Ramen Eggs (Ajitsuke Tamago) (Video) 味付け玉子

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A great bowl of ramen is built upon a few significant components. There’s hot broth, fresh-made noodles, and the toppings. As far as the toppings go, no one can resist a perfectly cooked ramen egg that sits alongside sliced chashu, a sheet of nori, and green onions. Some would even argue that ramen egg is a must!

When done right, ramen egg is creamy, silky, full of umami, and ready to enrich and intensify your ramen enjoyment. The truth is, ramen eggs are not just for ramen alone. You can enjoy these delicious eggs anytime, in many different ways!

Table of Contents

• What Are Ramen Eggs?
• Ingredients for Ajitsuke Tamago
• How To Make the Best Ramen Eggs
• Cooking Tips
• How To Store Ramen Eggs
• How To Serve Ramen Eggs
• Recipe Card
• Did you make this recipe?

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What Are Ramen Eggs?

Ramen eggs are Japanese soft-boiled eggs known for their custardy, jammy, runny yolk, and umami flavor. They are marinated overnight in a sweetened soy-based sauce. In Japan, we call these marinated eggs Ajitsuke Tamago (味付け玉子), short for Ajitama (味玉) or Nitamago (煮玉子).

While these eggs are excellent on ramen, they are also fantastic to enjoy as a side dish, snack, or packed in a bento. Don’t limit yourself there! You can even add them to salads or sandwiches. That’s the magic of ramen eggs. They are so good and amazingly versatile.

Ingredients for Ajitsuke Tamago

Five ingredients are all you need, and you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make ramen eggs at home.

• Good quality eggs, especially if you plan to make soft-boiled eggs
• Soy sauce
• Mirin
• Sake (or water)
• Sugar

For the marinade, you can create your version with additions (such as chili flakes for spice, etc), but let’s stick with the basics.

What changed from the 2011 Recipe?

Some of you might be familiar with the original recipe I shared in 2011. In the past, I used water instead of sake. However, for food safety reasons, I started making my ramen eggs with sake and like this version much better.

Why sake? The amino acids in the fermented rice wine enhance food flavors by adding hints of sweetness and umami, which makes the eggs taste better. In case you’re wondering, we would boil off the alcohol from the sake before marinating the eggs so it’s perfectly safe for kids to consume.

As part of the refinement, I also added a bit of sugar. To put the old and new recipes to the test, I had my family try out the two versions multiple times, and they concluded that the winner goes to this updated recipe. For those who can’t consume alcohol, you can still use water.

How To Make the Best Ramen Eggs

You can find the detailed recipe below, but here’s a quick overview.

Jump to Recipe

1. Make the marinade.
2. Cook soft-boiled eggs.
3. Marinate the eggs overnight.

Cooking Tips

Tip #1: Cook the marinade

To make the marinade, I highly recommend cooking it for 1 minute after boiling. This ensures the sugar dissolves and the alcohol evaporates, leaving only the natural umami and sweetness in the sauce.

Tip #2: Use refrigerated eggs

Using a fine-mesh sieve/strainer, gently lower your eggs straight from the fridge into the (already) boiling water and lower the heat slightly to a simmer.

Tip #3: Cook 7 minutes from the first egg in boiling water

Start setting the timer for 7 minutes from the first egg submerged in boiling water. It takes about 30 seconds or less to submerge all four eggs (set the timer for 6 minutes and 30 seconds if you start the timer when you finish submerging all the eggs. Little adjustment matters!)

I use large American eggs for this recipe, and knowing that egg sizes vary in different parts of the world, you might need to adjust the cooking time slightly.

Tip #4: Shock the eggs in ice water

Shock the boiled eggs in ice water immediately and let them chill for at least 15 minutes. I use the same ice water to dip the boiled eggs a few times when peeling them. Water goes into the gap and helps peel easily.

Tip #5: Marinate the eggs overnight

Marinate the ramen eggs for just a few hours or overnight. I can make ramen the next day while the eggs stay marinated in the fridge, waiting for their appearance.

How To Store Ramen Eggs

Soft-boiled eggs should be consumed in 3-4 days. Keep the Ajitsuke Tamago or ramen eggs in the refrigerator at all times. Use a clean utensil to take out a marinated egg, if you continue to marinate the rest of the eggs. I’d take out the ramen eggs after soaking them overnight as I don’t want my eggs to be too salty. You can marinate for up to 2 days at most, but I recommend removing from the marinade after that.

