Ajitama

also called ajitama · ajitsuke tamago · ajitsuke-tamago · 味付け玉子 · 味玉 · ramen egg · marinated soft-boiled egg · soy egg · jammy egg · half an egg

The table

Printed on the menu as "1/2 Egg". The whole recipe is six minutes thirty and an ice bath.
6 large(300 g; straight from the fridge)eggsboil 6 min 30 sec straight from the fridgeice bath 5 min, peel under watermarinate 8 hr, turning the bag once
1/2 cup(120 mL)soy sauceboil the marinade 1 min, then cool it
1/4 cup(60 mL)mirin
2 Tbs(30 mL)sake
1 Tbs(12 g)granulated sugar
1/2 cup(120 mL)water
Tap anything to cross it off.

What to lay out

Everything the recipe asks for, sitting under the step that eats it. Tick each one as you measure it.7 things to get out.

Before anything else

2boil 6 min 30 sec straight from the fridge

3boil the marinade 1 min, then cool it

Cooking it

Start to finish is the longest chain through the table, so branches that overlap are counted once. That is why the waits add up to more than the clock — and it only holds if you get them going together.

Tap a step when it is done; the next one lights up.

The clock

Start to finish
8 hr 12 mintwo waits that overlap count once
Needs you
none of itthe rest you can walk away from

The recipe itself says 8 hr 30 min.

  1. boil the marinade 1 min, then cool it

    1 minwalk awayfrom the start

  2. boil 6 min 30 sec straight from the fridge

    7 minwalk awayfrom the start

  3. ice bath 5 min, peel under water

    5 minwalk away7 min in

  4. marinate 8 hr, turning the bag once

    8 hrwalk away12 min in

Drawn to scale, so a long wait really does take up the room it takes. The shortest stretches keep a sliver so they stay visible; their times are printed beside them. Bars that line up are happening at the same time.

Goes with

See how it is written
>> title: Ajitama
>> category: Toppings & Pickles
>> tags: japanese, eggs, ramen, topping, make-ahead
>> counters: Ramen Shop
>> aka: ajitama, ajitsuke tamago, ajitsuke-tamago, 味付け玉子, 味玉, ramen egg, marinated soft-boiled egg, soy egg, jammy egg, half an egg
>> pairs-with: shoyu-ramen, shio-ramen
>> servings: 6
>> time: 8 hr 30 min
>> step.1: Printed on the menu as "1/2 Egg". The whole recipe is six minutes thirty and an ice bath.
>> step.2: boil the marinade 1 min, then cool it
>> step.3: boil 6 min 30 sec straight from the fridge
>> step.4: ice bath 5 min, peel under water
>> step.5: marinate 8 hr, turning the bag once

Printed on the menu as "1/2 Egg". The whole recipe is six minutes thirty and an ice bath.

Boil @soy sauce{1/2%cup}(120 mL), @mirin{1/4%cup}(60 mL), @sake{2%Tbs}(30 mL), @granulated sugar{1%Tbs}(12 g) and @water{1/2%cup}(120 mL) together ~boil{1%min}, then take it off and let it come down to room temperature. A warm marinade cooks the outside of the egg grey and rubbery in the first ten minutes.

Lower @eggs{6%large}(300 g; straight from the fridge) into a pan of hard-boiling water and ~boil{6.5%min}, keeping the water moving so the yolks set centred. Six thirty is a set white and a yolk that is jammy at the edge and liquid in the middle; six is too loose to marinate and seven is a solid centre.

Drop @&(~1)eggs{} into ice water and ~cool{5%min}, then crack and peel them under the tap. The cold shock is what stops the carry-over cooking and what makes the shell release; a warm egg at this stage peels in craters.

Marinate @&(~1)peeled eggs{} in @&(~3)cooled marinade{} in a sealed bag with the air pressed out, in the fridge, ~marinate{8%hr}, turning it once. Longer than a day and the white goes salty and firm all the way through — twelve hours is the far end of good, and the eggs keep three days after that if you lift them out of the liquid.