How To Cook Ramen Eggs, According To Ramen King Keisuke Takeda
Here is the ramen chef's step-by-step recipe for ajitsuke tamago (‘seasoned egg’ in Japanese) — the gooey-yolked, soy-soaked egg in your ramen.
Click through the next few slides to find out how to cook a gloriously gooey-yolked, soy-infused egg. It's not rocket science, but you'll need some patience.
Ingredients: 10 eggs (60g each, with shell on)
For the marinade: 100ml shoyu (Japanese soy sauce) 600ml water 40g sugar
PHOTOS: EALBERT HO
Fill saucepan with enough water to submerge eggs, and bring it to a boil over high heat.
When the water boils, carefully place the eggs on a ladle a few at a time, and lower into the water. Adjust heat so the water comes to a gentle simmer. Cook eggs for 6 mins 30 secs (about 6 mins if cooking less than 10 eggs). Pro tip: chef Keisuke-san recommends starting with room temperature eggs. And use eggs that are a few days old — they’re easier to peel as their egg whites don't cling as much to the inner shell membrane.
Meanwhile, prepare a large bowl of iced water.
Once your timer buzzes, immediately plunge boiled eggs into the iced water to stop residual heat from further cooking them. Soak for 6 mins.
Once eggs have cooled down, peel them while they’re submerged in ice water.
The water pressure will ensure that the egg white’s delicate surface remains pristine while you peel the shell.
To make marinade, combine shoyu, 600ml water and sugar in a bowl. Stir till sugar dissolves.
Pour soy mixture into a large resealable plastic bag. Slip eggs into the bag, making sure they’re fully submerged in the sauce. Seal bag and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Eggs before marinating for 24 hours (left) and after (right).
After 24 hours, your marinade should look slightly paler than when it was freshly prepared, as the eggs would’ve absorbed some of the dark-hued shoyu in the mixture.
To serve, slice egg with a taut thread or unscented dental floss
’Cos Keisuke says the gooey yolk will stick to the sides of a knife if you use one (he uses a sturdier fishing line in his restaurants). Tie one end of the string to a stable object, like a cupboard handle, loop the other end a few times around your finger and pull the string taut. Place an egg securely in your other hand and slice the egg cleanly crosswise (the egg halves are sturdier this way and hold the precious yolk better than if you were to slice it lengthwise).
Soy good!
Ooey gooey eggy goodness that’s great in a bowl of noodles, as a side dish or on its own as a snack.
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