Jammy and savory, Soy Cured Egg Yolks are delicious paired with a hot bowl of rice or tucked into homemade onigiri. Marinate raw egg yolks overnight in a simple mixture of soy sauce and mirin for this wonderful treat!
Soy Cured Egg Yolks are super tasty and surprisingly easy to make!
The first time I tasted soy cured egg yolks, I assumed there was some long and complicated processed involved in making them. But it turns out, like many pickled and cured foods, it's a low effort and high reward dish.
Mix soy sauce and mirin together. Separate the eggs (save the whites for another dish) and place the yolks in the mixture. Leave it in the refrigerator overnight. That's it! Take it out the next day to eat and enjoy ^_^
Marinate the eggs for as little as 12 hours and up to 48 hours. The longer you marinate, the firmer the yolks will be. They also get more salty and concentrated in flavor with time. If you like the yolks lighter in flavor and looser in texture, then marinate for a shorter period. We usually marinate for 24 hours.
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Ingredients
Here's what you'll need:
- Soy sauce - Kikkoman and Aloha are the two most popular brands in Hawaii. We've used both types of soy sauce for this recipe and they both work well. Keep in mind that Kikkoman is a little more salty and Aloha is a little less salty. You can also use low sodium versions if you'd like. The exact taste will vary depending on the brand/type of soy sauce you use, but it's all good.
- Mirin - Mirin will add a little sweetness and complexity to the marinade. You can also substitute mirin in this recipe with sake and a tablespoon of sugar.
- Egg yolks - Use the freshest egg yolks you can find. For recipes with raw eggs or cured eggs, we like to use eggs from OK Poultry in Waimanalo (on Oahu).
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Let's get cooking!
Mix the soy sauce and mirin in a medium sized container.
Gently add the egg yolks to the mixture.
Put a lid on the container (or use plastic wrap to cover the container). Marinate the eggs in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
Use a spoon to carefully flip the egg yolks over and let marinate in the refrigerator for another 12 hours.
Then the yolks are ready to eat! We love to serve the yolks over a bowl of hot rice for a simple and delicious meal.
You can marinate the yolks for up to 48 hours but I don't recommend going past 48 hours. The longer you marinate the yolk, the more firm and salty they get.
You can marinate for less than 24 hours if preferred, but we've found that 24 hours is our "sweet spot." Enjoy ^_^
How To Serve
There are three main ways we enjoy cured egg yolks:
- Rice - The classic! Place a single cured egg yolk over a bowl of hot rice. Dig in and enjoy! If you want to make it extra pretty, sprinkle furikake on the rice before placing the egg yolk on top. You can also top with a drizzle of sesame oil and green onions.
- Noodles - Top any noodle dish with a cured egg yolk and enjoy.
- Onigiri - Make homemade onigiri and use the cured egg yolk as the filling. Use one yolk per onigiri. Marinate the egg yolk on the longer end for onigiri, aim for closer to 48 hours.
Soy cured egg yolks make any simple rice and noodle dish feel special.
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few tasty ideas to get you started:
- Konbu - Add a strip of konbu to the marinade. I soak the konbu in water overnight beforehand to soften it. This is because the konbu strip can be sharp and poke the egg yolk.
- Garlic - Add minced garlic to the marinade. Use as much garlic as you'd like.
- Onion - Add thinly sliced onions to the marinade.
You can use one of these variations or all of them at the same time ^_^
Storage
Store the yolks in the marinade in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat them. Don't marinate for more than 48 hours.
Make only as much as you need to eat for 1-2 days. This is not a recipe that you want to make in bulk (unless you plan to eat lots of cured egg yolks all at once).
Top Tip
Don't forget to flip the egg yolk! The yolks float so only the bottom half of the yolks marinate in the soy sauce and mirin mixture. You need to flip the eggs halfway through the total marinade time to make sure the yolks are evenly cured. Since we marinate for 24 hours total, we flip the eggs at the 12 hour mark.
If you prefer not to flip the eggs (or don't have the time) but still want it to marinate evenly, double the marinade amounts and then lightly place a paper towel over the eggs in the marinade before you put it in the refrigerator.
Make sure the paper towel fully covers the eggs. This will ensure that the top half of the yolks also get marinated.
FAQ
We usually make egg white fried rice! When feeling fancy, I also like to make chocolate soufflé ^_^
These eggs are so flavorful, jammy, and rich so they pair well with just a simple bowl of rice. To make it a more "complete" meal we like to add easy meat or vegetable dish. A few favorites include Octopus Hot Dogs, Simmered Kabocha, and Steamed Ginger Chicken.
Soy Cured Egg Yolk Recipe
Soy Cured Egg Yolks
Instructions
- Mix the soy sauce and mirin in a medium sized container.
- Gently add the egg yolks to the mixture.
- Put a lid on the container (or use plastic wrap to cover the container). Marinate the eggs in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
- Use a spoon to carefully flip the egg yolks over and let marinate in the refrigerator for another 12 hours.
- Then the yolks are ready to eat! We love to serve the yolks over a bowl of hot rice for a simple and delicious meal.
- You can marinate the yolks for up to 48 hours but I don't recommend going past 48 hours. The longer you marinate the yolk, the more firm and salty they get. You can marinate for less than 24 hours if preferred, but we've found that 24 hours is our "sweet spot." Enjoy ^_^
Nutrition
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Mahalo for Reading!