Ramen Egg | Ajitsuke Tamago

Ajitsuke Tamago (Aji Eggs) or what we usually refer to as the ramen egg is so versatile that I find it not only in my ramen bowls but breakfasts, asian style salads, noodles, rice bowls. Ajitsuke means seasoning while Tamago means egg. And so we season the eggs.

The unbelievable tasty flavor from the overnight marinade gives it character and flavor than the regular boiled eggs. Brainlessly easy to make, a big batch is usually in order for my husband and I to snack on for the week.  Boil eggs and prep marinade. That’s it. 

Before you make the eggs, here are a few important things to note to make your first ramen eggs a success. 

On Boiling the Eggs

1. Let the water come to a hard boil, add baking soda (to prevent eggs from breaking) lower heat so that it comes to a simmer.
2. Then with a slotted spoon or ladle, gently lower the eggs. Cover and time according to your egg preference. I like my egg yolk jammy so I stop at 6-7 minutes. So know your cook time. And use a timer. 
3. Do not cook eggs for over 10 minutes. Overcooked eggs will have green/ grey rings around the yolk. It will be very dry. 
4. Gently lift the eggs out of the water with a ladle and then put it in an ice cold water to stop the cooking. 
5. With the back of your spoon, tap the eggs to crack all over. Peel. The shorter the cook, the trickier it is to peel.
6. It’s also important to have a bowl of ice water to immediately stop the cooking. 

On the Marinade

No kombu (edible kelp) or bonito flakes? You can use chicken broth and liquid where dried mushrooms are dehydrated. If you have access to mushroom soy sauce or mushroom seasoning, this can also be a great replacement. If all of the above is not available, add water. 

Do not marinade for more than 24 hours or it will turn rubbery. You can remove from the marinade after 12-14 hours, and store in an airtight container. 

Other Uses for Ramen Egg Marinade

You can reuse the marinade for up to three weeks. I store mine in the freezer if I won’t be making any soon and just thaw it for use the next day.

I find that the marinade can be used for stir-fries, next-day fried rice and meat marinade.

I love to snack on Aji Ramen Egg so I always make a big batch at the start of the week. I also like it as a side dish to my Arroz Caldo or spruce up my instant ramen with it. So there, I can’t wait to see what you make ramen eggs with.

Friendly Reminders: Recipes are meant to be guides. My recipes will take you almost there, if not THERE.Use your senses in cooking. The more you cook, the more you develop your common cooking sense.

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MIA

Ajitsuke Tamago | Ramen Egg

Mia Estolano-Levert

This soy-marinated egg is multi-purpose, I find other ways to use this aside from ramen. I love it on salads, breakfast side, appetizers or simply a snack. Super simple to make, just takes a little bit of patience because it needs an overnight marinade to have that beautiful soy-stain.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 10 mins

Overnight Marinade 8 hrs

Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 4

Equipment

• Vessel for boiling eggs
• slotted spoon
• Bowl with ice and water for eggs after cooking
• metal spoon
• airtight container
• paper towel

Ingredients

  

• 6 large eggs room temperature
• water for cooking eggs
• 1 tbsp baking soda

Marinade

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 2 tbsp bonito flakes
• 2 x 2 inch kombu (edible kelp)
• 1/2 cup dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin

Instructions

 

Making the Marinade

• Add bonito flakes and kombu in just boiled water. Let flavors set in while you prep the eggs.
• Strain bonito flakes and kombu, reserving the dashi.
• Dissolve sugar in dashi. Pop in the oven for a few seconds if sugar doesn't dissolve completely.
• Add the rest of the ingredients: soy sauce and mirin.

Cooking Eggs

• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add baking soda.
• Put all the eggs in the marinade making sure they're not crowded.
• Lower heat to medium, then gently put the eggs one at a time using a slotted spoon.
• I prefer mine jammy so I cook it for just 6 minutes, typically it's 7 minutes. The longer it stays, the morethe yolk is set.
• Once egg is cooked according to you your preference, submerge in ice cold water to stop cooking. This should be okay in 3-5 minutes.
• Using the back of the spoon, gently tap the egg all over. This should make peeling easy without scarring the egg whites. Make sure you remove the white membrane, otherwise the marinade won't stain the eggs.

Eggs + Soy Marinade

• Put eggs in a container with cover where they can all lay flat. Pour marinade over
• If the liquid doesn't cover the eggs entirely, drape a paper towel that's been drenched with the marinade. Or simply add more water. Marinade dor 8-12 hours but not more than 24 hours.
• Remove the eggs from the marinade. Store in a different container. Reserve marinade for another batch byr freezing. You may also use it as flavor in meat marinade, noodles and fried rice.

Notes

Do not cook eggs for over 10 minutes. Once you have the green rings around the yolk when you slice it, you know you've overcooked the egg

No kombu or bonito flakes, you can use chicken broth and liquid where dried mushrooms are dehydrated. If you have access to mushroom soy sauce or mushroom seasoning, this can also be a great replacement. 

If using more eggs, adjust quantity of marinade and vessel size. 

I suggest taking the eggs out of the marinade after 24 hours. It can get slightly rubbery if soaked too long. 

Marinade can be used for meat stir fries, noodles flavored enhancement and fried rice. 

You can reuse the marinade for up to three weeks. Freeze marinade if not using anytime soon. 

Additional flavors that can be added in the marinade: star anise, ginger and garlic. Make sure to simmer for 5 minutes to let the flavors seep in. Let it cool. You can add ice cubes to speed up the cooling process.