Name: Soy Sauce–Cured Egg Yolks
Total time: PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients: ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari; ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon sake; ¼ cup sugar; 6 large eggs

Why This Recipe Works

by Tim Chin

In Japan, people enjoy eggs and egg yolks hundreds of different ways. One of our favorite Japanese preparations is shoyu tamago, a whole hard-cooked, shelled egg marinated in soy sauce. Here is our take on that classic. For this recipe, instead of a whole cooked egg, we cure raw yolks in a soy sauce mixture until they are just firm at the exterior. The high concentration of salt in the curing liquid draws water from the exterior of the yolk, forming a thin, intensely savory exterior shell around a gooey, runny interior. You can put them on anything—ramen, toast, salads—but they’re perhaps best served simply on a hot bowl of rice.

In-shell pasteurized eggs can also be used without any changes to the recipe. Tamari is a type of Japanese soy sauce that is a byproduct of miso paste production. It is traditionally made without wheat, so most tamaris are gluten-free.

Photography by Steve Klise

Food Styling by Kendra McKnight

Instructions

Whisk soy sauce, sake, and sugar in medium bowl until sugar dissolves, about 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to loaf pan.

Working with 1 egg at a time, crack eggs, separate yolks from whites, and carefully transfer yolks to pan with soy sauce mixture. Carefully lay 8 by 4-inch piece of paper towel directly on top of yolks (paper towel will absorb soy sauce mixture and coat tops of yolks). Wrap pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until yolk exteriors are firm and translucent brown, at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.

Carefully remove paper towel from yolks. Using small spoon, gently lift each yolk from soy sauce mixture and serve.