Ramen noodles often get a bad wrap. They are known to be cheap, full of sodium, and usually lonely pantry staples hidden in the back of the cabinet. Karen even bought a case of ramen noodles from Costco as part of her college move-in essentials back in the day. Guess how many of those 24 ramen packets actually got devoured… about 2.
It wasn’t until we moved to Austin and fell in love with Ramen Tatsu-ya (arguably one of the best ramen spots in the country) where our appreciation for ramen actually started to grow. Their broth is rich and creamy, the sliced pork is perfectly tender, and the eggs… oh the eggs. They are perfectly cooked on the outside and almost custardy on the inside, the perfect accompaniment for a warm bowl of deliciousness.
Thus, we started our journey of being Ramen connoisseurs. Gavin helped with the production of the US’ first Ramen Expo when it was hosted here in Austin, TX last year. We scoured the Asian markets for new ramen noodles to try and even subscribed to the Japan Ramen Box where you get a monthly shipment of ramen (that can only be found in Japan) shipped right to your house. Now that we’re ramen snobs, we’ve figured out the secret to having good ramen at home: it’s all about the things you add to it! Make homemade tonkatsu ramen or amp up your packaged ramen by adding mushrooms, nori, scallions, your own meat, and the most perfect Ajitsuke Tamago aka ramen egg.
We’re telling you, once you master these marinated ramen eggs, your ramen (or any soup for that matter) will be forever elevated. The eggs are actually pretty easy to make once you’ve picked up the specialty ingredients from an Asian grocer and mastered soft boiling the eggs. It’s as easy as boil, peel, and marinate. There are a number of ways to successful soft boil an egg. Some chefs praise the method of poking a tiny hole in the fat end of the egg and boiling for 8 minutes, but we have had a lot of success with steaming them to perfection in a rice cooker. Either way, we must admit that this ramen egg recipe is a hit. It went perfectly with our homemade pork belly chashu that we smoked in our Traeger Grill.
Marinated Ramen Egg Recipe
Makes 6 eggs, 12 halves
Preparation Time: 24 hours
6 eggs
½ cup of mirin
1 cup of water
½ cup of soy sauce
1 tsp of dashi powder
½ cup of sake (feel free to use a cheap sake, it doesn’t matter)
Add all of the ingredients to a saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for one minute and then remove from heat to let the marinade cool. Meanwhile, we added about an inch of water to a rice cooker and topped with a steamer basket. Once boiling, carefully use a spoon or ladle to add the eggs to the steamer basket. Cover and let steam for about 8 minutes. If you want your yolks more runny use less time, etc. Use a spoon to remove the eggs from the steamer basket and add them to a bowl of ice water. Let them sit for an hour, this will make the peeling process a breeze. Once peeled, add the eggs to a mason jar and pour the marinade on top. Add the cover and chill in the refrigerator for a day for the eggs to marinade. Slice the eggs in half and add them to your ramen before serving.
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