This is my version of Korean gyeran-jangjorim, which is traditionally a recipe where hardboiled eggs are braised in soy sauce. Braising involves cooking in soy sauce over low heat for a long time, but I prefer not to braise at all, and just make a delicious soy broth and pour it over the eggs before serving.
I also prefer my eggs in gyeran-jangjorm to be between soft and hard boiled, where the whites are soft and the yolks are not totally solid either, but not runny. The final result is a creamy egg that goes well with the salty, savory, slightly spicy soy broth. It’s easy to make and goes well with rice or noodles, or just as a quick protein-rich snack. You can also make a big batch like I do, and keep them in a glass jar in the fridge for a week or so as you enjoy them.
Good luck making gyeran-jangjorim! Let me know if you try this recipe, and upload a photo to my website if you do!
Ingredients (Serves 7)
- 7 medium or large eggs, put them at room temperature for 1 or 2 hours
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 4 large dried anchovies, guts removed
- ½ a medium onion, sliced thinly
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1 jalapeño pepper (or green chili pepper), chopped (optional)
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup soy sauce
Directions
Prepare the eggs:
- Bring 5 cups of water to a boil over medium high heat.
- Add the vinegar and the eggs. Cover and let cook 1 minute, then stir with a wooden spoon so that the egg yolks will be set in the center. Cover and cook another 1 minute, then stir again. Cover and cook for 6 more minutes. If you use extra large sized eggs, cook a few minutes longer.
- Remove from the heat and strain in cold running water. Soak the eggs in cold water for 10 minutes. Pour out the water and shake the pan so that the egg shells crack.
- Open and add some cold water. You should now be able to shell the eggs easily and cleanly. You want to keep the eggs as round and beautiful as possible!
Make soy broth:
- Heat a sauce pan over medium high heat.
- Add the anchovies and stir with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes, until the anchovies turn a little light brown.
- Add garlic, onion, and jalapeño pepper, stirring for 1 minute.
- Add the water and the soy sauce. Cover and cook for 10 to 12 minutes over medium heat.
- Strain over a bowl and press down on the mixture in your strainer to get all the good, clear broth out of the ingredients. Let the broth cool down.
Serve
- To serve immediately, cut the eggs in half, put them in a shallow bowl, and pour the broth over top. Serve as a side dish.
- To save for later, but all the eggs and the broth in a glass jar and refrigerate up to a week.
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Thanks Maangchi, you bring many delicious dish to us. Stay safe and be strong to give us more and more good dished.
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Thank you this is an excellent recipe!
I slightly altered the recipe, adding a tablespoon of sugar, adding thai pepper instead of jalapeño (I like it VERY spicy), the result was awesome ! I wanted to drink the broth straight lol
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Yum! I’d like to scoop some of the egg yolk with my small teaspoon! : )
This was just awesome :-) very very delicious with hot rice alone and I just love much the smell of the nutty sesame seeds :-) was really good.
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What a tip for egg cracking! Thank you! It`s really great!
your method for cooking & peeling eggs worked perfectly…given that the eggs I used were a few weeks old which helps in peeling… I’ll try it again with really fresh eggs next time..I’m hoping for the best! love your style (Made the seaweed salad today (great!) for 60 as a side dish with Bo Ssam for this weekend)
Bob Waks
RN Retired 2006
Former cook at Chez Panisse Restaurant Berkeley California 1971-1977
Bonsoir ! Effectivement le vinaigre dans l’eau de cuisson est là pour dissoudre le calcaire de la coquille d’oeuf et l’épluchage est facile. Pour des oeufs “petit moyen courant” j’ai réduit à 7 minutes en tout . Pas filtré le bouillon et mis en bocal une fois refroidi. Ps : pas anchois entière mais pâte anchois. Mummmm !!!
Hi i just wanted to say that I love your cooking and I like your secret u told us and i tried mak8ng this dish it was really delicious and the eggs were beautiful too i am really thankful cause I am not a good cook
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Maangchi,
Thank you posting your recipes. You have given me opportunity to make and enjoy good Korean food. I’ve tried making gaeran jangjorim and it was very good. One question. If I want to boil double the amount of eggs, say 12-14 eggs, do I still boil for same amount of time?
I’ve made these about 5 times already. Usually putting them in the fridge after I eat one or two. They are my go to snack in the day along with some pickled garlic. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe. I love it.
Your go to snack is not sweet but something savory! Cool!
Hi Maangchi, I have been following your recipes for about half a year now. I just wanted to tell you a story about this dish. So I cooked this for the first time a week ago, I cooked three eggs and had it as my main meal, but it was very salty.
Turns out I didn’t adjust the sauce recipe, so I had put soy sauce in for seven eggs but I only had three eggs. Had to drink a whole glass of water to make my mouth not feel like I had licked the ocean floor.
