didn’t go… hehee.
Oh, haha, I thought she meant for marinating the eggs. I definitely don’t have the patience to wait in line that long!
No worries! Have a nice weekend!
I love ramen eggs! I also marinade hard boiled eggs overnight that I later use for deviled eggs or egg salad sandwiches. It puts a little bit of a twist on those old familiars. 🙂
Hi Furaibo! Ohhh deviled eggs and egg salad sandwich. Genius! 😀
Perfectly cooked eggs!
Cheers,
Rosa
Hi, love your blog. Just a quick question I can’t use alcohol, is there anything that can substitute the mirin or should I just omit it? Thanks!
And I accidentally replied to someone else. That’s what I get for using my phone ????
Hi Nem! The only substitution besides alcohol is water. It doesn’t have same cooking effect but you will need the same amount of liquid to go in, so that the seasonings are “diluted”. 🙂
You could use seasoned rice vinegar, it has a different flavor but still tastes really good.
Hi Griffin! Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
I’ve been wanting to learn how to make these Ramen Eggs for a long time. Great to finally find the recipe from your site. Will try making it soon. They look so luscious! Thanks for sharing, Nami!
Sounds so interesting! I don’t think I have ever tried such eggs 🙂
Hi Nami, when we go for ramen, we have to order at least 2 eggs per person, super love it! Hehe. I really need to learn how to make it at home, thx for sharing this.
I cannot wait to try this, Nami, and I certainly will! I saw a recipe for these eggs once and something (can’t remember what exactly) about it had me confused. This is very clear and I like how you mention we can cook the eggs according to our own method. So true – there seems to be dozens of ways to get soft boiled eggs. I also start with cold ones. Thanks for sharing this!!
Hi Nami – so I “made” ramen for dinner tonight. It was more like I assembled mostly store-bought ingredients but I did make these ramen eggs. They turned out very nicely and I was surprised (and happy) by how much flavor the eggs absorbed from the marinade! Very tasty! If only I could figure out how to peel the eggs neatly! Mine did not look as gorgeous as yours but that’s to be expected. : ) Thank you for the recipe and inspiration! xo
Hi Monica! So happy to hear you enjoyed these ramen eggs! Thank you so much for trying this recipe!
There are few tricks to peel the eggs nicely, and for me it’s always the ice water bath and using the eggs that are not super fresh. It sounds silly, but the super fresh eggs are the hardest eggs to peel… it’s probably not your skill. It’s the eggs! 🙂
From Nashville to SF ? haha…love it! I’ve tried these yummy soy sauce eggs but only with soy sauce, gotta try your recipe now. Yours look amazing, by the way. Awesome video!!!
I love those half cooked eggs on ramen. They taste wonderful just by themselves, but taste even more delicious with Ramen soup! Will definitely cook a big batch next time 🙂
Nami, this is my daughter’s favourite ramen egg, we call it lava egg here. Will be following on your series of post to learn to make miso ramen at home. Thanks for sharing.
食べたい！！！味付け卵ラーメンはちょう美味しいですね。因に、ニューヨークのIvan Ramen聞たことがありますか。彼はラーメン専門で長い間に本で暮らしました。彼の本は読みやすいです。。。なみさんのポストみたいに読みやすいです。＝）
Now thats how you make them, now I know. I just made ramen several days ago and just used a normal boiled egg 🙂
What beautiful softly cooked eggs, the colour of the yolk is stunning 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Nami-san, thanks for such a simple and easy recipe to follow. I always wondered how ramen eggs were made. Beautiful photos as always. Ramen eggs and Chinese 1000 year old eggs really do not even belong in the same category but have you ever tried to make the Chinese 1000 year old egg…? sorry it has been a while since my last visit just found out that all of your new post e-mails were going into my spam box. I have a lot of catching up to do. Ja mata, BAM
I’m going to need to practice this technique for the custard-like egg yolk! What a beautiful post and so interesting, Nami. I’m looking forward to the rest of your series too on the different ingredients to make ramen…
Like the idea of marinating boiled eggs. I have never thought of that, it is brilliant.
This is totally fascinating to me. I grew up eating soft-boiled eggs but never in this manner. My mom cooked them for us frequently for breakfast and we had these cute little cups that they would sit in and you’d crack off the top of the egg and dig in with a small spoon. I never see anyone eat eggs this way anymore and I’m not sure why. She cooked them perfectly every time. She must have done it so frequently that she knew the timing to the second. I bet they are delicious after spending some time in the marinade. Great tutorial!
this is too cool! You are awesome. Its like a cooking/science experiment. I love it!
You have to include Lima in that ramen fever. Since some months ago, everybody likes it!!!
