Soy-Miso Marinated Ramen Eggs

This Soy-Miso Marinated Ramen Egg recipe transforms a bowl of humble ramen into something sublime.

There are few things in this world better than a marinated egg floating in a bowl of Asian soup. Read on for easy steps and top tips detailing how to make ramen eggs.

top view of soy-miso marinated ramen egg, cut in half showing runny yolk and deep marinade penetration placed on a gray plate. — *^{24 hour marinated ramen eggs, look at that penetration}*

I had my first experience with ramen eggs at a local Asian restaurant that, sadly, has since gone out of business.

I remembered how the ramen egg marinade permeated deep into the white of the egg.

And when I bit in, whew! What flavor: the egg was full of umami and salty goodness.

Plus, the texture of the custardy yolk was fabulous.

I absolutely had to develop a ramen egg recipe—STAT!

You might be wondering...

What is a ramen egg?

In the most basic form, a ramen egg is simply a soft boiled egg (or hard boiled) that you float in the hot broth of ramen soup.

But it can be so much more.

When you marinate an egg for a few hours in something as basic as soy sauce and miso, it becomes something magical.

It essentially transforms into a salty umami bomb. It takes your humble bowl of ramen soup to the level of the sublime.

These days, it's just not a bowl of ramen soup to me anymore unless a ramen egg is floating in it.

A bowl of ramen soup with 2 soy-miso marinated eggs, sliced in half, floating in the broth.

How to make ramen eggs

First, soft boil the eggs (see my recipe card for cooking to your preference).
Second, make the marinade.
Third, peel the eggs and marinate (overnight is best).
Last, add egg to your ramen soup.

Soft boil the eggs

Soft boiling eggs produces a jammy yolk that is perfect for ramen. The yolk spills into the broth, creating added flavor and creaminess.

To soft boil eggs, first bring water to a soft boil in a saucepan over a burner set to medium-high heat.

Next, gently add eggs and cook about 6 ½ minutes.

I use a skimmer to slowly lower the eggs into the boiling water, then gently roll them out onto the bottom of the pan. If an egg cracks, don't sweat it—you'll still have some egg left to marinate (unless you really pulverized it, that is).

Once cooked, immediately add the eggs to a bowl of ice water. We want stop the cooking process right away.

Now just gently, carefully peel: this takes patience. Soft boiled eggs are very delicate. I find that holding them under cold running water as I carefully peel away the shell helps.

When the eggs are peeled, add them to a ziploc bag.

Can you use hard boiled eggs?

Absolutely. Using leftover Easter eggs or making hard boiled eggs specifically for this dish is just fine. I realize everyone has a different tolerance for runny egg yolks.

Just marinate the hard boiled eggs same as you would soft boiled eggs.

A bowl of ramen soup garnished with 2 halves of a custardy soy-miso marinated egg. The soup is also garnished with scallions and sriracha.

Make the Ramen Egg Marinade

I use a mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and miso paste: thoroughly mix these in a bowl, then add to a ziploc bag. Feel free to substitute mirin for the rice vinegar if you like.

Allow ramen eggs to marinate

Add the soft boiled eggs to the ramen egg marinade. Make sure to squeeze out as much as air as possible before sealing the bag.

Then, put the marinated egg bag into a tall narrow container.

This serves two purposes. One, should a leak occur in the bag, it won't run all over the refrigerator.

Two, when you use a narrow container, it ensures the eggs are entirely submerged in the soy miso marinade.

Ramen egg marinade: soy sauce, miso, and rice vinegar in a Ziploc bag set into a measuring cup. — *^{Soft boiled eggs marinating in a bag of miso soy marinade, inside a small container}*

For example, four eggs fit well into a quart-sized ziploc set inside a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup.

The longer you marinate the ramen eggs, the deeper the marinade penetration into the egg white. Which, of course, means more flavor.

I suggest a minimum of 4 hours, but I have marinated ramen eggs up to 24 hours with awesome results.

After marinating it is finally time to...

Add the egg to the ramen

The best way to add eggs to ramen soup is to first slice them in half lengthwise. The yolks should be creamy and runny (unless you hard boiled them).

2 Soy-Miso Marinated Ramen Eggs, sliced in half on a grey, circular plate. The white is suffused with a golden-brown color from the marinade, while the yolks are perfectly custardy. — ^{Notice the deep dark marinade penetration around the ramen eggs?}

Finally, rest them on top of your ramen soup, yolk side up. It makes for a beautiful presentation.

A soy-miso-marinated ramen egg with the yolk overflowing into the ramen soup it is floating in. A pair of chopsticks is set inside the bowl, which rests on a wooden cutting board. — ^{How delicious does this look?}

That's all there is to it! I hope you love these soy-miso marinated ramen eggs as much as we do!

Be sure to try them out with my Pork-Miso Ramen Soup or Grown-Up Ramen Noodle Soup!

For more exotic soup recipes, check out:
Instant Pot Vegetable Pho Noodle Soup
Caldillo: Green Chile Pork Stew
Moroccan Lamb Stew
—or check out my entire collection of soups and stews.

—xoxo Michelle