Korean Marinated Eggs – Mayak Gyeran (EASY!)
Get your rice ready because these delicious, garlicky, and savory Korean Marinated Eggs will be your go-to side dish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! If you never tried these Spicy Soy Marinated Eggs aka “Drug Eggs” or Mayak Gyeran, you are seriously missing out. The egg yolk is gooey and soft on the inside, while the egg is marinated in a savory, spicy, and sweet sauce that pairs perfectly with a hot bowl of rice! Mayak Gyeran is easy and affordable to make, and I promise you will love it too!
Soy Marinated Eggs are Perfect For Weekly Meal Prep
It takes less than 20 minutes to prepare these delicious Korean Marinated Eggs, and once you make it, you will have Mayak Gyeran for the rest of the week!
I love to prepare Korean Marinated Eggs on the weekend (Sunday night); that way, I can have a delicious and nutritious breakfast throughout the week. All you need is a big bowl of hot rice, some seaweed, and you got yourself the best breakfast ever! These eggs can last in the fridge for around 4-5 days.
Korean Marinated Eggs Ingredients
- 12 Eggs
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp Vinegar
Marinade
- 6 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 Korean Green Pepper chopped
- 1 Red Chili chopped & optional
- 3 Green Onion chopped & optional
- 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
- 1 cup Soy Sauce
- ½ cup Honey
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil optional
- ½ cup Water
Mayak Gyeran Marinade Recipe For Garlic Lovers
There are many different versions and recipes, as Mayak Gyeran is a super popular side dish trending worldwide, but here is my simple recipe for garlic lovers like me!
I added extra garlic and also did a drizzle of sesame oil. You can also drizzle the sesame oil after serving if you prefer to keep your marinate oil-free.
I don’t make mine too spicy, as I am mostly having this for breakfast, and my stomach will not forgive me if I had spicy food first thing in the morning. However, these are your eggs, and you can play around with the recipe to your liking!
Step By Step Guide To Korean Marinated Eggs
- In a pot, add in water (enough to cover all the eggs) and add salt and vinegar. Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the water to a simmer. Once the water is boiling, carefully add in the eggs and let them cook for 6 minutes.
- After 6 minutes, remove eggs and let it rest in a bowl of ice water for at least 10 minutes. Peel carefully and set them aside.
- In a container, add garlic, chopped green pepper, red chili, green onion, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, and water. Mix till everything is combined. Add in the peel eggs and making sure the eggs are covered in the marinade. Let the eggs rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours or better overnight.
- Serve with a bowl of hot rice and enjoy!
Tricks For Peeling Jammy Boiled Eggs
The hardest part about making these addicting Korean Marinated Eggs is peeling the eggshells, but don’t worry, I got a few tricks to help you out. To be honest, that is one of the reasons why I use to hate making these marinated eggs before. It is already hard enough to peel hard-boiled eggs, but it makes it even harder when the yolk is still soft. But, with these tips, it’s now so easy to peel these soft boiled eggs.
1. Add Vinegar And Salt While Boiling Eggs
The key to perfectly peeled eggs is to add vinegar and salt to the water before boiling. This extra step will help break down the shells, which will help them peel easier.
2. Put The Boiled Eggs In An Ice Bath
Also, make sure to let the eggs rest in ICE COLD water for at least 10 minutes. It stops the eggs from overcooking, but it also helps the shells peel easier as well.
3. Use A Spoon
The curvatures of the spoon better matches the round shape of the egg, so it’s easier to peel without breaking the egg.
What To Eat With Your Mayak Eggs
These seasoned eggs are delicious enjoyed hot or cold. I love eating these eggs for breakfast in the morning with a bowl of hot purple rice, especially with an extra drizzle of the marinade. Or, enjoy this egg as a garnish on top of a bowl of Korean Spicy Cold Noodles.
You can also use these eggs for making Japanese egg sandwiches to give your sandwiches an extra savory boost!
More Fun Egg Recipes That You Can Make For Any Meal!
Korean Marinated Eggs – Mayak Gyeran
By Tiffy Cooks
Ingredients
- 12 Eggs
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp Vinegar
Marinade
- 6 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 Korean Green Pepper chopped
- 1 Red Chili chopped & optional
- 3 Green Onion chopped & optional
- 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
- 1 cup Soy Sauce
- ½ cup Honey
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil optional
- ½ cup Water
Instructions
- In a pot, add in water (enough to cover all the eggs) and add salt and vinegar. Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the water to a simmer. Once the water is boiling, carefully add in the eggs and let them cook for 6 minutes.