I’m going to make these today. I can’t wait – those eggs are lovely.
You make it look so easy!
These eggs are cooked perfectly…yum!
Beautifully cooked! And I know how hard it is to get the centers *just right*.
Nami! These sound so delicious! Can’t wait to try this for myself.
Nami, these ramen eggs look so pretty – I have never attempted to make any and you make them look and sound so easy. Your instructions for all your recipes are always so clear and precise, making it easy to follow them – even for someone like me who does not get to do as much Asian cooking as I would like – you always encourage me to try new things and techniques though.
Perfect, i like it runny and gooey!!!
i used to add dark soy sauce too to enhance the color….
Oh I will be making these eggs this week! We both love soft-boiled eggs and your overnight marinade sounds fabulous! What a great breakfast to wake up to. Speaking of ramon noodles, I watched an episode of The Mind of a Chef the other day. It was David Chang talking about “real” ramen noodles and how they are eaten in Japan and how ramen NOT the little packages of hard ramen that we find in the U.S. It was a very inspiring show.
Oh Nami, I love this recipe and can’t wait to try it! Soft boiled eggs are my husband’s favorite and I can never seem to get them right and now I am thrilled I follow your method 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing this!!
The ramen craze in Montreal has been around for a good 3 years, love it. And love the eggs, glad I know how to make them now. The ice bath is brilliant.
I’ve been obsessed with making ramen soft boiled eggs lately – they are so good!
Your ramen eggs look so perfectly cooked and the marinade must have made them irresistible. There is only one ramen bar in our city (quite recent) but I refuse to go there: the soups are really expensive and I think it somehow spoils the whole idea of ramen as good quality, but comforting and reasonably priced meal. I wish they had more competition…
I never got the Ramen craze. I would so rather have your version any day, so much better than package processed food. I love eggs, so I am pretty excited to try your Ramen eggs! Yum, Hugs, Terra
Hi Terra! Ramen craze is not about those instant ramen but more about the fresh handmade noodles with delicious soup that’s been cooked for days! Finally “real”ramen starts to appear in the US!
hi Nami,
This is my first time making the ramen egg and it was easier than I thought! I have one question for you regarding the time. I was able to cook the custard-like yolk with 8 minutes for 2 eggs, but how many minutes if I want to make like 3 or 4 eggs?
thanks!
adriana
Hi Adriana! So glad you tried this recipe and came out well (and it’s easy right? 🙂 ). Actually the amount of water you cook with matters too. When you drop the cold eggs the boiling water will cool down. But depending on how much water you put in a pot, the overall temperature may not decrease as much. So it depends, but if you increase only a few eggs cooking time should not change much. Test out using the same pot and same amount of water each time to get perfect eggs for your liking! 🙂
We were in Tokyo in May and noticed the egg yolks there have a much darker color, they’re almost orange. And they’re delicious. Do you know the explanations for that difference and were you able to find similar eggs in the US?
Thanks
Hi Limondelli! The freer the chicken (free range), the more orange the eggs tend to be. Eggs in Japan actually taste so good! When I first came to the US, I thought the eggs are tasteless (now I’m used to the taste). I try my best to buy good eggs but they are not as orange compared to eggs in Japan. And eggs in the US last much longer time… I should look into it why. 😀
http://www.gardenbetty.com/2013/03/how-to-get-those-delightful-dark-orange-yolks-from-your-backyard-chickens/
I love these eggs. Infact I made them for breakfast this morning with toast and coffee. Made four, couldn’t let my husband starve. Thanks Nami for such great recipes, you are an amazing lady. 🙂
Hi Jacquie! What a great breakfast with toast and coffee! I’m so happy you enjoyed this dish. Thank you for your feedback!
Those are the whitest looking egg shells I have ever seen. In Australia they are usually brownish and speckled.
Can I keep the eggs in the marinade for a couple of days?
Hi Tenzo! If you are going to use this sauce in the recipe, I think it gets very salty. Unlike soft boiled egg which you can kind of eat small bits of the egg at a time, you will be eating bigger bite of onsen tamago because it’s soft….and I believe it’s way too salty if you marinade it… Hope this make sense?! I’d pour it right before you eat it. 🙂
NO. Nobody ever do this. don’t have it in there over 12 hours. You can store the eggs longer after that in a sealed container or bag, but TAKE THEM OUT OF THE LIQUID!
I wonder, what do American ‘large’ eggs weigh? If we could find that out (in grams preferably, but oz is fine too) we could find the equivalent size eggs here in Australia.
BTW I have only just discovered your site and am most impressed!
