The Korean Way to Make Soft-Boiled Eggs 10x Better

Justine Lee
·3-min read

Is there anything eggs can't do? The humble ingredient can be turned into so many tasty things we love to eat: scrambled eggs, poached eggs, hard-boiled eggs, omelets, mayonnaise, pasta and baked goods like all the holiday cookies.

I love eggs in all their forms and I'm also very lazy when it comes to weeknight cooking. And that's why my go-to way to prepare eggs is the Korean way: boil them and soy-marinate them to make mayak eggs. They're easy to cook (you literally just boil some eggs!), easy to meal prep (trust me, you'll want to) and easy to eat as a high-flavor, low-effort, protein-packed meal even on busy days when you "don't have time for lunch” (I get it but I cannot relate to that statement ever.)

Related: The Korean Way to Make Grilled Cheese 10x Better

What Are Mayak Eggs?

Mayak gyeran, or soy-marinated eggs, are one of the many banchan (side dishes) in Korean cooking. "Gyeran" means egg in Hangeul. The word "mayak" literally translates to drug in Hangeul and before you ask, no these eggs are not laced with substances. Rather, it's common for Koreans to slap "mayak" in front of a food's name when it's that irresistable.

Mayak eggs consist of boiled eggs, typically soft-boiled, peeled and dunked in a bath of soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, sesame seeds and a lot of big, bold aromatics, like gochugaru (Korean red pepper powder), garlic and green onions. After a few hours in this flavorful soak, the eggs emerge salty, fatty and tangy with a beautifully jammy yolk. You can plop these delightful soy-marinated eggs on a bed of steamy white rice, eat as a banchan or eat one as a snack. I'll ask once again: is there anything eggs can't do?

😋😋 SIGN UP to get delicious recipes, handy kitchen hacks & more in our daily Pop Kitchen newsletter 🍳🍔

Ingredients Needed for Mayak Eggs

For mayak eggs, you'll need as many eggs as you'd like (I typically use 4-6 eggs per batch), soy sauce, a sweetener like honey or agave, rice vinegar, sesame oil, gochugaru, minced garlic, chopped green onions and sesame seeds. In the TikTok video by @christy.cooks, which I typically reference when I make mayak eggs, thinly sliced serrano peppers give the marinade an added kick of heat but I don't have a huge spice tolerance so I deem it optional! If you're a spice-seeker, that option might be worth trying, though.

Related: The Korean Way to Make Iced Coffee Taste 10x Better

How to Make Mayak Eggs

Start by soft-boiling eggs for anywhere between 6 to 8 minutes. (You're looking for a runny or jammy yolk vs. a hard-boiled one.) Immediately shock the eggs in an ice bath, which cools the eggs and makes them easier to peel. Prepare the soy sauce marinade by combining soy sauce, water (about a 1/2 cup), your choice of sweetener, rice vinegar, sesame oil, gochugaru, minced garlic, chopped green onions and sesame seeds. Place the eggs in an airtight container and cover with the marinade. Allow the eggs to marinate in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight.

More Korean Food Tips

Up Next:

Related: The Asian Way to Make Scrambled Eggs 10x Better

Latest stories