How To Serve Ramen Eggs

I hope you’ll try this recipe because it can make your day better. Here are my absolute favorite ways to enjoy the eggs.

• Serve with Miso Ramen
• Serve with Vegetarian Ramen
• Serve with Tsukemen (Dipping Ramen Noodles)
• Serve on Avocado Toast
• Serve with Japanese Curry
• Pack in Bento Box

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Ramen Eggs (Ajitsuke Tamago)

by Namiko Hirasawa Chen Ramen Eggs (Ajitsuke Tamago) are soft-boiled, marinated, and packed with umami flavor. Jammy yolks and a salty-sweet soy marinade come together with just 4 simple ingredients. They're a classic ramen topping you can make ahead and enjoy all week long on everything! Prep: 5 minutes minsCook: 10 minutes minsMarinating: 8 hours hrsTotal: 15 minutes mins Servings: 4 ramen eggs Email me this recipe

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Ingredients US CustomaryMetric 1x2x3x

• 4 large eggs (50 g w/o shell) (refrigerated; slightly older eggs are easier to peel)

For the Marinade

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup mirin
• ¼ cup sake (or water)
• 1 tsp sugar

Instructions

• Before You Start: Please note that this recipe requires a marination time of 8 hours or overnight. Now, gather all the ingredients.

To Make the Marinade

• Combine ¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup mirin, ¼ cup sake, and 1 tsp sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk to dissolve the sugar completely. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat. Simmer for 1 minute. Turn off the heat. Set aside to cool completely.

To Boil the Eggs

• Add 4 cups (1L) water to a saucepan. Make sure there's enough water to cover the eggs by 1 inch (2.5 cm) once added. Bring the water to a full boil.Remove 4 large eggs (50 g w/o shell) from the fridge. Gently lower one egg at a time into the boiling water with a ladle or strainer. When you add the first egg, set a timer for 7 minutes.Nami's Tip: If you prefer runny yolks, cook for 6–6½ minutes. For custard-like yolks, cook for 8–9 minutes.
• Keep the water simmering gently, not bubbling vigorously. Don't let the eggs bounce around. Nami's Tip: Gently rotate the eggs with chopsticks during the first 3 minutes if you want to keep the yolks centered.
• After 7 minutes, promptly remove the eggs. Submerge them in a bowl of iced water for 15 minutes until cooled completely.

To Marinate the Eggs

• Gently crack the eggshell at the wide bottom end. Start peeling it vertically toward the pointy top. Dip the egg in the iced water a few times to help with peeling.Nami's Tip: Once you peel one section vertically, the rest of the shell comes off easily.
• Place the peeled eggs in a plastic bag. Add the cooled marinade. Nami's Tip: Why do I recommend a plastic bag instead of a container? It requires less marinade to submerge the eggs. Prepare no more than what you need, since we can only use this marinade once for food safety.
• Remove the air from the bag. Seal the bag right above the eggs with a clip or rubber band to keep them completely submerged. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Rotate the eggs occasionally, if you like.Nami's Tip: Marinate the eggs no longer than 12–24 hours or they will get too salty.

To Serve

• Remove the eggs from the marinade. Cleanly cut them in half lengthwise with a fishing line or wire cheese slicer. If you want to warm them, first soak the bag in warm water to bring up the temperature.Enjoy Ramen Eggs in bento, as a easy tonkotsu ramen topping, or as a snack sliced in half and sprinkled with furikake (rice seasonings) and shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice).

To Store

• Remove from the marinade and store in the refrigerator. Enjoy within 3–4 days if your eggs are soft-boiled and within a week if hard-boiled. Do not freeze, as their texture will change. For food safety reasons, I do not recommend reusing this marinade with new boiled eggs. You can cook this marinade and repurpose it as a seasoning sauce for stir-fries or simmered dishes, but use it soon.

Nutrition

Calories: 90kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 186mg, Sodium: 311mg, Potassium: 70mg, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 270IU, Calcium: 28mg, Iron: 1mg

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on September 14, 2014. It has been updated with new images, video, and blog content in September 2021.