Hi Jenifer! I hope these articles are helpful. 🙂
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_egg_sizes
http://www.thekitchn.com/medium-large-jumbo-how-egg-sizes-actually-measure-up-ingredient-intelligence-200891
Oh and thank you so much for your kind words about my blog! I hope you enjoy reading my blog! 🙂
Many thanks for the very prompt reply, Nami. The first site was very helpful; apparently American ‘large’ eggs are between 57 and 64 grams, so I now know what weight ones to use for this recipe.
Thanks again
Jen
I’m sorry. No one in NY is waiting 3 hours for ramen, even from the trendiest, most popular ramen, Momofuku and Rai Rai Ken. Just a bit of hyperbole on your part. Nice eggs, though.
Hi Sunday! Well, here in SF too, no one will wait for 3 hours! But 45 to 60 mins is still possible. The “3+ hour wait” I mentioned in the post was about the Ramen Festival in SF. I don’t think all the people who went expected to wait that long, but the event was probably poorly managed. If you click that link I provided on “3+ hour wait”, you can see a picture of that event. The street is filled with people! It was all over the news next day. 😉 Thanks for the kind compliment on the eggs. 😀
Hi Nami,
When boiling the eggs, should they be covered with a lid?
Hi Emily! No lid for this recipe. 🙂
Okay, thank you!
Just a thought for the marinade, I used the sauce that I cook the chashu in, to marinade the eggs in after I am done and it tastes even better with the ramen soup. So don’t throw away the chashu mixture.
Oh yes!!! I love the sweet and savory (and thick) sauce from chashu. I love marinating anything in there, haha but eggs definitely. 🙂
hi Nami, do I need to cover it while simmering the eggs? thank you.
I cook without cover. 🙂
Hello, and thank you for sharing the recipe.
I’ve been having trouble to find Mirin where I live, so I’ve been thinking of replacing it with white wine. I know it’s not the perfect replacement, and will certainly not get the same flavor. But I wanted to ask what type of Mirin do you recommend and what’s it’s alcoholic graduation. I will try to find a softly sweet white wine with low alcohol content (between 14% and below).
Thank you in advance for your reply, and keep sharing your recipes since they are wonderful 😀
Cheers
—
Liber Dovat
Hi Liber! If you cannot find mirin, you can simply use 1 Tbsp. dry sherry (or Chinese rice wine) + 1 tsp. sugar for 1 Tbsp. of Mirin.
I use Hon Mirin and I wrote a little bit about the difference between Hon Mirin and Mirin-like condiment in this page:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/mirin/
Thank you so much for your kind words about my recipes!! 🙂
Thank you so much for your reply!
I will try to do as you recommended, and will read the link also 🙂
Thank you again!
—
Liber Dovat
Hi Nami,
If I cook more than 2 eggs, maybe 4-6 small eggs, is it still 7 mins for simmering time?
thank you.
Hi Star! If you add more eggs, then the temperature of the hot water in the pot will decrease more, therefore the recipe does not work. I haven’t tested with different numbers of the eggs. But most likely, more than 7 minutes, but make sure the water in the pot is not too cooled down by cold eggs. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! Until now, I was putting hard-boiled eggs as topping on my ramen. I knew something was wrong!
Nothing is wrong with hard boiled eggs but seasoned soft boiled eggs are used for ramen, especially at ramen restaurants. 🙂
Ha! I love these… I just had some at Santouka in the local Mitsuwa and thought to myself: I bet it’s mirin and soy sauce.
Then I thought: Ah ha! I don’t remember seeing *these* on J.O.C.! Maybe I can recommend adding them.
Should have known it’d be here^^;
Thank you!
Hee hee, yes I have! I have some ramen recipes and these eggs are necessity! 😉 Santouka is great, we’re so lucky to live near Japanese grocery stores. 😀 Thanks so much for your comment!
Hi, Nami
after put in refrigerator
how to make egg back to warm, after i put it in refrigerator?
should i boil it back ?
or waited until warm?
i try ur recipe, and that baby still in refrigerator
can’t wait to try it out
tnx
Hi Gie! As long as you heat up the egg in water that is less than 158 F (70C), egg yolk will stay the same and won’t be affected. That’s the temp that egg yolk start to cook. 🙂 We usually eat at room temp. 🙂
okay nami, tnx 😀
i will try right away.
tnx for reply.
omg i need to make this now! if i see an egg that’s overcooked and not creamy in my ramen, i won’t eat it. ever. lol. but, this would taste good with about anything! mmm and onsen tamago… i need to go to SF soon ❤
Hi Hazel! Yeah, I put it on my noodles (any type of noodles) and donburi (rice bowl) dish. 🙂 Hope you enjoy this dish!
