As a child of the 90’s, eggs were a kind of a “forbidden fruit” for me. My parents, like most, bought into the fear mongering around eggs and high cholesterol, so we were strictly limited on how many we could eat each week.
I think it’s likely that this egg rationing played a role in my now obsession with the food. In my eyes, eggs are perfect: relatively inexpensive, satiating, versatile, and protein-packed. I never get sick of eggs.
One of my favorite egg dishes as a kid aside from fried eggs and soy sauce on rice (which my mom inexplicably only allowed me to eat when it rained — a rare occurrence in Southern California) was “soy sauce eggs,” the eggs found alongside chunks of braised chicken or pork in lo suei (or lao shui). Variants of this sweet/savory spiced dish exist throughout Southeast Asia by various names, but they all have the same soy-sauce-based, spice-rich and complex undertones. Because these eggs are hardboiled before being added to the braising liquid for 20-30 minutes to allow for an infusion of flavor, the eggs are often rubbery and overcooked. But my love of eggs and their rich flavor would allow me to overlook their textural shortcomings.
I was recently making Japanese-style ramen eggs which require a low-effort overnight rest in a marinade and thought to myself: shouldn’t this marinating technique work just as well for my beloved Chinese-style soy eggs? So I tested out a “cheat” version and OMG they came out so tasty. Are they quite as complex as the real thing? No, of course not. But do these scratch the itch while improving upon the texture? Yes! I think another variant that would be even better would be to marinate hardboiled eggs overnight in true lo suei braising liquid but I don’t often have that on hand, especially in the middle of summer. The only downside to this technique is that you’ll need to plan ahead to let these rest at least 12 hours and up to 48 in the fridge — any longer than that and I find these get too salty.
As for leftover marinating liquid, since I got asked this question a bunch: here are some ideas for making use of it:
- Pour it, as is, over rice as a delicious sauce
- Add it to uncooked rice before cooking to infuse the rice with some yummy flavor
- Reduce it down to a thick sauce that can be poured over meats
- Use the marinade as-is for marinating meats (you can freeze it if you’re not ready to marinate right away)
- Add it to a stir fry instead of soy sauce as a dead simple, but very tasty, stir fry flavoring
- Or, technically, you could go the proper lo suei route and boil and reuse the marinating liquid for marinating more eggs. Traditional lo suei is re-boiled and topped off, sometimes for decades, but this route is a little extra for this particular application, if you ask me.
If you like these, you’ll also probably like their cousins: Korean mayak eggs and Japanese ajitsuke tamago or “ramen eggs”.
Chinese Marinated Eggs (Lo Suei | 滷水 Shortcut)
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs straight from the fridge
- 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder preferably a Chinese brand like Lee Kum Lee, but any will work
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- 3 Tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 inch fresh ginger
- 1/2 star anise pod
- 1/4 cinnamon stick
- 1 pinch five spice
Instructions
- Boil your eggs: bring a medium sized pot of water to a full boil on high heat. Carefully add your eggs, making sure to not drop them into the water or they'll crack. Boil for exactly 7 minutes, then immediately remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and dunk in an ice water bath. Let sit in the ice water until ready to use.3 large eggs
- Add chicken bouillon powder, sugar, and boiling water to a small heatproof container (like Glasslock or similar, or just a heatproof bowl if you don't have one). Either seal the container and shake it to dissolve the sugar and bouillon, or carefully stir until everything is dissolved.1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder, 1/4 cup boiling water, 2 Tbsp sugar
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.3 Tbsp light soy sauce, 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce, 1/2 inch fresh ginger, 1/2 star anise pod, 1/4 cinnamon stick, 1 pinch five spice
- Carefully peel the eggs and add them to the sauce mixture.
- Seal and move the container to the fridge for at least 12 hours and up to 48. After 48 hours, the eggs tend to get too salty for my taste.
- Serve cold or at room temperature with rice or noodles.
Notes
- If your eggs aren't fully submerged, it's not necessarily a big deal but you'll end up with uneven coloring. If this bothers you, you can use the paper towel trick: simply lay a piece of clean paper towel over the top of the eggs, hanging into the sauce, so the sauce can travel up the paper towel and cover all sides of the eggs. However, I have received criticism in the past for utilizing this trick because paper towels are not necessarily considered food safe. Use at your discretion!
- Another way to submerge your eggs more evenly is to use a ziploc baggie for marinating. Add your marinade and eggs and make sure to remove all the air from the bag (you can also use the water submersion technique if you're familiar with sous vide cooking). This will stretch your marinade further, however, you'll likely end up with splotchy eggs (that still taste great!).