- After 6 minutes, remove eggs and let it rest in a bowl of ice water for at least 10 minutes. Peel carefully and set them aside.
- In a container, add garlic, chopped green pepper, red chili, green onion, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, and water. Mix till everything is combined. Add in the peel eggs and making sure the eggs are covered in the marinade. Let the eggs rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours or better overnight.
- Serve with a bowl of hot rice and enjoy!
Hi! So excited to make this! I was wondering how best to store the eggs in the fridge? Should I take them out of the marinade after 24 hours? Thank you!
Hi Betty! You an actually store them in the marinade for as long as you need until you want to eat it, and that flavor will get infused and more concentrated. It does tend to get saltier the longer it sits, but when it soaks that long it really is addicting with a hot bowl of rice!
What do I do with the leftover marinade?
Extremely tasty!!!! Tried it a couple of days ago and had it with my breakfast today – will probably have to make it again tomorrow 🤤
Hi! I tried the recipe and it was marvellous, however I left out the honey in my recipe and my eggs are super salty now, is there anything that I could do to salvage my eggs?
Hi! How long will these eggs last in the fridge? I’m probably going to be the only one eating them. Thanks!
Hi Jessi! they last around 4-5 days
I’m not sure how well this will be received but hopefully it will inspire other plant based people!
I made this recipe with a block of tofu in place of the eggs. I cubed into 12 pieces and subbed the honey for maple syrup. It was fantastic and I’m so excited I came across this recipe!
Thank you for sharing, going to give this version a try. Sounds great!
If you need to have them right this instant (after reading this recipe for example 🙂 ):
I heated the marinade and thickened it with starch.
Eggs visited the boiling water for 5-6 minutes, dipped in cold water and then went (peeled) into the marinade too.
It’s not the same, but close enough for me when the sudden craving hits, plus everything is still warm 😀
I have a lot of leftover marinade! What can I do with it? Is it able to be reused to make another batch?
Yes! You can absolutely reuse this marinade for a different batch. Thanks for trying the recipe, how did you like it?
It was delicious, my family loved it. Thank you so much Tiffy!
Love these eggs and making them again today! I reuse the marinade with stir fried ground pork and eat that over rice! So good.
Can you use duck eggs instead of chicken eggs? If yes then how much longer should I cook the duck eggs for in this recipe?
Hi Danielle, you can! I’d say for about 2 minutes more than the chicken eggs, but you can definitely adjust the cooking time to your liking
What about if you can’t find Korean green peppers where you live at? Can you use different chili pepper?
Yes! You can use a different chili pepper, like the typical red or green chili peppers, or sometimes I use jalapeno!
Thank you so much. There’s only Thai pepper where I live. So I can use them.
I’ve been wanting to make these for the longest time but never got around to it until yesterday. I must say, I was looking for a recipe where I had all the ingredients and this is one of them. So, I gave it a shot and my kids enjoyed it! Can definitely say I’ll be using this recipe again.
Since we have leftover sauce, I use it to make stir fry noodles or fried rice! So, nothing is wasted.
Love it!
Just wondering if this dish should be served hot or cold, and if you do warm it up what’s the best way without overcooking the eggs?
it is great hot or cold, if wanting it warmer I would pair it with hot rice or adding it to a simple soup that is in need of some more flavor
Love this recipe as usual! Tiffy really knows how to explain things well.
I don’t even like eggs but for some reason I can easily eat many of these 😀
Thanks for sharing! Going to give this a try. How much would fully cooking the yolks mess it up?
Also, just a heads up, there are some typos near the end of the instructions: “carefully egg in the eggs and let ti eggs cook for 6 minutes.”
love this recipe! eaten up all the eggs and plan to reuse the marinade. how long does the marinade itself last? how many times can i reuse it?
Hi Laura, loved that you enjoy the recipe! I usually reuse the marinade maybe about 2-3 times before switching them out.
How many batches can I make before I need to dump out the marinade?
Also wondering this 🙂
Hi! I noticed it says 2 tbsp of vinegar under the marinade ingredients but I don’t see it being used in the instructions. Is the vinegar just for boiling the eggs or for the marinade as well?
The vinegar should just be for boiling the eggs!