Just made these and placed the eggs to marinade so haven’t had the final product yet, but wow! Just snacked on one (made several) and the inside was just the perfect custardy consistency described at 7 minutes. Not always the case for recipes found via pinterest. Can’t wait to have the end result!
Hi Maria! I hope the final product was good! Thanks for trying this recipe! I’m happy to hear you came from Pinterest. Welcome! 🙂
Thanks for the recipe, these eggs look and sound perfect and I can’t wait to make them. However, I’m cooking at high altitude (7,000 feet). How much longer should I boil the eggs in this case? Thanks!
Hi Sean! I wish I could tell, but I’ve never cooked in high altitude so I don’t know…. Sorry! You might need to test and see. You just need to test once (then next time you’ll know). Write number on each egg and test the egg every minute around 7 mins to see what’s your liking based on high altitude cooking.
If anyone who reads this comment and knows the answer, please share your tip! 🙂
Thanks for your response! I will get to testing them out and see what I get.
Good luck! 😀
Today was Ramen Soup day in our household, so I found the recipe for your eggs and gave them a try. My girls loved them so much that they asked me to JUST fix them a bowl of these eggs! I usually put one whole sliced egg per bowl, but now I will probably have to double or triple that request to appease my crew. I guess I should just rename it Ramen Egg Soup day. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Annie! I’m so happy to hear you and your children love this recipe! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! 🙂
The total time for this recipe is as long as it takes for the eggs to sit in the marinade… so more than 12 minutes – more like 8 hours
Hi Bob! Thanks for pointing that out. The recipe plugin doesn’t allow me to add inactive time (such as marinating), so I added in my Note section.
So easy and delicious ! I left it 1 night in the fridge = so good and your cooking time is just perfect !! A question : is it possible to keep the “marinade” for another batch ?? If yes, how many time ?? Thank you !
Hi CocoHoju! Thank you for trying this recipe! For food safety reason, I don’t recommend to re-use the sauce. If you cook the sauce before using it (to kill any germs), you can probably use it for one more time. 🙂
I’m going to try this soon. I have a few eggs I need to use up soon, as well as a busy weekend ahead.
When I was in college years ago, I used to tutor a girl whose mother is Japanese. As a part of my payment, she would make me ramen with an egg on top. I never learned how she made them, so thanks for the recipe.
Hi Ren! Hope you enjoy this recipe and it’s close to what you tasted back then. 🙂
My refrigiratwd eggs cracked as soon as they touched the water.
Hi Kevin! Did you gently submerge them using a ladle or strainer? I do this all the time, but the eggs never broke because of the hot water. I wonder what else could cause them break…. Sorry I wish I know.
Thanks so much for this recipe – I LOVE the eggs I get at ramen shops! How long can you leave the eggs in the marinade? I’m thinking of making a whole batch of 10 eggs and having 2 per day (instead of having to boil and peel eggs every day)?
Hi Sarah! Overnight is pretty good. I think 5 days is kind of too long for the eggs to be sitting in the marinade. Maybe 2 days up most? 🙂
Hello I have no real access to mirin is there an adequate substitute?
Hi Michele! I’m so sorry for my late response. Mirin is basically sake + sugar. So if you can find Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry and add sugar, that’s a good substitution.
1 Tbsp mirin = 1 Tbsp. sake + 1 tsp. sugar.
This is such a helpful recipe! I know from experience from making Chinese Tea Eggs that your method is THE best way to get the shell off cleanly when you crack it! I’ve tried so many ways of boiling eggs, but the absolute best way is to start the eggs in the hot water (not put them in the water before it is boiling) and to put them into an ice water bath immediately when done. If the eggs are cold from the fridge at first, this sudden temperature change can sometimes cause one or two to crack when put into the water, but it doesn’t usually leak out much of the egg and still cooks just fine. I would estimate it would take a minute or two off the cooking time if starting with room temp eggs.
I am really excited to make these! It will be a breeze since these are quite like tea eggs but much simpler! No having to simmer all the tea and spices in the sauce! Just good ol’ soy sauce and mirin. <3
And now for my shameful confession, I will be using these in instant ramen. 😛 I'd love to make ramen homemade someday, but there are many other recipes on your site I'd love to try first! For now, this will be my add-on when I need a quick late-night instant ramen fix! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your kind feedback, Lion! I’m so happy you liked the recipe. 🙂 Instant ramen is good, as long as you don’t eat it everyday. 😉 Enjoy!
I find that steaming the eggs gives more consistent results. It also makes peeling them a breeze. For soft “boiled” I steam them for 6 1/2 minutes. 7 mins if I want a more custard like consistency.
