Mayak gyeran (๋ง์ฝ๊ณ๋) translates literally as "drug eggs," which tells you what Koreans think of them. Soft-boiled so the yolk stays jammy, then soaked overnight in soy sauce, garlic, green onion, and chili until the white takes on the color of the marinade.
Fifteen minutes of actual work. The fridge does everything else. Spoon one over hot rice with a little of the sauce and that's lunch, which is why I usually make a jar on Sunday and don't have to think about it again.
If you're working your way through my egg recipes, my sipo eggs are the Filipino version of the same idea, quail eggs in a creamy sauce rather than soy.
Save This Recipe ๐
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Fifteen minutes of work, then nothing. Boil, peel, pour, cover. The fridge does the rest overnight while you're asleep.
- The vinegar trick actually works. A tablespoon in the boiling water loosens the bond between the white and the shell, so they slip off instead of taking half the egg with them.
- Jammy yolks, not chalky ones. Seven minutes for cold eggs, six if they're at room temperature. That's the window where the white is set and the center is still soft and orange.
- A jar lasts most of the week. Not in the marinade the whole time, but the eggs themselves keep 3 to 4 days once you pull them out. Breakfast, lunch, or something to eat standing at the fridge.
- Rice becomes dinner. One egg cut in half over hot rice with a spoonful of the marinade poured over. That's the whole meal and it's the reason these exist.
What Are Mayak Eggs?
They're banchan, one of the small side dishes that come out alongside a Korean meal rather than before it. Soft-boiled so the yolk stays soft and orange, peeled, then left in a soy marinade with garlic, green onion, sesame, and chili until the whites take on the color and the flavor works its way in.
You'll also see them called Korean marinated eggs or soy sauce eggs. Same dish, and the English names are what most recipes use.
Most people eat them over rice with a spoonful of the marinade poured on top. They also work in ramen in place of a proper ajitama, or cut in half on a rice bowl next to whatever else you're eating.
Ingredients
- Eggs: Cold from the fridge. Six to seven minutes gets you a set white and a jammy center. Slightly older eggs peel more easily than very fresh ones, so this is a good use for the carton that's been sitting there a week.
- Vinegar: A tablespoon in the boiling water. It loosens the bond between the white and the shell, which is the difference between peeling cleanly and losing half the egg. It doesn't affect the flavor.
- Soy sauce: The base. Regular light soy sauce, not dark, since dark is thicker and sweeter and will overpower everything else.
- Water: Dilutes the soy sauce so the eggs season rather than cure. Skip it and the whites turn salty and firm within hours.
- Sugar: Balances the salt. Stir it until it's fully dissolved before the eggs go in, or you'll find grains at the bottom of the jar.
- Garlic: Minced fine, and use more than feels sensible. It's the flavor people actually mean when they say these are addictive.
- Green onions: Sliced thin. They go in the marinade and get spooned over the eggs when you serve them.
- Chili (optional): Fresh red chili or Fresno. Adds heat and a bit of color against the dark marinade. Leave it out entirely if you're making these for breakfast.
- Sesame oil: Toasted, drizzled over the eggs just before serving rather than into the marinade. Oil sitting in a soy marinade separates and coats the eggs unevenly.
- Sesame seeds: Scattered on at the end for a bit of crunch.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitution and Additions
- Gluten-free. Tamari in place of the soy sauce since most contain wheat.
- No fresh chili? A teaspoon of gochugaru gives you heat and color without the sharpness of dried chili flakes.
- Hard-boiled instead of jammy. Ten minutes rather than seven. Less pretty, but easier to handle and better if you're packing them in a lunchbox.
- Kelp in the marinade. Soak a piece of dried kelp in half a cup of water for 20 minutes, discard the kelp, and use the water in the marinade. It's the more traditional version and it adds a background savory depth you notice without being able to name.
- Onion. Thinly sliced white or yellow onion alongside the green onions. It softens in the marinade and is good spooned over rice with the eggs.
- Gochujang. A teaspoon whisked into the marinade makes it thicker, sweeter, and hotter all at once.
- More garlic. Not really an addition so much as a recommendation. Most recipes are conservative with it and the garlic is the thing people come back for.
How to Make Mayak Eggs
- Boil the eggs. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a tablespoon of vinegar. Lower the eggs in gently with a slotted spoon, reduce to a simmer, and cook 7 minutes for cold eggs or 6 if they're at room temperature. Seven minutes gives you a set white and a soft orange center.
- Ice bath immediately. Move them straight from the pot into a bowl of ice water and leave them until fully cold. This stops the cooking so the yolk stays jammy, and it makes the shells come away more easily.
- Peel. Tap each egg on a flat surface and roll it gently under your palm to crack the shell all over, then peel starting from the wide end where the air pocket is. Rinse off any stray bits.
- Mix the marinade. Combine the soy sauce, water, sugar, minced garlic, green onions, and chili in a jar or container. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.
- Marinate. Add the peeled eggs. They should be submerged, but if they aren't, turn them over after 8 to 12 hours so both sides color evenly. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight for the full effect.
- Serve. Drizzle with sesame oil, scatter sesame seeds and a few fresh green onions, and spoon a little of the marinade over the top. Cut in half over hot rice.
Rose's Tips
- Use older eggs. Very fresh eggs cling to their shells. A carton that's been in the fridge a week or two peels far more easily, and this recipe is a good use for them.