Do I leave the eggs in the marinade for 4-5 days while I eat them all, or do I need to take them out after they soak overnight?
Can I replace honey with sugar?
Yes, that definitely works!
Love this I usually use less soy sauce, add lime juice instead of vinegar, add some chili oil, I also add a bit of peanut butter I chop the boiled eggs, and chop
boiled potatoes.
It was easy & delicious. My family loved it.
Made this with quail eggs and I swear the bite size eggs leveled up the recipe. Soo good
Just wondering if I had to warm the eggs up the next day to eat them or are they served cold from the fridge and warm rice?
Are they supposed to be eaten cold with warm rice, or do they need to be reheated?
Hi Luna, yes, I love eating them cold with warm rice, or on top of noodle soup. They also make for great egg sandwiches!
Tiffy
Just made these and they’re great. I finished them in a day and am going to add some ginger to the remaining marinade and go for round two. Thanks for the recipe.
I added some grated ginger also. I cannot wait to try these for breakfast in the morning.
Very awesome eggs! Is there a nutritional list so I can keep track on my calorie apps that I use?
Off the charts make sure you make enough cause they will disappear real I am hooked thank you …
How long can they last?
After the eggs have marinated, could I heat a little of the leftover marinade to drizzle over the rice when ready to eat??
Hi Hayley Ash, yes, that’s a great idea!! Definitely let me know how you like it 🙂
Tiffy
These eggs look incredible! Love how simple the marinade is while still packing in so much flavor. Definitely adding this to my list!
These look delicious! I love Mayak Eggs
Made 6 last week to try them out. Made 24 the next day cause they didn’t last past lunch haha. 10/10 SO YUMMY
Can I add hot sauce to the marinade?
These eggs are amazing! I have never had marinated eggs before, but loved the idea and found your recipe. I could eat the entire dozen in one setting if I coukd!
This marinade is so delicious. It’s my first time doing a Korean recipe myself.
I was wondering how many days the marinade lasts? As in, how many times can i use it for different batches of eggs before I need to replace it?
Hi Alyssa, I usually use the marinades for 2-3 batches of eggs. Sometimes, I’ll top it off with a little extra fresh chilies or some soy sauce.
Tiffy
Hey wanted to meal prep for my work. And thought about side dishes, can i make those eggs on Sundays and use it duringe the week? Or will they gonna be bad? 🙁
greetings Maddy
Hi Maddy, That’s exactly what I do. I meal prep these eggs often too! They should be ok for at least 5 days in the fridge!
Tiffy
do you put the marinade on your meal, like as a sauce? or just take the egg out.
Hi! You can do either. Sometimes I will top a noodle soup with just an egg. Or, I put it on top of rice and drizzle more of the sauce/marinade on top into the rice. They both work!
Tiffy
Hi Tiffy. I made these for the family and their faces lit up at the taste. Now reusing the marinade for another batch ! Thank you. Love this website. So many great ideas.
I enjoyed these a lot. I did use honey the first batch and 1/2 the amount of sugar the second and I preferred it with the sugar. Simple breakfast prep for the week! Thanks!
I used it as a dressing and added cucumbers and avocados as well as the eggs – it was wonderful – but thank you for the how to on the eggs – they came out perfect!
These look incredible! I’ve always wanted to try making mayak gyeran, and your recipe seems so much more approachable than others I’ve seen. I can’t wait to see how the soy and sesame marinade turns out.
I’ve made this so many times I’ve memorized it. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Hi Tiffy, I thought I’d try your recipe and it’s my first time making them. Your salt and vinegar tip in boiling the eggs was a dream! I didn’t have any green onions at hand, but I can’t wait to have some of these for dinner! Thank you so much! 😃👋🇬🇧
I couldn’t wait and had one egg at the 2 hour mark: OH. MY. GOSH. Delicious! I paired the rest later with ramen and it was such a rich addition.
Just fantastic! No notes 😋
I made this tonight. I’ve had a similar version b4 too so know I’ll love. I don’t like spice so I skipped the peppers and just did garlic, soy sauce (light & dark), sugar, Sesame oil and water. I’ll add in green onions after I buy them tmrw. Look forward to eating these eggs with rice noodles!
This recipe was incredible! Insane over rice
This looks absolutely delicious, Tiffy! I’m definitely going to try the tip of letting them marinate overnight, can’t wait to make a big batch!