Hi Mike! Thank you for sharing your tip! 🙂
I really love your ramen egg recipe (using it with your miring substitute recipe) and also get a positive feedback about their taste 🙂 So thank you very much for sharing 🙂
Hi Pascal! I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you for writing your kind feedback. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe. My eggs turned out amazing! I can’t wait to make them again.
Thank you so much for your kind feedback, Monica! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them. 🙂
Although I didnt top my ramen with this egg recipe, I did top my Japanese Curry with it! It was soft, creamy and just delicious! Thank you for this amazing recipe!!
Hi Emily! We use these eggs for non-ramen dishes too! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe and thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
I always wondered how restaurants made their ramen eggs. These eggs were just as good! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. My family and I loved it with our ramen.
Hi Stephanie! Thank you for trying this recipe and I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it with your ramen. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
Yum! Surprisingly tasty for so few ingredients.. I’ve previously used a more time consuming recipe with more than double the ingredients, and I think I prefer your recipe!
Hi Agnes! I’m glad you liked this recipe! Thank you for trying this recipe. 🙂
May I know how much time we need for room temperature eggs to have running yolk pls
Hi Augustina! I didn’t use room temperature eggs because your room temperature eggs may be different from my room temperature eggs or JOC readers’ from different parts of the world… while fridge temp is pretty much same everywhere.
You– are my new hero! Thanks for this easy, and well-explained recipe!
I was just at our favorite ramen shop in Hong Kong with my girlfriend- we always order an extra egg- and she said, just look something up on the net, and make your own– so…. I did! 唔該 !
Hi David! I’m glad you found my recipe and thank you to your GF for her GREAT suggestion! 😉
One hint – eggs will peel easier if you first take a spoon and lightly crack them to break the shell. Then put back into the ice water for 30 mins before peeling
Hi Mike! Thank you for sharing your tip! My mom just tap the egg on the countertop too! I think her way is rough and I like your spoon method better. 🙂 Japanese also use a pushpin to make a hole BEFORE cooking the egg. Which is not a common stuff to keep in the kitchen tho…
What other ingredients have you added, or do you always use the basic recipe? I’m curious 🙂 Thanks for this recipe, it always comes out perfectly!
Hi Christina! Do you mean what other ingredients do I add into this marinade? I created this marinade for the eggs, but we have similar marinade for meat etc, you just need to adjust the flavor. 🙂
You mention “Of course, every ramen shop has their own secret sauce and seasonings they’ve added to the marinade” so I’m wondering if you have any other sauce and seasonings secrets that you use for eggs 🙂 Thanks.
Ohhh I see what you meant. If I do, I’d include it in my recipe. 😀 Mine is pretty simple.
I’ve left these in the marinade for upwards of two weeks before and they come out delicious. If you try it you may want to slightly reduce the amount of soy sauce, or serve them with an unsalted dish. They get a little bit saltier than usual.
Hi Erin! Yes, I agree. When marinating for a longer time, it’s best to reduce the overall seasoning as it gradually gets saltier and more flavorful. Thank you for your tip!
This is SO GOOD! I have had ramen a few times in Prague where I live, and the eggs were never this delicious. Next time I can try bringing my own ramen eggs to the ramen shop as substitutes to shop’s eggs… 😀 Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Laura! AHAHAHA! Your comment made me happy and smile. Yes, BYOE (bring your own egg)!!! LOL. Thanks so much for trying this recipe! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! xo
Hi,
How many times can I use the marinade sauce please?
Regards,
Xue
Hi Xue! For food safety, I recommend just once. 🙂
Hi,
The eggs turned out wonderful. My kids love them. Thank you for the recipe. One question, can I reuse the sauce for future batches of eggs?
Thank you.
Hi Kareen! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the eggs with the kids! Usually not recommended for food safety. But if you really want to use it, make sure to re-heat the sauce (to kill bacterias – you don’t see). 🙂
Hi there, what kind of mirin do you use here? hon mirin or mirin?
Hi Regina! I recommend using Hon-Mirin (expensive but very delicious) or Mirin listed here:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/mirin/
I only use first 2 (#1 and #2) for my cooking.
For the soy sauce, what kind of soy sauce do you recommend i use? Thanks 🙂
Hi Regina! I use organic soy sauce. More details here: https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/soy-sauce/
A great and easy to follow recipe. I had never attempted prior to coming across your recipe but yum! I doubled the recipe and paired the eggs with ramen. I went for the custardy texture but they literally turned out perfectly minus a few welts because I peeled an egg or two too hastily 🙂
Hi Erin! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Hi there! Do you know for how long these eggs stay good? A friend of mine is a big foodie, but doesn’t have a lot of spare time, so I’m thinking of making him a jar with marinated eggs. Do they need to be consumed within 36 hrs of making, or will they stay good for a day or three? I look forward to your reply, thank you!