- Don't skip the vinegar. A tablespoon in the water loosens the bond between the white and the shell. It doesn't change the flavor and it's the difference between clean eggs and pockmarked ones.
- Ice bath, immediately and completely. Straight from the pot into ice water, and leave them until they're cold all the way through. Residual heat keeps cooking the yolk, and a warm egg is harder to peel.
- Tap, roll, then peel from the wide end. Crack the shell all over first rather than picking at one spot. The air pocket sits at the wide end, which is where the membrane lifts most easily.
- Dissolve the sugar before the eggs go in. Otherwise it settles at the bottom of the jar and the eggs sitting on top of it don't season evenly.
- Turn them halfway if they aren't submerged. Most jars won't cover the eggs completely. Flip them after 8 to 12 hours so both sides take on the color.
- Sesame oil goes on at serving, not in the marinade. Oil separates in a soy-based liquid and coats some eggs more than others. Drizzle it over the top when you take them out.
Storage and Meal Prep
Best within the first day or two. The eggs are ready after 4 hours and at their best after an overnight soak, when the whites have colored and the yolks are still soft.
Take them out of the marinade after 24 hours. This is the part most recipes skip. The whites keep absorbing salt for as long as they sit, so by day three in the liquid they turn firm and overly salty. Lift them out, store them in a separate airtight container, and keep the marinade on the side.
They keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge once separated. Not a week, whatever the internet says. Eggs that have gone rubbery and dark all the way through have been sitting too long.
Don't throw out the marinade. It's a good sauce in its own right. Spoon it over rice, use it in a stir-fry, or pour it over a fresh batch of eggs within a day or two. It won't be as strong the second time, so top it up with a splash of soy.
Eat them cold or at room temperature. These aren't meant to be reheated. If you want them warm, spoon them over hot rice and let the rice do the work.
Don't freeze them. Boiled egg whites go rubbery and weep when thawed. There's no version of this that works.
What To Serve with Mayak Eggs
- Plain steamed rice, or garlic fried rice if you have leftovers. Hot rice, one egg cut in half, a spoonful of the marinade poured over. That's the meal these were designed for, and the garlic version just doubles down on what's already in the sauce.
- Kimchi fried rice. More going on, and the egg on top is what makes it feel finished rather than like leftovers.
- Korean cucumber salad. Cold and sharp against something rich and salty. This is how banchan works, one dish resetting your palate for the next.
- Garlic noodles. Not Korean, but a jammy egg on a bowl of buttery garlic noodles is very good and takes ten minutes.
- Instant ramen. Worth saying out loud. A mayak egg does the job of a proper ajitama and it's already in your fridge.
- Tofu sisig. Filipino rather than Korean, but a sizzling savory plate wants an egg on it, and this is a better one than a fried egg.
Recipe FAQs
Take the eggs out of the marinade after about 24 hours and store them in a separate airtight container. They keep 3 to 4 days that way. Left sitting in the marinade the whole time, the whites keep absorbing salt and turn firm and overly salty by day three.
Four hours will do it, but overnight is better. That's when the whites have taken on the color and the flavor has worked past the surface. If the eggs aren't fully submerged, turn them over after 8 to 12 hours so both sides marinate evenly.
Usually very fresh eggs, which cling to their shells. Older ones peel far more easily. Add a tablespoon of vinegar to the boiling water, move the eggs straight to an ice bath and let them cool completely, then tap and roll to crack the shell all over before peeling from the wide end.
Yes, cook them 10 minutes instead of 7. The jammy yolk is the point for most people, but hard-boiled holds up better in a lunchbox and is easier to handle if you're nervous about a soft center.
Once, within a day or two. It won't be as strong the second time, so add a splash of soy sauce to top it up. It's also good on its own, spooned over rice or used in a stir-fry.
Cold or at room temperature. These aren't a reheating dish. If you want them warm, put them on hot rice and let the rice do the work.
More Egg Recipes
Did you try this recipe?
Share how it turned out in the comment box below, and if you loved it, share it on Facebook, Pinterest & Instagram.
Thank you!
Mayak Eggs (Korean Marinated Eggs)
Equipment
- 1 small pot
- 1 glass jar or container
Ingredients
- 6 eggs cold, large
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
Marinade
- ยฝ cup soy sauce
- ยฝ cup water
- ยผ cup sugar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 stalks green onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 2 red/ green chili (optional)
Instructions
- Boil the eggs. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon vinegar. Gently lower in the cold eggs, reduce to a simmer, and cook 7 minutes. Use 6 minutes if the eggs are at room temperature.1 tbsp vinegar, 6 eggs
- Ice bath. Transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water and leave until completely cold.
- Peel. Tap each egg on a flat surface, roll gently under your palm to crack the shell all over, then peel from the wide end. Rinse off any shell fragments.
- Mix the marinade. In a jar or container, combine the soy sauce, water, sugar, minced garlic, green onions, and chili. Stir until the sugar has fully dissolved.ยฝ cup soy sauce, ยฝ cup water, ยผ cup sugar, 2 cloves garlic, 2 stalks green onion, 2 red/ green chili
- Marinate. Add the peeled eggs to the marinade. If they aren't fully submerged, turn them over after 8 to 12 hours. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Serve. Drizzle with sesame oil and scatter sesame seeds over the top. Serve cold or at room temperature over hot rice, with a spoonful of the marinade.1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Save This Recipe ๐
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
