Soy Sauce Eggs, aka Umami Eggs From Now On

With soy sauce, garlic, and a hit of toasted sesame at the end, these Soy Sauce Eggs can only be called The Umami Egg. They're so easy to make! Shall we?

My favorite way of eating hard boiled eggs has always been to slice them open right away, splash with soy sauce, squeeze of hot cock, and sprinkle with nori komi furi-crack-e, but marinating the whole eggs a dozen or so at a time, makes them into a preppable, poppable protein snack.

Explore More

• What are Soy Sauce Eggs
• Are Soy Sauce Eggs Healthy?
• What Ingredients You Need for Soy Sauge Eggs
• What's the Best Way to Boil Eggs?
• How to Make Soy Sauce Eggs
• Best Ways to Eat Eggs
• Soy Sauce Eggs Recipe

What are Soy Sauce Eggs

Exactly what they sound like, Soy Sauce Eggs are boiled eggs marinated a super savory, salty umami-rich mixture of soy sauce, garlic, and if you want some heat, hot pepper. You can eat these eggs straight up as a snack, with an array of ther little salty, savory, pickly, fermenty dishes as banchan, or as the umami cherry on top of grain bowl, ramen, or even bibimbap!

Are these the Same Trending "Mayak Eggs" on Social Media?

Mayak Eggs and Soy Sauce Eggs are essentially the same thing with different names. "Mayak" translates to "drug" or "medicine" so it's kind of a cute, gimmicky nickname referring to how addictive the flavor is.

Are Soy Sauce Eggs Healthy?

Yes! Soy Sauce Eggs can be healthy, depending on your health needs and dietary considerations.

Eggs, primarily the egg whites, are a complete source of protein, and the yolks contain vitamin E as well as other nutrients. Eggs are appropriate for low-sugar/low-carb lifestyles. To be honest, I can't really think of a case in which they would not be healthy, unless maybe spice or sodium in the soy sauce causes heartburn or other gastric issue for you.

As published, this recipe for Soy Sauce Eggs is:

• vegetarian
• dairy-free
• gluten-free
• wheat-free
• grain-free
• sugar-free

Soy Sauce Eggs are keto, Whole30, low-carb adaptable with soy sauce substitutes.

What Ingredients You Need for Soy Sauge Eggs

Fresh/refrigerator ingredients:

• eggs
• garlic
• green onions

Dry/pantry ingredients:

• gochugaru - optional
• tamari
• rice vinegar
• sesame seeds

What's the Best Way to Boil Eggs?

There are as many ways to make boiled eggs as there are way into a henhouse, and I have TESTED THEM ALL, as pictured above. Cold, refrigerated eggs vs. room temperature eggs? Start eggs and water together in the pot vs add eggs after water boils? Simmer or boil eggs vs turning heat off? Covered pot vs uncovered pot? Add salt/vinegar/baking soda/something else to the water vs plain water?

Let's not even get into the amount of time for the best level of "doneness." As well as the myriad "tips and tricks" for making boiled eggs easier to peel.

My preferred method, which WORKS EVERY TIME is this:

1. Refrigerated eggs are fine but set on counter for a few minutes to take off some the initial chill.
2. Boil plain water first in a pot large enough to hold the eggs in a single layer on the bottom.
3. Slip eggs into boiling water gently so they don't crack. I use a large spoon or ladle.
4. Reduce heat to a simmer once the water comes back up to a boil.
5. Set the timer for 9 minutes, which renders a velvet yolk with just a hint of gloss in the dead center, less time if you like soft yolks.
6. Drop cooked eggs into a cold water bath, ideally with ice, and shake to crack the shells.
7. Peel eggs and rinse to remove any little bits of shell.

Many food people like yolks of boiled eggs soft, even runny. If this is you, set the timer for 6-and-a-half minutes in the above method.

At the risk of excommunication from the food community, I personally prefer near fully-cooked boiled eggs in which the yolks are velvety with just barely a hint of soft gloss in the dead center.

Additional Ingredients Notes and Resources

Gochugaru is a bright red Korean chili pepper powder made from a specific variety of Korean chili pepper. Its heat level ranges, but gochugaru is generally considered a medium spicy chili powder. Look for gochugaru made from sun-dried Korean peppers, and for this recipe specifically, a coarse grind, or flakes. You can find gochugaru in Korean grocery stores like H-Mart and other Asian grocery stores. I have also seen some independent, new-ish spice companies like this and this at Whole Foods. This organic brand and the one in the photo above, purchased at HMart, are currently what I have in my pantry.

Tamari. Tamari is a Japanese soy-based sauce, and generally fermented without wheat, so it is gluten-free. If you can tolerate gluten, you can use regular soy sauce. This is the organic brand of tamari I use, available at Whole Foods and online.

Rice Vinegar. I use this brand organic brown rice vinegar. If you don't have rice vinegar, use any other light/mild vinegar like apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar. Do not use distilled white vinegar, which you should only ever use to de-scale your coffee-maker.