Hi Merel! I re-wrote the instructions to be clear. I recommend to consume on the 3rd day (2 days after marinating begins). You can keep marinating until that point, but you need to eat it by the 3rd day, especially if you make soft boiled eggs. And if you want to keep marinating for a longer time, make a new marinade to continue on the 3rd day. 🙂
Hey,
I made these again with ramen and they are really good (: had a few extra this time as well for my bento the day after! I made it once before and I will make it again 😀
Hi Albert! Thank you so much for your kind comment! It’s great that you get to eat them on two days! 😀
Hello! This recipe is delicious thank you for sharing. How do you serve this with ramen where the egg is warm because if they marinate overnight in the fridge it’s tricky serving it in ramen where the outside is warm but the middle is cold. I don’t want to overcook the egg with the hot stock. Any tips would be helpful.
Hi Michelle! You can take out from the fridge to bring it to a room temperature or soak the bag in warm (not hot) water to bring up temp faster.
FYI, usually at ramen shops, these ramen eggs are always at room temperature and never be warm. 🙂
Hi Nami,
I boiled 6 eggs all at the same time and put them in ice-cold water. When I started peeling, the shells remained stuck to the eggs and the egg whites were so soft they fell apart. What do you think went wrong?
Hi Emily! I apologize for my late response (due to traveling and being sick for over 2 weeks…). When you use fresh eggs, the shell tends to stick the egg. That’s just how it is… some websites say not to use fresh eggs when you make boiled eggs. 🙂
I’m sorry if this is a foolish question to ask, but do we use light soy sauce or dark for the eggs?
Hi WY! It’s not a silly question at all, as I get asked about this often. In Japan, we do not have a light or dark soy sauce. We only have one regular kind (except for some regional preference, which is light COLOR soy sauce for noodle soup and chawanmushi used in Kyoto and Osaka) and sweetened soy sauce used in South like Kyushu region.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/soy-sauce/
Hi, what if my eggs aren’t refrigerated? We have cage free chickens at my house so we pick them up the same day still warm. Will this effect the cooking process?
Hi Diana! You have a rare case (but how nice to have cage-free chickens!). I created this recipe that does not require a kitchen thermometer since many don’t own one. Since the refrigerator temperature is pretty much same globally (but “room temp” can be different based on geography), that’s what I used. In your case, your cooking time will be much less. You probably need to figure out what’s the right timing for you to take out the eggs from boiling water according to your liking (soft boiled, hard boiled etc). 🙂
Can d mirin be replaced by somethg else….
HI Nafisah! Mirin in this case can be replaced by water and sugar, although it’s not the same… see substitute here:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/mirin/
Super recipe! It never goes wrong
Thank you Sue!
Delicious
Thank you Ming!
For anyone looking for an alternative way to make soft-boiled eggs. I find I get the most consistent results if I steam the eggs, because that temperature is always the same; on my electric stove, using different pans, I find it difficult to get the same “simmer” each time.. To steam the eggs, add enough water to a cold pan to cover the bottom to a depth of ~3/8″ and bring it to a boil. Gently add your eggs to the pan, cover and cook to your desired firmness – I use 6 minutes because I like the yolk runny – then put in an ice bath. This works great if you need a lot of eggs at one time.
Hi Laura! Thank you so much for your kind tip on simmering soft boiled eggs! xoxo
A little baking sofa in the water helps break down the inner membrane of the egg, making it easier to peel.
Hi Adam! Thanks for sharing!
What to do with the left over marinade?
Hi Cendy! You can reheat (to kill any bacteria) and let cool to use it again; otherwise, it’s recommended not to reuse for food safety reason.
It’s easy and delicious, thank you!
Hi Sonnya! Thank you for your kind words!
After a few days of marinating in refrigerator, the soft boiled eggs turn sour. Why is that?
Hi Hima! That doesn’t sound right. Marinating the eggs will not cause the sourness. It could have been contaminated during the cooking process or ingredient wasn’t fresh, etc. I recommend not eating the food when you felt something was off.
I made the eggs! Sadly ended up making them hard boiled. Since I was invested already, marinated them anyway. I can say that they are really delicious even if the eggs are hard boiled. Thanks Nami
Hi Mimi! Thank you for trying this recipe! Hope you find the right cooking time for your liking to make the ramen eggs. 🙂 Thanks so much for your kind feedback. xo
When you mention Soy Sauce, which one are you referring to? I see that there are three types in the link provided.
