Mayak Eggs is a super simple but deliciously savory Korean side dish (banchan) that can be made in minutes! It tastes phenomenal with just rice and lasts for 3-4 days in the fridge, so is a great Asian meal prep recipe.
Jump to:
⭐ Why This Recipe is a Star
- Mayak eggs 마약계란 are easy but delicious: soaked in a soy brine that is sweet, salty and ever so savory, this is 1 of my favorite Asian egg recipes. If you can boil eggs, you can make this banchan recipe. (You just need to cook the eggs, mix a Korean dipping sauce, and then combine the 2. It's even easier than Chinese braised eggs!)
- Versatile: it's not just the eggs that taste good, the brine can also be used as a dipping sauce for dumplings, spooned over white rice, or to stir-fry veggies.
- Readily available ingredients: There's no need to traipse down to the Korean grocery store or Asian supermarket for this recipe. Everything can be found in your pantry or a regular food market.
- Meal-prep recipe: this dish actually tastes better chilled so you can make a big batch and eat it over a few days OR bring it to a summer picnic along with this cucumber mango salad and lychee jelly!
🥘 Ingredients
You will only need a few simple ingredients for these soy sauce eggs:
- room temperature eggs: soft boiled eggs (ramen style), peeled. You don't want to fully boil them as you want a jammy yolk. (Whilst hard boiled eggs also work in this recipe, the soft and runny centre of a soft boiled egg makes this dish extra delicious!)
- onion: any kind is fine, but shallots and red onions give an extra sweetness to the brine.
- fresh garlic: peeled and minced. (Koreans always have a huge stash of peeled garlic cloves in their fridge or freezer!)
- tomatoes: you can omit this but I like to add them as they also add sweetness to the marinade, reducing the amount of sugar that will need to be added. Do note that if you use an Ikea 365+ 1 litre container, you will only be able to fit in 1 tomato (I cut mine into 8 smaller pieces.)
- fresh chilies: red or green work. However, I like to use red chiles if I am adding avocados and green chilies if adding tomatoes, as this makes the egg banchan more attractive. If you can't take spicy foods, use large chilies and remove most of the seeds.
- green onions or coriander : these are optional but they will give more flavor to the recipe. The burst of freshness really helps to lift the flavor of the eggs!
- Lightly toasted sesame seeds and sesame oil (Optional)
For the marinade:
- light soy sauce: I use regular Lee Kum Kee and the eggs are ready to eat immediately. However, they'll get progressively saltier, so if you plan to keep them for 4 days, use a low-sodium soy sauce. For extra umami, you can replace 1-2 Tablespoons with fish sauce (optional.) If you're on a GF diet, here are some light soy sauce substitutes.
- white sugar: dissolve this in hot water. If you have maesil cheong syrup on hand, you can use this instead (no hot water needed in this case.) Some Korean recipes use corn syrup but I don't recommend it for health reasons.
- white rice vinegar or lemon: you can also use white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar instead. If using lemon, I find it makes the brine taste a bit saltier so you can reduce the soy sauce by 1 Tablespoon. Also, if you have extra, add some lemon slices to the brine, as it makes the dish look much more attractive!
📖 Variations & Substitutes
- You can replace (or supplement) the eggs with avocados to make Mayak Avocado. The avocado absorbs the sodium more quickly than the eggs so use less soy sauce if you do so.
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
1a. Pour the hot water over the sugar and mix till everything is dissolved
1b. Add the rest of the marinade and stir well.
2a. Cook the soft boiled eggs: simmer room-temperature, large eggs for 6 minutes then plunge into an ice water bath immediately, before peeling.
Note: reduce the cooking time if your eggs are smaller.
2b. Place the peeled eggs and the rest of the fresh ingredients into an airtight container, close tightly, and shake till all the ingredients are coated with the sauce.
You can eat it immediately.
🥡 How to Store
The mayak eggs can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
However, do note that the ingredients in the soy brine will progressively get saltier and saltier. I suggest using a low-sodium soy sauce if you plan to batch make for meal-prep.
What to Eat With Mayak Egg
- It should be a crime to eat Mayak Eggs without a bowl of rice, because the soy brine tastes so good with it! White rice goes best, but you can also use a bowl of noodles or brown rice if trying to be healthier. Alternatively, serve with other carbs such as Kimchi Fried Rice, Naeng Myeon or Japchae.
- Korean meals are famous for their assortment of side dishes/ banchan. Mayak Egg would go well with other banchan, such as Mayak Avocado (we already have the brine, after all), Pajeon (Korean Pancakes) etc
- Or why not pair the Mayak Eggs with Bo Ssam? The boiled pork tasted delicious dipped in the soy sauce!
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
Tip #1: To get the perfect runny eggs, make sure the (large) eggs are at room temperature before cooking them. Simmer for 6 minutes then immediately cool in an ice bath. (It may take less time if your eggs are small.)
Tip #2: Leftover soy sauce mixture, like the HK soy chicken sauce, can be spooned on top of white rice, noodles, Korean cucumber salad or used to stir-fry meat and veg. (I don't recommend using them for a 2nd batch of Mayak Eggs.)
🥗 Other Korean Recipes
Enjoyed this easy Korean marinated eggs Recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below! If you REALLY liked this banchan recipe, please consider supporting it by buying me a coffee! 🙂 (No obligation though!) Thank you and have a great day!
Mayak Eggs
Equipment
- Pot
- Airtight container I used Ikea 365+ (1 litre)
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs room temperature. I recommend pasteurised eggs if you're soft-boiling them.
- ½ onion peeled and sliced. Any type is fine but shallots and red onions will give extra sweetness.
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and minced.
- 1 tomato Cut into 8. You can add extra if you have a larger container.
- 3 fresh red chilies sliced into thick pieces. Deseed and use large chilies if you don't want it too spicy
- 1 sprig spring onions or coriander, optional
- 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds lightly toasted, optional. Can add a drizzle of sesame oil for more flavor.
For the marinade
- ½ Cup Light Soy Sauce You can replace 1-2 Tablespoons with fish sauce for extra flavor
- 1-3 Tablespoons White sugar Or to taste. Dissolved in ½ Cup hot water. You can use Korean fruit cheong (tangerine or maesil) as a substiute.
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice White rice vinegar is the best substitute, if not, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar work too. Do not use black vinegar.
Instructions
Making the marinade
- Dissolve the sugar in the hot water then combine with the rest of the marinade. Stir well.
Cooking the eggs
- Bring a pot of water to the boil, add the room temperature eggs, lower to a simmer and cook for 6 minutes. Note: if using smaller eggs or a bigger fire, you can reduce the cooking time to 4-5 minutes.
- Switch off the fire, use a slotted spoon to pick up the eggs and chill in an ice-bath.
- Peel the eggs then put in the marinade, along with the other ingredients, in an airtight container.
- Shake well then chill in the fridge. (Can also be eaten straight away.)
Notes
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition
If this Korean egg recipe was helpful, maybe you'd like to sign up for my newsletter in which I send you more authentic Asian recipes?
Comments
No Comments