Mayak Eggs (Drug Eggs). Soft-boiled eggs with a jammy yolk in a soy-based marinade with addictive flavors! These delicious eggs are savory, sweet, spicy with nutty sesame flavor and umami taste.
Korean marinated eggs make for an easy meal as you can simply have them on white rice with roasted seaweed and a drizzle of sesame oil. Mayak marinated eggs are typically served as a Korean side dish with a bowl of rice.
What are Mayak Eggs?
Mayak Gyeran (마약계란) is the Korean name for these Korean soy sauce jammy eggs. The literal translation is Korean is "drug eggs", thanks to their addictive flavors! Rest assured, there are no actual drugs in these eggs.
Egg Marinade
The marinade is what gives these Korean Mayak eggs their distinct taste. When we combine soy sauce with water, honey, and a variety of aromatics, it creates an unbelievably mouth-watering egg dish in Asian cuisine.
This Korean dish is similar to ramen eggs, which are soy sauce eggs. They originate from Japan. Unlike Mayak Eggs, ramen eggs are marinated in a soy sauce mixture but are not spicy or sweet.
Fantastic for Meal Preparation
These are the best eggs to make for meal preparation. A batch of eggs will last up to 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. The next day, the egg white will absorb more of the flavors from the brine.
Easy to Make
Korean Mayak Eggs are simple to make! It is one of those easy egg recipes made with simple ingredients. The preparation time only takes 5 minutes. The cooking time for the eggs is 6-10 minutes, if you prefer soft boiled eggs or hard-boiled eggs. The marinating time takes 5 hours or overnight for that flavor to seep into the peeled eggs. Overall, the cooking process is easy!
Ingredients
The below ingredients are required for Korean boiled eggs. Please scroll down to the recipe card below for measurements:
- Fresh large eggs: at room temperature. Tip: if you forget to remove your eggs from the fridge in advance, rinse under warm water. For bright yellow egg yolks, source free range eggs with Omega 3s. Avoid using older eggs for best taste.
- Salt
- White vinegar
Marinade:
- Regular soy sauce: just your all-purpose soy sauce (not light soy sauce or dark soy sauce).
- Water
- Honey or white sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, rice syrup, corn syrup or Oligodang syrup
- Onion
- Red chili, or green chili: I'm using Korean red peppers but feel free to use any red or green chili peppers you can find at your grocery store.
- Green onion
- Garlic cloves
- Toasted sesame seeds
Garnish (optional):
- green onions
- roasted seaweed flakes.
- sesame oil
Equipment:
- air-tight container
- plastic wrap (optional)
- large bowl for ice water bath or ice bath
How to Make Korean Mayak Eggs
Bring a small pot of water to boil on high heat. Add salt and vinegar. Gently lower eggs. Boil for 6 mins for room temperature eggs or 7 minutes for cold eggs, uncovered. For hard boiled eggs, boil for 10 minutes.
Prepare a large bowl with enough water and ice cubes.
Remove the eggs from boiling water. Transfer to ice-water bath to cool down completely.
Meanwhile in a container, combine Marinade ingredients as listed and mix well. Ensure the honey or sugar dissolves fully.
Gently peel cooled eggs (Tip: crack the eggs with the back of the spoon and use spoon to help me lift off the shell starting at the bottom of the egg where there is a gap between the egg and shell). Set aside.
Place eggs into marinade. Optional: Place plastic wrap on top of the eggs to push them deeper into the marinade for a more even brown color. Cover container with lid and let this rest in the fridge for at least 5 hours or overnight.
Enjoy over rice or noodles with suggested garnishes.
FAQ
How long can you keep Korean Mayak eggs?
Up to 4 days stored in an air-tight container in the fridge.
Are mayak eggs healthy?
I personally consider them as healthy foods as they're low in calories. You can find the nutritional information below in the recipe card.
Korean side dish recipes you may like!
- Korean Spinach Side Dish
- Pan Fried Tuna Cakes Korean Style
- Gyeran Mari (Korean Egg Roll)
- Korean Cucumber Salad
- Potato Salad Korean Style
- Korean Bean Sprout Salad
The Best & Easiest Mayak Eggs (Korean Marinated Eggs)
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs room temperature or cold
- 2 teaspoon salt for boiling the eggs
- 2 teaspoon white vinegar for boiling the eggs
Marinade
- ½ cup regular soy sauce not light soy sauce or dark soy sauce
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup honey or white/brown sugar, maple syrup, corn syrup or Oligodang syrup
- ¼ cup onion finely diced
- 1-2 red chili pepper or green chilli, finely diced (or red/green bell pepper for mild)
- 1 green onion finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds toasted
Optional Garnish:
- green onions finely chopped
- seaweed flakes
- sesame oil toasted
Instructions
- Bring a small pot of water to boil on high heat. Add salt and vinegar. Gently lower eggs. Boil for 6 mins for room temperature eggs or 7 minutes for cold eggs, uncovered. For hard boiled eggs, boil for 10 minutes.
- Prepare a large bowl with enough water and ice cubes.
- Remove the eggs from boiling water. Transfer to ice-water bath to cool down completely.
- Meanwhile in a container, combine Marinade ingredients as listed and mix well. Ensure the honey or sugar dissolves fully.
- Gently peel cooled eggs (Tip: crack the eggs with the back of the spoon and use spoon to help me lift off the shell starting at the bottom of the egg where there is a gap between the egg and shell). Set aside.
- Place eggs into marinade. Optional: Place plastic wrap on top of the eggs to push them deeper into the marinade for a more even brown color. Cover container with lid and let this rest in the fridge for at least 5 hours or overnight.
- Enjoy over rice with suggested garnishes.
Did you enjoy my recipe?