Hi Tina! In Japanese cooking, we normally have “soy sauce” that refers to the first one – koikuchi soy sauce. In some regions, they use a different type, but in general, one kind (opposed to Chinese soy sauce have dark and light soy sauce for regular cooking). 🙂
https://www.justonecookbook.com/soy-sauce/
Hello Namiko! First of all, thanks for all the videos you post they are very simple and easy to follow. Love them! Tried your Poke recipe and my family loved it!!! I am now planning to make ramen and watched all related videos (over and over:D) including the chasu pork. You mentioned in your Pork Chasu belly video that the sauce from cooking the pork can be saved to make the ramen egg. How much sauce vs water should be used to marinate the boiled eggs? Or do I even have to add water? One last question, you mentioned that you boil the eggs straight from the fridge but sometimes the egg cracks when I do this. Any tips to avoid the cracking? Looking forward to your reply! Thanks and stay awesome!
Hi Ina! Thank you for watching my videos! For ramen egg using chasu sauce, you don’t need to use water. Just put the sauce over the egg. But don’t marinate too long as it is salty. I don’t recommend adding water because the sauce is oily and water doesn’t mix well. 🙂 Just marinate for a short time. My eggs never crack, but I heard of it. Not sure if you do the same, but here is what I do. Let the water boil. Lower the heat. Submerge one egg at a time using a ladle or skimmer. NEVER drop the egg. Eggs shouldn’t be jumping around while cooking. 🙂
Love these! The first time I made the them I tried one the next day and found the egg to be undercooked and not very flavorful. Day two was better, but by day three they were PERFECT! I don’t totally understand how marinating them makes them cook through more, but it is the perfect amount of flavor and consistency! Now I get why they’re only cooked 7 minutes. Just made a second batch, it’s going to be a long three day wait ^.^ My mom is Japanese and I’ve spent a lot of time growing up in Japan, so these really hit the spot.
Hi Heidi! I’m so glad to hear you figured out how to make the perfect ramen egg. I think the saltiness from the sauce changes the texture of the egg, not necessarily “cook”. You can also play with the amount of water if you want to speed up the process. Thank you so much again for your feedback!
Can I use my foodsaver to marinate the soft boiled eggs and store them too? I borrowed a foodsaver from a friend to try it out and learning what things I can use it for
Yes, you can and I do that. But the egg shape changes a bit… so Ziploc bag is good enough.
So delicious and easy! Great recipe
Hi Beck! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and thanks for your kind feedback. 🙂
Much easier than I thought it’d be…and so oishii!! Will definitely make again.
Thank you so much for trying this recipe, Mari! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
I have yet to make Ramen from scratch but have had it in a restaurant once. I wasn’t impressed with the egg. It wasn’t marinated as yours. I think this will be more interesting.I haven’t decided on broth yet but have ingredients for scratch dash.
Hi Barbara! Ramen shops in Japan offer both non-seasoned version (like you had) and seasoned version (this recipe). I also believe that this seasoned version is tastier. 🙂 I hope you enjoy making ramen at home! My ramen recipes are simple and easy but using the right ingredients is important as it’s a quick recipe and relies on those ingredients.
Hello. I tried this technique and the eggs kept bursting open. THEN once I finally got 2 eggs to work out and I let them marinate for 2 days, I found that the inner egg white was not fully cooked. So frustrating! Do you have any tips and tricks for perfection every time?
Hi LaDonna! Thank you for trying this recipe. Could you please explain “the eggs kept bursting open” means? Do you mean they crack in the water? How do you lower/submerge the eggs? Do you use a tool to gently submerge the egg? Or do the eggs crack while cooking? If so, did you immediately reduce heat to maintain a simmer, but not like a rolling boil? Since you mentioned the egg whites are not cooked enough, I also feel like either you reduced the heat too much that the boiling water didn’t maintain the temperature (and cold eggs just let the hot water cool down)…
Please don’t give up. Many people have been making this recipe since I posted. I’d love to help you until you succeed this!
Hello! Thank you for your response. I kept trying, because giving up isn’t really in my nature haha. I got it right! I turned the heat down on the stove the right amount and I took more time slowly lowering the eggs into the pot. I think previously I put the egg in the water with a slotted spoon, but didn’t take the time to slowly lower them in and so they heated up too quickly which caused the shell to crack open (that’s my theory). The time that I made them and the egg white was not cooked I’m quite sure I turned the heat down on the stove too much. Anyway, I’ve made them perfectly two times now! Thanks for sharing – I’ve been eating a lot of Ramen lately and these eggs take it over the top!
Also, I’ve been unable to find Mirin in any stores near me so I dissolved a little sugar into rice wine vinegar and used that as a substitute.
Hi LaDonna! I’m SO HAPPY to hear that! Thank you for your update!
