Ajitama, the ramen marinated egg
Half an egg with an amber white and a soft yolk, marinated in Kōtare.
You recognise it at first glance: half an egg with an amber-coloured white and a yolk that's neither runny nor hard, resting on the edge of the bowl. In ramen it's the topping that makes you want it most, and at home you make it with three things: a timer, iced water and a night of patience.
What is ajitama?
Ajitsuke tamago means, roughly, «seasoned egg», and almost everyone calls it ajitama. It's an egg cooked just enough to set the white, cooled in an instant and left in a soy-sauce-based marinade. The white takes on colour and flavour, the yolk stays soft.
It has a date and an address
Before, ramen came with a hard-boiled egg. The soft yolk has a precise address: Kasai, east of Tokyo, where in August 1992 Kenji Chiba, a cook of traditional Japanese cuisine from Kesennuma, opened his Chibakiya. The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum names it as the first place to put the half-cooked marinated egg in ramen.
The right yolk is a matter of minutes
The eggs go into water that's already boiling, so the minutes count from the first instant. For a creamy yolk it takes exactly 6 minutes; if you want it a little firmer, go up to 7.
Why boiling water, and then ice
Starting in hot water also helps with peeling. The sudden heat sets the outer layer of the white at once, which shrinks and pulls away from the shell membrane; starting from cold water, the white has time to stick to the membrane and the shell comes off in bits. The iced-water bath then stops the cooking: without it, the heat left inside the egg keeps working and the yolk sets.
How long to marinate
After 4 hours the white is barely coloured; after 24 hours the flavour is full. If you leave it up to 48 hours the white gets firmer and more savoury: some people prefer it that way.
How to serve it
Cut it in half lengthways with a wet knife, or with kitchen string for a clean cut, and rest it on the edge of the bowl, yolk up. On a soy-sauce ramen it echoes the marinade; on a clear broth like Tori Chintan, the melting yolk makes it rounder.
Ajitama goes well with nori, finely sliced negi and a few slices of chashu.
Why Kōtare
Kōtare is our sauce for marinating toppings: the same one for ajitama, menma and chashu. One 50 g sachet, diluted in 90 ml of water, is enough for two eggs.
Half an egg with an amber white and a soft yolk, marinated in Kōtare.
- Active time
- 30 minutes
- Hands-off time
- At least 8 hours in the fridge, 24 is betterQuick: 4 hours
- Makes
- 2 eggs
You'll need
- A pot
- A bowl for iced water
- A slotted spoon
- A narrow container with a lid
- Kitchen paper
- A timer
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggs, at room temperature
- 1 sachet of Kōtare (50 g)
- 90 ml of water
- Water and ice to cool
Method
- Put a pot of water on the heat and, separately, get a bowl of iced water ready.
- When the water boils, turn the heat down so it barely simmers, and lower the eggs to the bottom with the slotted spoon.
- Cook for exactly 6 minutes, turning them often.
- Move them straight into the iced water and leave them to cool for 15-20 minutes.
- Crack the shell at the top and bottom and peel the eggs under a trickle of cold water.
- Pat them dry with kitchen paper: the marinade clings better.
- In a narrow container dilute the Kōtare in 90 ml of water and put the eggs in.
- Lay a sheet of kitchen paper over the eggs: it soaks up the liquid and keeps them under the marinade.
- Leave in the fridge at least 8 hours, 24 is better. Cut in half lengthways and serve.
Quick version · 4 hours
- Up to step 8 everything is the same.
- Leave to marinate 4 hours in the fridge instead of 8-24.
- The white is barely coloured and the flavour stays lighter: the yolk is the same.
Tips
- If you stop at step 5 you have hanjuku tamago, the soft-boiled egg without marinade: it's already great on ramen.
- Want the yolk a little firmer? Go up to 7 minutes.
- Cold eggs straight from the fridge crack more easily in hot water: take them out half an hour before.
- If you make extra or have some left over, keep them in the fridge in the marinade, in a closed container, and eat them within 2 days. Don't use the leftover marinade to marinate more eggs.
