Love these Korean Jammy Eggs! Also called Mayak eggs or Korean marinated eggs. They are jammy, yummy and absolutely divine! Be warned, you’d not stop at one! 

When I first saw Korean marinated eggs viral on TikTok some moons ago, I was so excited to try because it looked delicious and easy to make. Ahh, but the devil is in the detail …

On my first try, my eggs simply did not peel properly.  Even though I made the coldest ice bath, the eggs were difficult to peel and turned out super ugly, think really pock-faced eggs or some even scar-faced with cracks 🙄🙄

😥 Not that easy after all  … my inconsistent un-jammy tries 

On my next few tries, the results were inconsistent and frustrating. The eggs would be sometimes jammy, sometimes overcooked and sometimes undercooked; even when I kept to the timing. And that flawless barefaced egg eluded me as peeling continued to be a problem. So it’s not easy after all? But surely it cannot be that difficult?

Beautiful, Daughter No. 2 said to me “Mom, I think there is a real science to cooking perfect Korean jammy eggs …” – Okay gauntlet thrown … what is THE SECRET to perfecting Korean Jammy Eggs? 🤔🤔

So, what’s THE SECRET?

Once the OCD in me got piqued, it would not be deterred. That started me on the quest to find out how to perfectly cook a jammy egg Korean style. Now more than 50 eggs later, I believe I have found my answer.

My quest .. how to get this oozing jammi-ness every time

Korean Jammy Eggs are seriously da bombe when they are cooked perfectly jammy! Absolutely delicious on rice, salad or just pop them on its own. And it’s a super easy recipe once you know what to watch out for (please check out my notes below). 

The Sugar Crumble household has just finished eating another 15 jammy eggs even as I blog this. These Korean Jammy Eggs are a keeper once you know the way of making it perfectly every time. Hope you will try and love this recipe like we do! Enjoy. 

WATCH HOW TO MAKE THIS

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If you like this Korean Jammy Eggs, you may also like my other Asian recipes;

• Super Easy Steamed Eggs
• Easy Black Char Siew
• ‘Parasite’ Steak Ramdon
• Grandpa’s Hainanese Mutton Soup
• Mie Goreng Cake
• Pulut Kuning Cake (Golden Tumeric Rice Cake)
• Coconut Blue Pea Lime Rice

 
What to watch out for …

#1 Egg temperature

The egg should be at room temperature when they are placed into the boiling pot. If the eggs are cold just out from the refrigerator, there is a likelihood they may crack as the cold egg hits hot boiling water (mine did). 

Cold eggs …  makes it difficult to determine cooking time 

The other reason for making sure that the eggs are @room temperature is the cooking time. The colder the egg, the harder it is to determine how long exactly to cook the egg to get it perfectly jammy. If the egg comes straight from the fridge, you will need to experiment to adjust the cooking time as cold eggs take a longer time to cook. 

Given that I have gone down this pathfinder way with more than 50 eggs, take my advice –  give some time to leave eggs out and cook them only when they are @room temperature.

#2 Egg size

A lot of the TikTok videos I watched advised to cook the eggs for 6 min. But 6 minutes cannot apply across the board as eggs come in different sizes.  In my case, 6 minutes gave me boiled eggs and not jammy eggs. So here’s the thing, logic demands that cooking time will vary depending on the size of the egg. 

50g vs 60g egg … clearly they will cook differently!

The rule of thumb I have established is this: A 60g egg @room temperature requires 5 1/2 minutes of cooking (directly into boiling water). 

What happens if an egg is smaller or bigger? Simple: do the math and reduce or increase the cooking time proportionately. For my 50g egg, I cooked it for ~ 4 1/2 minutes (50/60g x 5 1/2 minutes) and it was wonderfully jammy.

60g egg overdone @ Tiktok 6min … so please do measure & do the math

Optional: If I am cooking a whole batch of 9-12 eggs, I always like to weigh my eggs to make sure they are all about the same size. Clearly, a 50g egg and a 60g egg will cook differently at the same timing. If you are slightly OCD like me 😬😬 and want perfect jammi-ness, measure your eggs. 

#3 Hot water or cold?

An egg if put on too high heat or for too long will tend to have rubbery egg whites. Starting with cold water therefore lets us heat the egg more slowly, which keeps the whites from getting rubbery. But it also takes longer and gives one less control over cooking time. For instance, how long will it take the water to boil? Well, that depends on the size and shape of your pot, how much water is added etc.