About mirin, a lot of misinformation online that you can substitute mirin (basically, sake + sugar) with rice wine vinegar… but just like white wine and white wine vinegar taste COMPLETELY different, and we can’t replace mirin with rice wine vinegar and sugar, because there is “vinegar” you’re introducing.
In this recipe, a taste of vinegar may not be a bad thing, but some other recipes may not work. Just FYI. I see this “substitute” suggestion online a lot, but I don’t think it’s a good substitute. 🙂
For mirin’s substitute, I suggest: 3 Tbsp water (sake, dry sherry, or Chinese rice wine) + 1 Tbsp sugar (3:1).
Hope that helps!
Thanks- I’ll try that!
Just to check: when you put the eggs to simmer for the seven minutes, is the lid of the pot ON or OFF?
I made these from your recipe once before and they turned out perfectly but I can’t remember what I did
Thanks Nami!
Hi Megan! No lid. I usually mention to cover or put a lid when needed. 🙂 I’m glad they came out well last time! Thanks for trying this recipe, Megan!
These are so lovely, and easy to make.
I am wondering if this could work with quail eggs. It seems like it will work very nicely, but … I am wondering how long to cook them to get that perfect soft boiled texture. Maybe just 2 or 3 minutes? Nami, any tips will be much appreciated.
Hi Lynn! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! I’m not too sure how long they should be cooked, but I assume 2-3 minutes as well… test one and see if that works? 🙂
I made these eggs yesterday night for dinner and they came out fine even after marinating for just 8 hours. The yolks weren’t as runny but that’s because I only had room temperature eggs so I adjusted by boiling for just 6 mins 30 secs.
I’m not sure if anyone else has asked you this but I would like to know how did you get the yolks to be almost perfectly centered? Most of my yolks were very near to the bottom of the eggs which would most definitely spill out had the yolks been completely runny and if I accidentally peeled some egg white out.
Also, I’m sure I’m not the only person that asks questions about your recipes. Perhaps after you post the recipe and have answered questions from readers, you can add a FAQ section linking to your replies so others who have similar questions will not ask you again?
Hi Jessica! We all learned this in the Japanese home and economics class in elementary school. You gently rotate the eggs with chopsticks once in a while for the first 3 minutes so the egg yolk will be in the center. I’ll add it to my instruction. I never read or hear about this method in American recipes so I thought the detail level is something only Japanese people care about. LOL 🙂
Hi Nami! Regarding your ramen egg recipe, do you have any suggestions for using up the leftover marinade? I’d hate to waste it.
Hi MI! In general, for food safety, it’s best to toss after the marinade because you don’t know (can’t see) any bacteria growth (from your fingers or spoon, etc). If you REALLY want to use it, I’d recommend reheating the sauce and cooling down before you use it. Not all bacteria will be killed from reheating, but it’s better than not doing it. You can use for seasoning dishes if you’re cooking some Japanese simmered dishes or noodle soup dishes. 🙂
I love your recipes and would like to purchase your printed cookbooks for gifts ! Where can I purchase them? thank you !??
Hi Keiko! I’m so sorry but my ebook is ebook and not published book. Maybe one day. 🙂
I love making the eggs this way. They are delicious, and reminiscent of the “salty tasty eggs” that I get at the Lawson’s when I go to Okinawa.
I don’t use these eggs with ramen though, so I cook them for nine minutes. Then I can eat them sliced in a salad or just halved as a side dish.
Thanks for the push to use less marinade than others suggest. It really does work out fine.
You have a wonderful website and a very useful cookbook. Thanks for both!
Hi SG! Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m really happy to hear you enjoy this recipe. You don’t have to use it for ramen too. I love these on donburi or even on snack, etc. 🙂 Thank you for your feedback!
Hi Nami
Thank You for sharing your recipes, my family and I have enjoyed them.
These eggs are perfect, I think the next time I will have them with a miso base ramen. Thank You again!
Hi Debbie! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
Hi Nami:
I wanted to make more than 2 eggs (total of 6) and I cooked them 2 at a time following your recipe and repeated 3 times. Is this the correct method? Also I had a lot of difficult of peeling the shell without breaking them. Any tips? I still placed them into the marinade. Last question, the marinade in your recipe is good for 6 eggs, right?
Thank you in advance.
Hi Christina! You can cook 6 eggs at the same time. There are a lot of tips/theories on how to peel the eggs perfectly online. I don’t have a particular method to do it. Yes, the marinade should be enough for 6 eggs. 🙂
Thank you Nami. I just love the texture of these ramen eggs.
Can ramen eggs be frozen and reheated? Since they take so long it’d be nice if I could just make a big batch and take one out when needed.