Ajitsuki Tamago - Seasoned Boiled Egg

Tokyo Style Ramen w/ Seasoned Boiled Egg

Seasoned boiled egg, or Ajitsuki Tamago, is a classic ramen topping. A perfectly cooked and set egg white with a gooey yolk, marinated in a sweet-soy dashi solution - it might be the iconic ramen topping for many ramen lovers.

Surprisingly, these eggs are also very straightforward to make, requiring only a few hours of resting time after cooking before they are ready to be enjoyed in a hot bowl of ramen! The key to achieving a perfect cook is a precise boiling time. This recipe specifies a cook time of 7 minutes and 30 seconds, but your cook time may vary slightly due to the specific range and pot you use. Practice makes perfect as they say, so take notes when you make this recipe and then adjust your boil time the next time if your eggs are more or less done than desired.

This post also serves as the first in a series of posts that will teach you how to make the entire bowl of ramen shown above! A couple years ago, Erin gifted Mark a Tokyo Style Ramen cooking class experience with Chef Shinya Asami, a Seattle-based Japanese chef. We had a blast, and if you live in the area we would highly recommend taking a class from Chef Shinya. We learned a lot in the few hours we spent in the class and gained the confidence to make a respectable bowl of ramen at home. Over the next week or two we will be posting recipes for Nibuta (Chashu), seasoned steamed cabbage, Rayu (Japanese chili oil), and Tokyo Style Ramen soup and bowl preparation. Stay tuned for the deliciousness!

Recipe from: Chef Shinya Asami (Cozymeal, Facebook)

Total time: 2½ o 6½ hours

Ingredients

• 4 Eggs
• 300 ml Dashi solution (100%, water plus ½ tsp Dashi powder)
• 25 ml Sake (8.3%)
• 60 ml soy sauce (20%)
• 25g brown sugar (8.3%)

Directions

Poking holes in eggs with push pin

1. Using a push pin, poke a small hole in the fat end of each egg.
   
   

   

   Dashi solution and ingredients

   
   
   
2. Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl to make marinade.
   
   

   

   Eggs boiling!

   
   
   
   
3. Bring a small pot of water to a boil then carefully drop eggs into boiling water. Cook eggs for 7 minutes and 30 seconds while keeping a consistent boil. Turn heat off and drain hot water, place pot under running cold water then fill pot with cold water and ice cubes to chill eggs.
   
   
   

   

   Cooked, cooled, and peeled eggs

   
   

   

   Eggs in marinade

   
   

   

   Covering eggs with paper towel

   
   
4. When eggs are chilled, gently crack and peel shells. Place eggs in a container that is just big enough to hold eggs. Pour marinade (dashi solution, sake, soy sauce, and brown sugar) over eggs. Place a small sheet of paper towel over the eggs in order to cover all eggs with marinade, and let stand for at least 2 hours, or up to 6 hours.
5. When serving, slice egg in half using either a piece of fishing line or a very sharp knife. (notes below)
6. For storage, remove eggs from marinade and store in refrigerator.

Notes

• Poking a hole in the egg provides an escape for pressure and ensures that the air bubble in the egg is located at the fat end.
• Covering eggs in marinade with a paper towel ensures the top of the eggs receive marinade! This was a "secret trick" we learned from Chef Shinya.
• Marinade can be used multiple times. After using several times, or to keep marinade for more than a week, bring marinade to a boil, simmer for a minute, then allow to cool.
• The recipe specifies a cook time of 7 minutes and 30 seconds, but your cook time may vary slightly due to the specific range and pot you use. I have found that my ideal cook time is closer to 7 minutes in my current kitchen.
• We use a 3 cup rectangular plastic Glad container to hold eggs in marinade. As seen in the picture, 4 eggs and marinade perfectly fills the container.
• For the cleanest cut, use a piece of fishing wire! This is another "secret trick" we learned from Chef Shinya, which we had never encountered in other recipes or cookbooks. A sharp knife works well, but for a perfect cut, tie a piece of fishing wire to a kitchen drawer handle just below your countertop, place the egg on a cutting board at the edge of the counter directly above, and then bring the fishing wire up and over the egg while keeping it taught to slice the egg lengthwise.