Sweet and spicy, soy garlic marinated, jammy mayak eggs (마약계란) are a delicious Korean banchan to spice up your rice bowl. These soy-marinated eggs are trending because they are dangerously addicting.
Mayak eggs or Korean marinated eggs are soft-boiled jammy eggs marinated in a sweet and spicy, soy garlic marinade that is absolutely as delicious as it sounds. You can serve these soy eggs over a bed of warm white rice and a drizzle of sesame oil for the most savory, umami bite.
Since this blog is named Takes Two Eggs, we finally decided to lean in and create a deliciously addicting Korean marinated eggs recipe. Originally, the name Takes Two Eggs was inspired by a line from a cheesy Netflix rom-com movie that resonated with us. The line was, “He’s a good egg. Like you. And it takes two good eggs to make an omelet.” And the rest was history.
These soy sauce eggs are my new favorite Korean banchan because of how easy and delicious they are to make. If you loved these soy-marinated eggs, check out our Korean cucumber salad, corn cheese, and gochujang chicken wings!
Table of Contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- These soy-marinated eggs are so simple to make yet pack a lot of umami flavor.
- This soy eggs recipe works as a snack, for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
- You can meal prep these Korean marinated eggs in advance and they can last up to 7 days in the refrigerator!
🍽 Kitchen Equipment
For this soy-marinated eggs recipe, all you need are a few simple kitchen tools.
- Medium Saucepan: to boil the eggs
- Slotted Spoon or Spider Strainer: using a slotted spoon or spider strainer allows you to gently place the eggs into the boiling water to prevent any cracks.
- Mixing Bowls: you will need a medium to large mixing bowls for an ice bath and to mix the marinade.
- Airtight Container: to store the soy-marinated eggs. You will need a container that is tall enough to submerge the Mayak eggs.
🛒 Ingredients
- Eggs: you can use either 6 or 7 large eggs for this recipe. You can use room temperature or cold eggs based on your preference. If you use room-temperature eggs, I recommend cooking the eggs for 6 minutes instead of 7 for the perfect jammy egg.
- Salt: a touch of salt will permeate the egg shell while cooking and season the egg.
- White Vinegar: white vinegar helps pull the egg white from the shell making it easier to peel.
Mayak Marinade
- Soy Sauce: Since this marinade is soy sauce based, I recommend using a soy sauce brand that you love, preferably one with less sodium. I used my Japanese Kikkoman soy sauce for this recipe.
- Honey: is the main sweetener for these soy sauce eggs.
- Yellow Onion: adds a sweet aromatic flavor to the marinade.
- Garlic: soy sauce and garlic are simply a match made in heaven.
- Scallions: another aromatic.
- Korean Red and Green Pepper: adds a spicy kick to the soy sauce eggs.
- Toasted Sesame Seeds: for a nutty flavor and crunch
✨ Substitutions and Additions
These marinated eggs can be easily customized based on your flavor and ingredient preferences.
- Sweetener: as an alternative to honey, you can also use granulated sugar, corn syrup, or Korean rice syrup.
- Shallots: instead of a yellow onion, if you want a sharper aromatic flavor you can add 1 shallot instead.
- Pepper: you do not have to use Korean red and green peppers. Instead, you can use any hot pepper of your choosing such as Thai chili, Jalapeno, or serrano peppers.
📝 How to Make Mayak Eggs
To make these soy-marinated eggs, the key is to perfect the soft boil for that glistening, soft jammy yolk. I recommend using a timer for best results.
- Soft boil the eggs. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil and mix in the salt and vinegar. Using a spider strainer or slotted spoon, carefully lower the eggs into the water. Make sure the water completely covers the eggs. Simmer the eggs on medium heat for 7 minutes over a gentle boil.
- Ice bath. Remove the eggs and place them in a water bath for at least 5 minutes or until cooled. Remove the shells.
- Mayak Marinade. In a mixing bowl, mix together the soy sauce, water, honey, diced onion, minced garlic, minced scallions, sliced Korean pepper, sliced jalapeno, and toasted sesame seeds.
