FOOD NEWS
Why You Should Soy Sauce Cure Egg Yolks
BY KAT LIEU
Egg yolks that are cured in soy sauce seem like a rather niche ingredient, but they're flavorful umami bombs that are perfect for topping rice, toast, and noodles.
In Japan, these cured yolks are called shoyu zuke ranou, AKA soy sauce-marinated egg yolk. The marinade consists of nothing but soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and rice vinegar.
The curing process can take anywhere between a few hours to three days, and will give the yolks a deeper hue while infusing them with the savory and complex marinade.
Start the process by mixing soy sauce sake, mirin, sugar, and rice vinegar or white vinegar in an airtight storage container or food storage bag. Carefully add the egg yolks.
You can carefully flip the egg yolks a few hours into curing so both sides make contact with the soy sauce. The longer you cure them, the more flavorful and firm they will become.
You can create your own unique twist on the marinade by adding fish sauce, garlic, shallots, MSG, or even fruit juices in lieu of mirin and sugar.
In Japan, most eggs are pasteurized so there is no risk for salmonella. In the U.S., you should opt for pasteurized eggs for this dish, since the curing does not cook the eggs.