Mayak eggs (마약계란), or Korean marinated eggs is a popular Korean side dish that makes for a tasty and unique snack! The combination of savory, sweet, and spicy makes the soft-boiled eggs so addicting. They’re easy to make at home, and this version is soy- and gluten-free!
What are Mayak Eggs (Mayak Gyeran)?
I have a new favorite Korean banchan, or side dish, to share with you, and I’m so excited! It’s called Mayak Gyeran (마약계란), which literally translates to “drug eggs” in Korean. And, my friends, the name holds up. The savory, spicy, and slightly sweet flavor is so wonderful and so addicting!
Mayak eggs are basically Korean soy sauce eggs. Eggs are soft-boiled (or hard-boiled, if you prefer), then marinated in a honey soy sauce mixture that’s filled with green onions, sesame seeds, and chili peppers.
You serve these Korean eggs over rice and spoon with a generous amount of the addicting sauce. I love breaking into the soft egg yolk and enjoying the wonderful flavor combination.
What Makes This Recipe Great
My version of Mayak Gyeran is soy-free and gluten-free but has the same addictive flavors and taste as the original recipe. Instead of using soy sauce, coconut aminos are used in the marinade instead of soy sauce, and you won’t notice the difference!
The rest of the recipe uses the same authentic ingredients, and you can even make this recipe paleo if you serve it over cauliflower rice. It’s garnished with toasted sesame seeds and scallions and, as you can see in the photos, is a beautifully presented dish.
This dish comes together quickly, then marinates overnight to make all of the flavors pop! It’s a great make-ahead recipe and a great starting point if you’re interested in Korean cooking!
Watch a Short Video of This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
- eggs: I used 6 large eggs, but 7 medium eggs will also work.
- vinegar: Using vinegar in boiling water helps the egg shells become easier to peel. I highly recommend you don’t skip this ingredient!
Mayak Eggs Marinade
- coconut aminos: I use this brand. It’s my favorite! You can also use Tamari sauce or soy sauce. See the tips below for details.
- honey: Adds a hint of sweetness to the marinade and eggs.
- green onion
- garlic
- chili peppers: I like to use a combination of red chili and green chili peppers. Any kind will work!
- sea salt
- toasted sesame seeds
How to Make Mayak Eggs
- Boil water in a saucepan or pot and add vinegar and sea salt.
- Add the eggs to the water, then simmer for 6 minutes for soft-boiled eggs. For hard-boiled eggs, you will need to adjust the cooking time for 3-5 more minutes.
- Transfer to an ice bath and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the eggs from the cold water and peel them carefully.
- In a bowl or container just large enough to fit the eggs, combine all ingredients for the egg marinade and stir together, ensuring the honey is mixed in.
- Add the eggs to the marinade, then cover.
- Refrigerate and marinate for 8 hours up to overnight.
- Serve the Mayak Eggs over a hot bowl of rice or cauliflower rice, spooning the sauce mixture over the eggs.
Expert Tips
- Ice Bath: The ice water bath is what stops the eggs from cooking further. So if you are cooking soft-boiled eggs, this process is essential to keep the eggs from getting too firm.
- Traditional Ingredients: Traditionally, this recipe uses soy sauce and mirin in the marinade. I substituted ingredients for these to keep this recipe soy-free and gluten-free. There’s no loss in flavor at all! Feel free to these ingredients if you prefer.
- Sweetener: I like using honey to sweeten this dish, but some recipes use regular sugar or even corn syrup. While I prefer natural sweeteners, if regular sugar is all you have on hand, it will work with this recipe.
- Soy Sauce: If you’d rather use soy sauce or tamari sauce, just use 1/2 cup sauce and 1/2 cup water and omit the salt. The rest of the recipe can stay the same.
Serving Tips
- The best way to serve Mayak Gyeran is to serve it over rice or cauliflower, spooning extra sauce on top so the rice can soak it all up.
- You can garnish with more green onions, sesame seeds, and sliced chili peppers if you like, or even add a drizzle of sesame oil.
- It’s also delicious over ramen, kind of like ramen eggs!
Storage Tips
- Store leftover Mayak eggs in an airtight container with the marinade in the fridge for up to 7 days.
- I don’t recommend saving leftover marinade to marinate another batch of eggs since the flavors won’t be the same, and it may go bad. Instead, you can use it as stir-fry sauce or to flavor fish or other Asian dishes and use it within 24-48 hours.
Recipe FAQS
I recommend using room temperature eggs, and GENTLY lower the eggs into the pot of water using a ladle. Make sure to simmer the water instead of a rolling boil.
The Korean word, Mayak (마약) translates to “narcotic” or “drug” in English.
Up to 7 days if stored in a container with a lid in the fridge.
Mayak Eggs (Korean Marinated Eggs)
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp sea salt
Marinade
- 3/4 cup coconut aminos *See notes for soy sauce or tamari sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tbsp honey
- 4 green onions chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 chili peppers red and/or green, diced
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a saucepan and stir in vinegar and sea salt.