Start with boiling water to have more time control

For this Korean Jammy Eggs, timing is absolutely key to get perfect jammi-ness and hence I like to start my cooking process with boiling water as that gives me more control over time. However, one disadvantage here is that the egg is more susceptible to cracks due to the high heat. Therefore always use eggs@room temperature and add salt to reduce the chances of leakage or cracking (See note 1 and note 4).

#4 Tips to get that flawless peeled egg

• Adding salt: This prevents the likelihood of cracks during cooking. Egg white solidifies more quickly in hot salty water than it does in fresh. So a little salt in your water can minimize the mess if your egg springs a leak while cooking. The egg white solidifies when it hits the salt water, sealing up the crack so that the egg doesn’t sprout a streamer of white.

Adding salt helps to prevent cracks

• Adding vinegar: IMHO this is the game changer as it makes the eggs easier to peel. The vinegar contains acid which reacts with the calcium carbonate in the eggshell. This reaction produces carbon dioxide gas (these are the little bubbles forming on the eggshell) which gradually softens the hard shell, making it more fragile and easier to remove. 

Vinegar added produces CO2 bubbles softening the shell

• Is an ice bath necessary? Yes, absolutely! If you don’t plunge your egg into ice cold water when you take it off the heat, it will go on cooking … and cooking … and cooking …  which means your eggs will be overdone and no longer jammy! The ice bath also cools the eggs quickly, causing it to contract slightly away from the shell which helps reduce the chances of the shell sticking to the egg. Never peel a hot jammy egg as it will be still wobbly and you’ll get a wibbly wobbly mess … imagine trying to deshell a semi soft boiled egg, you get the idea. I typically like to soak the eggs in the ice bath for ~ 30 minutes before peeling. The ice bath is essential to allow the egg to cool completely and firm up in the process. So don’t skip the ice bath. 

Ice bath to shock them into perfection

• Dipping the egg in water: whenever the egg shell gets rather difficult to remove, I like to occasionally dip the egg back in water as I am peeling to allow the water to loosen the membrane and help it separate from the shell. You can also do this under cold running water as you peel, to help the separation. 

My flawless barefaced beauty 😊 

Watch the video @1:46 to 2:12 minute and see how easy it was to remove the eggshell. If you would like to know more about peeling eggs well, there is a good article here.

#5 Young eggs vs older eggs

Egg experts say that the fresher the eggs, the harder they are to peel. This is because the egg white or “albumen” in a fresh egg has a relatively low pH level, making it acidic. When cooked, these fresh egg whites bond strongly to the inner shell’s membrane. As an egg ages, the pH level rises and the inner membrane is less likely to bond to the albumen, so the shell peels off much easier. From my experience, I agree! Eggs which have been sitting in my fridge for a week are much easier to peel than fresh eggs. Therefore for easier peeling, I would suggest to go with ‘older eggs’.

#6 Condiments

I used mainly garlic, onion, spring onions, chillies and sesame seeds as condiments. You can easily substitute these with any of your other favorites. Add jalapeno pepper for more kick or coriander for that citrus fragrance, or even a drizzle of sesame oil when served, to pump up that toasty nutty zing.

These add such lovely flavors & texture

These will be absolutely delicious too and add wonderful oomph and texture to the sauce and jammy eggs. If you were to ask me what I would not leave out – it would probably be the garlic, the Korean red pepper powder and sesame seeds as IMHO these are usually the main stays in many authentic Korean marinade recipes.

#7 Make ahead

These Korean Jammy Eggs are great make ahead. They taste best marinated overnight as all that deliciousness in the sauce and condiments would have been absorbed.  I usually make mine the day before serving and chill them overnight until ready to serve.

Perfect for make ahead

#8 Storage 

These Korean Jammy Eggs are best served one day after marinating. They can be kept for 2-3 days chilled and stored airtight in the refrigerator although truth be told, they never last that long in this household. Every batch of my Korean Jammy Eggs is usually smoked out once they are served!  

The marinade if kept clean (i.e. not contaminated by everyone’s dipping spoons) and chilled can be stored for 4-5 days and used again for another batch of marinated eggs. 

Jammy, yummy, in my tummy!

Did you make this? I would love to know how it turned out. Tell me more 😊  Please leaveme a comment or tag me on Instagram or Facebook hashtag #thesugarcrumble