Toasted Sesame Seeds add texture and when toasted, a layer of umami in addition to the toasted sesame oil. You can buy sesame seeds plain or toasted. Make sure the seeds are toasted. If not, toss them in a hot, dry skillet over medium heat for about 90 seconds or until they are fragrant.

Garlic, ginger, green onions, and any other fresh herbs and produce from either the Santa Monica Farmers' Market on Wednesday, Mar Vista Farmers Market on Sunday, or Whole Foods Market when I can't find what I need at the farmers' market.

How to Make Soy Sauce Eggs

You can eat the eggs right away, even though the eggs won't have absorbed any of the marinade. Simply drizzle some of the marinade onto the sliced egg halves or quarters and let it soak into the yolk. If you make it in advance, after 4 hours the eggs will be lightly marinated. The best flavor to me is about 6-8 hours of marination.

Tools and Equipment

As I say for just about any recipe, there isn't any special tool or piece of equipment required to make Soy Sauce Eggs. However, that isn't to say there are a few tools that might make it slightly easier to get Soy Sauce Eggs from the farm to your fork (or chopsticks).

• Chef's knife, my personal workhorse
• Wooden cutting board, oversized for all those radish cubes
• Vegetable peeler once I switched to this from the old-school swivel style, I never looked back
• Disposable gloves I have stacks of boxes of nitrile exam gloves from Costco in my storage, but if you don't have a Costco membership, these are good substitute
• Glass mixing bowls 
• Mini ¼-cup liquid measuring cup
• Glass storage containers with airtight lids
• Quart Glass mason Jars
• Glass 1-pint mason jars, wide mouth because they're easier to use and wash
• Mason jar lids that are better than those horrible 2-piece metal lids, these fit all jars labeled "wide-mouth"

How Long Can You Keep Soy Sauce Eggs?

Technically, you can keep Soy Sauce Eggs separate from the marinade for up to five days in the refrigerator, which makes them good for "meal prep" or "snack prep."

HOWEVER. Though they are marinated over a period of time, Soy Sauce Eggs are not meant for long-term storage in their marinade. Just be sure to store them SEPARATE from the marinade after one day. For the best result, prepare and eat Soy Sauce Eggs the same day or within a couple of days. But to be honest, I highly doubt leftovers will be a problem.

How to Store Prepped or Leftover Soy Sauce Eggs

Refrigerator. You can marinate Soy Sauce Eggs in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for UP TO ONE DAY. After one day, remove eggs from soy sauce marinade.

You can keep marinated Soy Sauce Eggs separate from the liquid marinade in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Freezer. Soy Sauce Eggs not freeze well.

Ingredients Substitutions and FAQs

Here are some easy substitutions:

• Quail Eggs. To really get into the "snackable" category, make this recipe with teeny tiny little quail eggs! Because they are so small you have to precision time them down to the second, so boil for 3 minutes exactly and definitely use an ice water shock at the end. Bonus: quail egg shells are easier to peel than chicken eggs.
• Different Chile Pepper Powder for Gochugaru? Other hot pepper powders like cayenne and paprika will render a totally different final dish, so avoid if possible. Use coarse ground gochugaru. The fine ground is too fine and is used to make gochujang.
• Tamari Substitute? Substitute any kind of alternative soy based sauce in the same amount like liquid aminos made from soybeans or coconut aminos if you avoid soy products.
• Different Vinegar? If you don't have rice vinegar, you can also use apple cider vinegar, which will add just the slightest tinge of color as well as a fruity vibe. You can also use distilled white vinegar, though it has a sharper bite so you might need to use a little less.

How to Eat Soy Sauce Eggs

Oh, you mean you can't just fish Soy Sauce Eggs straight out of the container with a Korean soup spoon and eat them standing over the kitchen sink and call that dinner?

Um, not that I've done that.

Not that I've not done that either.

Soy Sauce Eggs fall under the snack or an accompanying side dish, "banchan" category. They usually sit alongside a few other little pickley, ferment-y vegetables on the table.

You can also top a bowl of fluffy steamed rice along with a couple of Soy Sauce Eggs and drizzle some of the savory salty sometimes spicy sauce from the container and now THAT you can call a dead-easy weeknight dinner. If you really want to get fancy, move it from the kitchen sink to the table and add any of the little dishes in the next section!

Best Little Banchans

• Spicy Korean Cucumbers, Oi Muchim
• Spicy Pickled Radish Salad, aka Mu-Saeng-Chae
• Korean Sesame Spinach aka Shigeumchi Namul
• Spicy Korean Carrot Salad, not technically pickled, but super tart from vinegar!

Best Ways to Eat Eggs

• Kimchi Deviled Eggs
• Green Shakshuka
• Eggs Florentine

Inspire me? How do you eat your hard boiled eggs?