Made with simple everyday ingredients, these Korean Marinated Eggs (also known as Mayak Eggs), are so flavourful and easy to make! These soft jammy eggs are marinated in a soy-based marinade and make for the perfect side dish.

I’m back with another delicious banchan (side dish) recipe! These mayak eggs are packed with flavour and when served over top of a bed of warm rice, I can enjoy them on their own!

Close up of a Korean marinaded egg, cut in half, in a bowl of rice.

What are Mayak Eggs?

“Mayak Gyeran” (마약계란) are Korean soy-marinated eggs that translate to “drug eggs” because of how addictive they are! They are very similar to soy sauce eggs but the main difference is the addition of chili peppers, sesame seeds, green onions, and fish sauce that adds a different layer of flavour.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients needed to make Korean marinated egg (mayak eggs)

eggs — I usually marinate 6 to 8 eggs at a time but you can use more if you’ve got a larger family.
soy sauce — I always use light soy sauce, low sodium whenever possible.
dark soy sauce — I like to add a splash of dark soy sauce to make the eggs give the eggs a darker glaze. If you don’t have dark soy sauce, simply omit it or add more light soy sauce! No worries.
honey — you can also use granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, or clear oligo syrup.
garlic — honestly, the more the merrier.
toasted sesame seeds — again, the more the merrier. I love the crunchy texture you get some the sesame seeds.
fish sauce — I use Korean fish sauce. It’s also labelled as anchovy sauce.
red Thai chili peppers — I remove the most of the seeds to make it less spicy.
green onions — got extra? Here’s how to freeze green onions! You can even use frozen ones.
optional: I like to top off the eggs with some toasted sesame oil before eating.

How to Make Mayak Eggs

Bring a pot of water to a boil (optional to add vinegar) and add 6 or more eggs to the pot. Cover and let simmer for 6 minutes.
Transfer the eggs to an ice bath and let it cool down, appoximately 10 minutes.
While the eggs are cooling, make the marinade by combining the rest of the ingredients to an airtight container.
Peel the eggs and add them to the marinade. Seal the container and store it in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours before enjoying. Flip the eggs over if you use a larger container for storage. For my soy sauce eggs, I used a taller container so all the eggs are submerged but for these Korean marinated eggs, I used a more shallow dish so I have to flip it or give the container a gentle shake later on in the day!

Recipe Tips

See my post on How to Make the Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs to see all the tips and notes regarding the hard boiled eggs and how long to cook them for different types of yolks.
Feel free to use jalapeño instead of red Thai chili peppers.
Easiest way to peel hard boiled eggs are to give them a nice crack on a flat surface then roll it under your palm to get the shell to crack across. Then peel.
You can reuse the marinade for another batch of eggs or use it in a stir fry if you’d like to reduce food waste.
You can also use your Instant Pot or Air Fryer to make the eggs.
I like to drizzle some of the marinade onto my rice when I eat the eggs. I also add more sesame seeds and green onions before drizzling a bit of toasted sesame oil on top.
In the video (if you have ad blocker on, the instructional video is blocked!), I use this to transfer the eggs in and out of the pot quickly.

Overhead view of a bowl of rice with Korean marinated egg.

Make Ahead Tips

Meal prep: once you’ve added the eggs to the marinade in an airtight container, store for up to 4 days in the fridge.

Mayak Eggs (Korean Marinated Eggs)

5 from 1 vote

Print Rate

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 6

Total Time: 16

Servings: eggs

Ingredients

6-8 eggs, or more

Soy Sauce Mixture

¾ cup soy sauce, low sodium
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
½ cup water
¼ cup honey, or sugar, corn syrup, clear oligo syrup
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp Korean fish sauce
3 red Thai chili peppers, sliced and deseeded
3-4 stalks green onions, sliced

Equipment

ice bath

Instructions

Bring a pot of water to a boil (optional to add vinegar) and add 6 or more eggs to the pot. Cover and let simmer for 6 minutes.
Transfer the eggs to an ice bath and let it cool down, appoximately 10 minutes.
While the eggs are cooling, make the marinade by combining the rest of the ingredients to an airtight container.
Peel the eggs and add them to the marinade. Seal the container and store it in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours before enjoying. Rotate the eggs if needed as it marinades.

Notes

Calories estimate includes the use of the marinate.
Recipe adapted from my Soy Sauce Eggs and this video.

Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I’m always so happy to hear about it! I’d love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I’d really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥

Nutrition Per Serving

Author: Carmy

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Korean

Nutrition Disclaimer

More Side Dishes to Try

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