Mayak Eggs (Korean Marinated Eggs) | Two Plaid Aprons (2024)

Mayak eggs, or Korean soy marinated eggs, is a popular Korean side dish (banchan) made by marinating soft boiled eggs in a soy sauce based marinade. It's sweet, savory, soft, and jammy!

What is your favorite Korean banchan? Because these mayak eggs are so good, they may become your favorite!

Have these eggs with some rice and a generous drizzle of the marinade, and you've got yourself a quick meal/snack! It's honestly so easy to make and requires only a few basic ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.

If you're looking for more banchan recipes, you may also like our cucumber kimchi, geotjeori (fresh kimchi), traditional napa cabbage kimchi, and this super silky steamed egg recipe!

What are mayak eggs?

Mayak eggs, also known as mayak gyeran (마약계란), is a Korean banchan that literally translates to "drug eggs," due to how tasty and addicting they are!

They are soft boiled eggs marinated in a soy sauce based marinade loaded with onion, garlic, pepper, and sesame seeds. After marinating, the egg whites take on a brown color while the egg yolks become rich orange and jammy.

Mayak eggs are incredibly delicious and super easy to make with basic ingredients you probably already have!

Ingredients

• Eggs - Because the eggs are the star of this recipe, it's great to use good quality eggs, but regular eggs tastes just as good! Most importantly, this recipe's cook time is based off of large eggs. If you are using smaller or larger eggs, you'll have to adjust the egg's cook time accordingly.

• Vinegar - When boiling eggs, adding some vinegar to the water can make the egg shells easier to peel. This is not necessary at if you're making hard boiled eggs, but we did find that adding vinegar did help with peeling soft boiled eggs.
  • Use 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to 5 cups of water.

• Onion, garlic, green onions - These three adds flavor to the marinade. Since the marinade also makes for a great sauce, the vegetables adds texture to whatever you add it to.

• Chili peppers - This is only necessary if you want some spice in the marinade, although the chili peppers will also add color and texture. We used Korean chili peppers and jalapeños.

🌟 Pro tip: Majority of a spicy pepper's heat comes from the seeds. So if you wish to add more spice, include the seeds! You can simply slice the peppers into wheels instead of chopping them up.

• Sesame seed - This adds nuttiness and additional texture to marinated eggs. If you prefer, you could omit.

• Soy sauce - The main flavoring of mayak eggs is soy sauce. We used Kikoman's light sodium soy sauce for the recipe. If you only have regular sodium soy sauce, you may need to add a couple tablespoons extra water, but it's totally personal preference.

• Honey - Because we like to eat the marinade with rice, we used honey as a natural, healthier sweetener. You could also use brown rice syrup or corn syrup to substitute.

• Water - To ensure that the marinade is not overly salty, even if the eggs are marinated for more than 24 hours, water is added to dilute the marinade.

How to make mayak eggs

Korean marinated eggs are incredibly easy to make! Just follow the follow steps to make these tasty soy marinated eggs with jammy yolks:

Boil the eggs:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, then gently place the eggs into the water. Set a timer for 6 minutes and keep the water at a gentle boil.

🌟 Pro tip: Adding some vinegar to the water will make the egg shells easier to boil. Use 2 tablespoons per 5 cups of water. Also, you can use a spoon or ladle to gently place the eggs into the boiling water.

2. While the eggs are boiling, prepare an ice bath (bowl of water with ice).

3. Once the eggs have boiled for 6 minutes, immediately remove them from the water and place them in the prepared ice bath. Let them cool completely. This will stop the eggs from cooking further and also help release the eggs from their shells.

Make the mayak marinade:

4. While the eggs are cooling, prepare the marinade. Add all the ingredients for the marinade into a bowl (onion, garlic, green onion, chili pepper, sesame seeds, soy sauce, honey, and water).

Marinate the eggs:

5. Once the eggs have cooled, crack the eggs on a hard surface and peel.

6. Place the eggs in an airtight container and pour the mayak marinade over the eggs. Place the lid on the container and let the eggs marinate in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight, for best flavor.

🌟 Pro tip: We found that the amount of marinade and eggs fits perfectly in an airtight container with 3 cups capacity. If the eggs float a little, you can place a sheet of plastic wrap over the eggs and push them down. Make sure the plastic wrap is touch the eggs!

Recipe Tips

• Use large eggs straight from the fridge. This recipe's cook time is based on large eggs take straight from the fridge. So if you use smaller or larger eggs or eggs that are room temperature, please adjust the egg's cook time accordingly.

• Marinate the eggs for at least 6 hours or overnight. Although you could eat mayak eggs with some marinade right after making them. However, they taste the best after the eggs absorb the marinade and become flavorful.

• For hard boiled eggs, boil the eggs for 11 to 12 minutes. Although mayak eggs are best with soft boiled eggs, you can make hard boiled eggs if you prefer.

• Use deep container rather than a shallow one. Make sure to choose a container that's at least 2 inches deep so that the eggs can be fully submerged in the marinade. Otherwise you'll have to rotate the eggs occasionally.

How to eat mayak eggs

Mayak eggs are really flavorful on their own, making them a great banchan/side dish. So you can easily enjoy them over some white rice with a generous drizzle of marinade, a splash of sesame oil, and furikake or seaweed.

We like to bibim (mix) the eggs with marinade and rice for a quick snack/ meal.

You can also use these mayak eggs as for your ramen! Although a they're little different than ramen eggs, Korean marinated eggs are great as an easy to make substitute.

Storage

Store these mayak eggs in the fridge, in an airtight container, with the marinade. They will be good up to 1 week, but best enjoyed within 3 to 4 days of making.

FAQ

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Mayak Eggs (Korean Marinated Eggs)

Mayak eggs, or Korean soy marinated eggs, is a popular Korean side dish (banchan) made by marinating soft boiled eggs in a soy sauce based marinade. It's sweet, savory, soft, and jammy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1egg | Calories: 158kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 186mg | Sodium: 1750mg | Potassium: 190mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 362IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 2mg

Keywords: mayak geyran, soy marinated eggs