- Marinate. Add the eggs to an airtight container and pour the marinade on top. Marinate the eggs in the refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours but preferably overnight. It should last up to a week in the marinade.
- Serve. Enjoy the Korean marinated eggs with freshly cooked rice, a spoonful of the marinade, and a drizzle of sesame oil.
⭐️ Tips for the Best Mayak Eggs
- Cold eggs v. room temperature eggs. If you use cold eggs, you won’t have to wait for the eggs to reach room temperature but you may risk the eggs cracking upon being placed in the boiling water. For room temperature eggs, the eggs will less likely crack in the water. I used cold eggs for this recipe. But if you opt for room temperature, boil the eggs for 6 minutes.
- Add vinegar to the boiling water. The vinegar will help break down the shells while the eggs are boiling which makes them easier to peel.
- Use an ice bath. The ice bath will cool the eggs immediately and stop the cooking process which will yield the perfect jammy eggs. The ice water will also cause the eggs to contract and pull away from the shell making them much easier to peel.
- Marinate the eggs for at least 6 hours. I recommend marinating the soy eggs overnight so that the marinade has time to permeate the egg white for optimal flavor.
🥡 Storage Instructions
I recommend eating these mayak eggs within 24 hours for optimal flavor. However, you can store these soy sauce eggs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
💬 Frequently Asked Q’s & A’s
Mayak eggs are a delicious Korean banchan or side dish that is typically served with white rice. These Korean marinated eggs are marinated with soy sauce, garlic, chili peppers, scallions, toasted sesame seeds, and honey.
Mayak Gyeran eggs (마약계란) literally translates to “drug eggs” in Korean. The name is not because it has actual drugs but because these eggs are dangerously addicting.
Yes! This dish contains whole foods ingredients and natural sugars which make it arguably healthy. So don’t feel guilty eating these soy eggs over and over again!
You can eat these soy sauce eggs over a bed of warm rice, with some marinade, a drizzle of sesame oil, and freshly sliced scallions.
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👩🏻🍳 Recipe
Mayak Eggs
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon white vinegar
Mayak Marinade
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup water
- ⅓ cup honey or rice syrup
- ¼ small yellow onion diced about ¼ cup
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 stalks scallions minced
- 1 Korean red pepper sliced
- 1 Jalapeno or serrano pepper sliced
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Soft boil the eggs. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil and mix in the salt and vinegar. Using a spider strainer or slotted spoon, carefully lower the eggs into the water. Make sure the water completely covers the eggs. Simmer the eggs on medium heat for 7 minutes over a gentle boil.
- Ice bath. Remove the eggs and place them in a water bath for at least 5 minute or until cooled. Remove the shells.
- Mayak Marinade. In a mixing bowl, mix together the soy sauce, water, honey, diced onion, minced garlic, minced scallions, sliced korean pepper, sliced jalapeno and toasted sesame seeds.
- Marinate. Add the eggs in an airtight container and pour the marinade on top. Marinate the eggs in the refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours but preferably overnight. It should last up to a week in the marinade.
- Serve. Enjoy the Korean marinated eggs with freshly cooked rice, a spoonful of the marinade and a drizzle of sesame oil.
Notes
- Cold eggs v. room temperature eggs. If you use cold eggs, you won’t have to wait for the eggs to reach room temperature but you may risk the eggs cracking upon being placed in the boiling water. For room temperature eggs, the eggs will less likely crack in the water. I used cold eggs for this recipe. But if you opt for room temperature, boil the eggs for 6 minutes.
- Add vinegar to the boiling water. The vinegar will help break down the shells while the eggs are boiling which makes them easier to peel.
- Use an ice bath. The ice bath will cool the eggs immediately and stop the cooking process which will yield the perfect jammy eggs. The ice water will also cause the eggs to contract and pull away from the shell making them much easier to peel.
- Marinate the eggs for at least 6 hours. I recommend marinating the soy eggs overnight so that the marinade has time to permeate the egg white for optimal flavor.
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