- Carefully add the eggs to the water, then simmer for 6 minutes for soft boiled eggs.
- Immediately transfer to an ice bath and cool for 5 minutes. Peel the eggs carefully so the eggs aren't damaged while peeling.
- In a container with a lid just large enough to fit the eggs, combine all ingredients for the marinade and stir together. Scrap the bottom of the container so the honey is mixed in evenly.
- Add the eggs to the marinade, then cover.
- Refrigerate and marinate for 8 hours to overnight.
- Serve the mayak eggs over rice or cauliflower rice, spooning the sauce mixture over the eggs.
Video
Notes
Expert Tips
- Ice Bath: The ice water bath is what stops the eggs from cooking further. So if you are cooking soft-boiled eggs, this process is essential to keep the eggs from getting too firm.
- Traditional Ingredients: Traditionally, this recipe uses soy sauce and mirin in the marinade. I substituted ingredients for these to keep this recipe soy-free and gluten-free. There’s no loss in flavor at all! Feel free to these ingredients if you prefer.
- Sweetener: I like using honey to sweeten this dish, but some recipes use regular sugar or even corn syrup. While I prefer natural sweeteners, if regular sugar is all you have on hand, it will work with this recipe.
- Soy Sauce: If you’d rather use soy sauce or tamari sauce, just use 1/2 cup sauce and 1/2 cup water and omit the salt. The rest of the recipe can stay the same.
Serving Tips
- The best way to serve Mayak Gyeran is to serve it over rice or cauliflower, spooning extra sauce on top so the rice can soak it all up.
- You can garnish with more green onions, sesame seeds, and sliced chili peppers if you like, or even add a drizzle of sesame oil.
- It’s also delicious over ramen, kind of like ramen eggs!
Storage Tips
- Store leftover Mayak eggs in an airtight container with the marinade in the fridge for up to 7 days.
- I don’t recommend saving leftover marinade to marinate another batch of eggs since the flavors won’t be the same, and it may go bad. Instead, you can use it as stir-fry sauce or to flavor fish or other Asian dishes and use it within 24-48 hours.
Hi! This looks amazing, can’t wait to try. I can’t have sugar right now – would it ultimately really make a difference if I omit the honey?
You can omit. The sweet taste won’t be there so it’ll just be savory eggs – still delicious!
You could do monk fruit instead or if your okay with dates a date paste.
Can I ask what the purpose of the coconut aminos is? And if it would drastically change the resulting taste if it was omitted?
It’s a soy sauce substitute – so yes. It’s necessary. If you’d rather use soy sauce, just use 1/2 cup soy sauce and 1/2 water and omit the salt. The rest of the recipe can stay the same.
Do you serve the eggs cold (straight from the fridge) over the hot rice? Or do you take them out in advance so they are room temperature before serving?
Yes! You eat it cold. But you can get it to room temperature if you want.
These are great. Easy to meal-prep for breakfasts. I cut down the honey, but they were still sweet-ish.
Very yummy but felt a little too salty for my taste. Should I maybe omit the salt?
Also, 3 of my 5 eggs cracked in the boiling water :/ so I’m wondering if they absorbed more of the marinade than intended this way.
It’s intended to be eaten with rice so it’s supposed to be a bit salty, but you can just omit if it was too strong for you! I don’t believe the egg cracking would affect the flavor too much.
Oh, my this looks so good. I have been looking for an alt to Momofuku because they add SO much MORE sodium and I am trying to eat healthy right now haha. I have my off days and today is one of them so I am making my homemade ramen again and I will have these. Unfortunately, I can only marinade about 5 1/2 hours, but I am sure they will still be delicious.
It’s so nice that we the internet and all these different people from different ethnicities and heritages can come together and share recipes. My guys online would never know about Haluski and Kielbasa (Cabbage and Noodles and I would have never known about THIS dish if I didn’t look online lol.
Thank you for sharing <3
I guess my other comment is still being moderated. I made these, put them in my ramen and I HAD to stop eating to come comment AGAIN. Since my OG comment isn’t here, this is another comment:
These are…. so good. THESE ARE SO GOOD! I usually make the other ones with soy sauce and dare I say, THESE ARE BETTER! I could literally eat all of these in one sitting LOL. Omg you have my heart, thank you so much for sharing these, they are amazing and now I am going to share them with everyone I know LOL.
Oh wow, thank you so much! I love that you enjoyed them over ramen – that sounds fantastic. I’m going to try that as well. I so appreciate you leaving a review!
Amazing and simple recipe!
Made this once and fell in love. Now a fridge staple. I eat it with eggs, noodles, dumplings… basically anything! Goes well as a topper for other dishes or by itself.
Thank you so much!! I love it on noodles as well, especially ramen!