I made it again yesterday with half the soy sauce and it was delicious. I love runny yolk eggs and these are runny but half cooked so they’re also creamy. Next recipe, I think it will be mochi rice cakes (찹쌀떡)
안녕히 계세요. (I am teaching myself basic Korean, :) )
hi manchi
i dnt hv anchovies, wer i live can i use caned sardines for making broth?
I don’t think canned sardines will work. Use chicken or beef broth if dried anchovies are not available.
Everyone likes this recipe. So, I made this recipe again but this time I did not use fresh eggs. I let the eggs sit on the counter for 14 to 16 days. The results was much better.
I mentioned when I first made this recipe that I used fresh eggs and that fresh eggs are not a good choice for boiling. Here is what peeled fresh eggs look like when boiled. Notice the chunks of white missing.
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Now here is what the 14 to 16 day old eggs look like after they are peeled. Notice the area at the big end of the egg that looks like it caved in. That is where the gases inside the egg are. Overall, the peel much easier without making the egg look like the surface of the moon.
When I say “fresh egg” I mean an egg that was laid within the last couple of hours. I have never had much success boiling fresh eggs.
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I will be making this, as my family loves eggs. I don’t have any dried anchovies, however. Can I use kelp as a substitute?
Yes, you can. https://www.maangchi.com/ingredient/kelp
I made these eggs 2-days ago. The recipe should be called ‘Vanishing Eggs’ … because they vanished!!! Ok, I ate one when I made them — it was eggcelent. The other 6-eggs went into a jar with the sauce because it looked cool in the video. I managed to get to eat one more egg the next day. Now, 2-days later and all of the eggs are just gone.
(*^_^*)
I was most interested in the technique of bashing around the cooked and cooled eggs inside of the pot. I tried it with poor results. My problem was fresh eggs. The eggs I used were only about 4-hrs old. Fresh eggs are never a good choice for boiling but I was hoping this technique would be a solution for that problem. Eggs that are 2 or 3 weeks old are best for boiling.
I forgot to mention — after pressing the stuff used to make the stock, I tossed the anchovies (and their heads) and put the rest of the stuff on a bowl of hot rice with a spoonful of the egg’s warm soy sauce. It, too, was very tasty.
When I was young, my grandmother would give me an egg that was still warm, maybe 10 minutes old. Haha, I used to make 2 tiny holes with a metal chopstick on either end and then suck the egg out. That’s the way we used to eat eggs in those days!
Hi, Maangchi ssi!
I just made this yesterday. I made it with 6 free range eggs. The soy stock smelled so good as it boil. My son and I had it for breakfast this morning. It was so good that my son had another bowl of rice w/ more eggs. All finished in 1 meal.
Thanks for the great recipe. Looking forward to your new cookbook.
Ima
I can picture your cooking with the 6 precious free range eggs in your kitchen and eating them with your son! Lovely happy scene!
Hi, Maangchi!
This is my favorite side dish. Do I have to make everything on the same day? I mean can I make the soy stock the day before i boil my eggs?
If you put them in a jar to eat throughout the week, do use the same amount of soy stock or more?
Thanks Maangchi,
Ima
Yes, you can make the soy stock in advance. “If you put them in a jar to eat throughout the week, do use the same amount of soy stock or more?” It depends on how many eggs you use. This recipe calls for 7 eggs, so if you make this with more than 7 eggs, the stock also should be more.
Hi maangchi, I really love this recipe but may I know why must we add vinegar?
Apart from taste, It keeps longer with vinegar and makes the eggs more firm
hi maangchi,
I have newly discocovered your you tube channel.. and I’m loving every video I watch. I cant wait to try some of your dishes. I have one question though– in almost all of your Korean dishes, I notice that there are no tomatoes being used! Why is that so ?
You know, I wondered the same thing because I love tomatoes and I thought they would taste awesome with all the onions, garlic and sesame oil flowing in so many Korean recipes. But then I learned from a Korean friend that tomatoes tend be considered fruit in Korean cuisine, and are eaten just like a fresh fruit. But watch the Old Fashioned Corn Bread video and you will see a cameo appearance of our beloved tomato as part of a delicious breakfast. :)
Oh! Could I substitute ginger for the jalapenos? Maybe 1 tsb?
yes, you can. : )
So excited to make this! I bake my eggs instead of boiling because I always turn out ugly when I peel them. 325 degrees for 20-30 minutes in a cupcake pan. Maybe I will try the vinegar! Looking at it makes me hungry!
Oooh Maangchi, thank you thank you! I loved the hard boiled eggs from jangjorim, they were very tasty and they also looked very beautiful.
I can’t wait to cook them!
Thanks a lot!
I want some of these enormous eggs. Also, you’re using my favorite soy sauce. I need to find a place to buy it again.