No bowl of ramen, or any bowl of noodle soup for that matter, is complete without ajituske, soft boiled eggs with their perfectly just-barely-cooked-creamy-yolks and whites hinting of soy and full of umami. Once you have it, no bowl of noodle soup will be complete without it!
I know this is technically originally a Japanese dish. So what? It's absolutely delicious and no noodle soup is complete without it. Soy is a universal Asian flavor so it goes with all Asian cuisines and you can even eat them as a snack. Just do it. You won't regret it!
These soft boiled eggs are so easy to prepare. Mixing the soft yolks with the hot broth of your soup brings every bowl to the next level.
Ajituske Tomago
Serve with ramen or any noodle soup!
Ingredients (makes 12 ajituske)
Marinade
3 cups water
1 1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoons black soy sauce
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup sake (rice wine)
1/4 cup sugar
Eggs
1 dozen eggs, room temperature
water, enough to fill 2" of pan
Directions
Prepare marinade. In a small saucepan over medium high heat, combine water, soy sauces, salt, sake, and sugar and bring up to a boil. Stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Select a medium/large saucepan that is large enough to arrange eggs in a single layer. Do not place eggs in pot yet. Fill the pot about 2" with water and and bring to a boil. When the water is at a rolling boil, use a slotted spoon to gently lower eggs into water, being careful not to crack the eggs. When the water comes back up to a gentle boil set timer for 6 minutes, 30 seconds to no more than 7 minutes. In the meantime prepare an ice bath for the eggs.
As soon as the timer goes off, use a slotted spoon to quickly remove eggs to the prepared ice bath. This will stop the cooking. Leave the eggs in the ice bath for 3-5 minutes.
Transfer cooled/room temperature marinade to a zip top bag or an air tight container. Take an egg and gently crack it on the wider end where the air pocket is located. Crack and peel the egg and place in the marinade. Do the same with the rest of the eggs. Remove air and tightly seal the zip top bag. If using a container make sure all the eggs are submerged in a single layer in the marinade. Add a little more water if needed. Let eggs marinate for 6 hours to overnight in the refrigerator.
When ready to serve, reheat or simply slice and let the heat from the soup gently heat up the egg. Store marinated eggs for up to 3 days. Enjoy!
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