The Mess-Free Trick To Completely Immerse Eggs In Marinade

Did you know ramen got its start in China in the 1800s? The now-beloved dish then traveled to Japan via Chinese immigrants, says Yokocho, a retro-chic Japanese ramen restaurant in Central London. Thanks to trial and error and knowledge being passed from one chef to another — Creamy tonkotsu ramen was discovered after a chef accidentally overcooked some pork broth, for example — ramen now spans a variety of broth types, noodle thicknesses, and toppings. 

Whether you prefer your piping hot bowl of ramen from a restaurant or at home from a packet, it's never quite so good as when it's topped with an ajitsuke tamago or ajitama — otherwise known as a ramen egg. More than a simple soft-boiled egg, a ramen egg is marinated in a special sauce for anywhere from several hours to several days, depending on your preferred intensity (and your patience!). It is a noteworthy finishing touch to any really great ramen recipe. But, it has a problem: Namely, eggs float. To marinate them evenly, it helps to have a hack. Fortunately, it might be easier than you think to marinate your ramen eggs to perfection.

Mashed recipe developer Michelle McGlinn suggests you soft-boil your eggs for just under six minutes, then submerge them in an ice bath so they stop cooking, cool quickly, and are subsequently easier to peel before you add them to the marinade. Her favorite marinade is a soy sauce, sake, and mirin mix, but you can also add spices, garlic, or other flavors to make any soy sauced-based egg marinade of your choice. From there, sealing the eggs and marinade into a plastic bag or container is easy enough, but there's an even better way. 

Marinating your ramen eggs in a plastic bag could lead to leakage, while placing them in a container means the floating parts of the egg may not soak up any marinade. Serious Eats' solution, however, calls for one of the most basic supplies you'll find in any kitchen: a paper towel. J. Kenji López-Alt suggests you simply toss a single paper towel sheet over your eggs, after you've poured the marinade over them in a bowl. The towel will become completely saturated in the marinade and allow the top of each egg to soak up the juices, leaving you with evenly tinted, perfectly flavored eggs for your next batch of ramen.