Soy cured egg yolks is jam packed with umami flavor, and makes a great addition to any dish. Making soy cured egg yolks is super easy and all you need are a few ingredients! You can use it on any dish to add extra umami and rich flavor. I like to use it on top of rice, pastas, and even over vegetables. This post is all about how to make the best soy cured egg yolk.
Is it safe to eat raw egg yolks?
In certain parts of the world, especially Japan, it is really common to eat raw eggs because of its freshness. However, it is not as common or safe to eat it elsewhere such as the US. While the soy sauce helps preserve the egg yolks to help it last longer, it does not cook it. These egg yolks are raw. I suggest making sure the eggs you use are fresh and good quality. I like to use fresh organic and pasture raised egg yolks from the farmers market. However, you can get pasteurized (different from pasture raised) eggs from the market which means the eggs have been treated to kill off bacteria that is known to cause food borne illness.
Soy cured egg yolk ingredients
- Soy sauce – I am using Japanese light soy sauce from Kikkoman. There are many different types of soy sauce on the market, but I suggest using Japanese light soy sauce. The flavor is mild and the color is not that strong.
- Mirin – mirin is sweet Japanese cooking wine. This is a common product in most Japanese dishes and there is no direct substitute for this.
- Sake – sake is another commonly used product in most Japanese dishes. If you cannot get your hands on this, substitute with water. However, the flavor will not be the same.
- Kombu – kombu is dried sea kelp and adds so much flavor and depth to the sauce.
Tips on making the best soy cured egg yolks
- Cook the sauce to remove alcohol content. Mirin and sake are made of alcohol so those who are sensitive to alcohol or for younger children, it is best to cook the sauce.
- Make sure the sauce is brought back to room temp or cooler. Once the alcohol content is removed from the sauce, make sure to cool the temperature down. If you place egg yolks in boiling hot sauce, they will cook in the sauce.
- Length in marinating the egg yolks matter! The less time the egg yolks are kept in the sauce, the more runny it will be. The more the yolks are marinated in the sauce, the firmer and jammier the egg yolks become. This is all preference. I recommend keeping it at least for a full day so the flavors transfer to the yolks.
2 ingredient soy cured egg yolk recipe
If you do not have time to make the sauce yourself, I have a recipe on how to make soy cured egg yolk with just 2 ingredients! You can find the recipe here.
More recipes you may enjoy:
- Beef Yakiniku (Japanese BBQ)
- Gyukatsu recipe (fried beef cutlet)
- Salmon onigiri (rice ball)
- Japanese Hamburger Steak ハンバーグ
- Temaki Sushi (Hand Roll)
Soy Cured Egg Yolk
Equipment
- 1 container
Ingredients
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 1/4 cup cooking sake
- 1 pieces kombu dried sea kelp
Additional toppings
- chopped green onion
- shichimi togarashi Japanese chili powder
Instructions
- In a pot, combine soy sauce, mirin, and sake
- Bring sauce mixture to a boil
- Lower heat and simmer for a 1-2 minutes. This will remove the alcohol content from mirin and sake.
- Remove from heat and place sauce in a heat safe container
- Add kombu to the sauce and let the sauce cool down to room temperature or place in fridge for use later
- Once the sauce is cool, separate egg yolks from egg whites and place only the yolks in the sauce
- Allow the egg yolks to marinate in the fridge for 24 hours or longer. The longer it is marinated, the firmer and jammier the yolks become
- Place egg yolks over hot rice and garnish with toppings of choice
- Serve and enjoy!
[…] a post on how to make soy cured egg yolks using soy sauce, mirin, sake, and kombu. You can find the post here. The good thing about making the sauce yourself is being able to adjust the ingredients that go in […]