Soy Marinated Eggs with Poached Shrimp Salad
These soy marinated eggs are the kind of recipe that quickly becomes one of the most important things in your refrigerator. Soft-boiled eggs are steeped for hours in a tamari marinade with sugar and rice wine vinegar until the egg whites are a glossy brown and the yolk is still jammy and golden at the center.
Here I used them in a poach shrimp salad. It is served in a kewpie mayo dressing with sesame oil and chili crisp, alongside blanched edamame, microgreens, pickled ginger, sliced cucumber, and sesame crackers. The best part is you can serve on a platter or build into individual mini meal jars.
A Note from Teri on Soy Marinated Eggs with Poached Shrimp Salad
These Soy Marinated Eggs with Poached Shrimp Salad is something I made specifically because I can’t stop thinking about it. I’m always trying to think of new mini meals and of course I’m a chicken and egg salad enthusiast, but my friend Laura came up with this fabulous shrimp salad idea for a mini meal originally.
I thought it would be really fun to do a spin on it that is Asian inspired, and a soy marinated egg became the star of the show. This is a great mini meal, but also a fabulous platter to make for a group. You can do a lot ahead, and I love having these eggs in the fridge for the week.
What’s so perfect about this recipe is that you use the magic elixir ingredients you find in your pantry. They are five ingredients I think everyone should have, and I shared all about why I love them here.
As for the shrimp salad, I love that it’s full of flavor with just a bit of mayo to complement it. The mayo doesn’t overpower, and all of those amazing ingredients and flavors shine through in the shrimp. Also, my favorite hack is using an ice cream scoop to make the perfect shrimp salad scoops on your platter.
What Makes These Soy Marinated Eggs Different
Most soy marinated egg recipes use mirin as their sweetener instead of sugar and tamari as a substitute for soy sauce, but I prefer to use sugar and tamari first. Sugar gives a more neutral sweetness that lets the tamari flavor come through without the fermented quality mirin can introduce. Tamari itself is richer than standard soy sauce and has a bit more umami that really comes through in the eggs.
The precision on both the cook time is crucial. After testing all different timings, we found that seven minutes and twenty seconds is the exact moment where the yolk is barely set but still deeply jammy all the way through.
Ingredients
- Eggs – the precise 7-minute-20-second cook time is what gets the perfect jammy yolk.
- Sugar – dissolved in warm water before the tamari goes in so it incorporates without any grittiness. It balances the saltiness of the marinade with a neutral sweetness.
- Tamari – richer than standard soy sauce with a deeper umami flavor. It is my preferred choice for this marinade.
- Rice wine vinegar – the brightness that infuses the marinade and the salad dressing to give each a little added dimension of flavor.
- Jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined – Use peeled and deveined shrimp to keep this recipe less intensive. It makes the shrimp easier to poach and cut.
- Peppercorns – added to the poaching water to add fragrance the shrimp from the outside in.
- Lemon peel – gives the poaching water a bright citrusy flavor that elevates the delicacy of the shrimp.
- Fresh mint sprigs – this is the unexpected aromatic in the poaching water. It is subtle in the finished shrimp but makes it feel so refreshing.
- Kewpie mayo – richer and more umami-forward than standard mayo. It is absolutely worth seeking out for this recipe.
- Sesame oil – use toasted sesame oil to keep it warm, nutty, and fragrant.
- Chili crisp – used in the dressing and again as a finishing condiment. It makes the mayo mixture and salad subtly spicy and so delicious.
- Red onion, celery, and chives, finely chopped – these vegetables add some crunch and freshness to the shrimp salad mixture.
- Frozen edamame, blanched – a crunch and a bit of plant protein to go alongside the shrimp.
- Microgreens – these add freshness, color, and a some added greens for the platter or jar.
- Baby cucumbers, thinly sliced – cool and crisp vegetables to balance the richness of the shrimp salad and soy eggs.
- Pickled ginger – if you haven’t had pickled ginger before, get ready to fall in love. It is sweet, sharp, and palate-cleansing.
- Sesame crackers – a little toasted crunch. Add at the very last minute so they stay crispy!
How to Make Soy Marinated Eggs with Poached Shrimp Salad
Step One: Marinate Eggs and Cook Edamame
A few hours before serving, set a medium pot filled with water to boil. Once the water is boiling, carefully lower the eggs and boil for 7 minutes and 20 seconds. While the eggs are boiling, make an ice water bath. When the eggs are done, transfer them to the ice water bath with a slotted spoon and let cool for 10 minutes.
While the eggs are cooling, make the marinade: To a medium bowl, add the sugar and 6 tablespoons of warm water, and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the tamari and rice wine vinegar. Carefully peel the eggs and add them to the bowl with the marinade. Give them a stir so that they are coated in the marinade. Marinate the eggs in the fridge for 2-6 hours, or at least an hour.
Set a large pot with at least 2 quarts of water over high heat. Prepare an ice bath. Once the water is boiling, add 2 tablespoons of salt and the edamame. Cook for 1-2 minutes then remove with a spider or slotted spoon to the ice bath to stop the cooking Drain and set aside.
Step Two: Poach and Prepare Shrimp
Add the peppercorns, lemon peel, and sprigs of mint to the same pot of boiling water you cooked the edamame in. (Turn the heat back up if it isn’t at a boil any longer.) Once at a boil, add the shrimp then immediately cover the pot with a lid and remove the pot from heat. Poach the shrimp in the hot water for 4 minutes then immediately transfer to the ice water bath with a spider or slotted spoon. Let the shrimp sit in the ice water for a few minutes then drain. Transfer the shrimp to a cutting board and cut them into ¼ inch pieces and set aside.
Step Three: Make the Shrimp Salad
In a medium bowl, mix the mayo, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and chili crisp until well-combined. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Place half of the shrimp mixture in a food processor and pulse a few times until the mixture is in small pieces but not a smooth texture. Add back into the bowl along with the red onion, celery, chives, and a pinch of salt and stir to combine.
Step Four: Assemble the Salad
To make a salad platter: Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, scoop the shrimp salad onto a platter. Arrange the greens, edamame, halved marinated eggs, crackers, avocado, and pickled ginger. Season everything with a sprinkle of salt and finish with chili crisp and marinated red onions.
To make mini meal jars or bowls: Assemble the jars (or bowls) by adding a drizzle of sesame oil and rice wine vinegar on the jar bottoms and a little chili crisp, if you want. Add a small handful of microgreens, a quarter of the shrimp salad, half a marinated egg to each jar. Divide the cucumber slices, edamame, and pickled ginger among the jars and top each a few sesame crackers. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
2 to 6 hours is the ideal window. At 2 hours you have a well-seasoned egg with a beautiful tan color and at 6 hours the color is deeper and the flavor more pronounced.
Tamari is a type of soy that is richer and slightly less salty than standard soy sauce, which means it seasons the eggs more gently and evenly and keeps the recipe gluten-free. In a marinade this simple, the difference is fully noticeable in the finished egg.
Yes, they are best made a few hours ahead. They keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days stored whole in the marinade, deepening in color and flavor over time.
Almost anything! Halve them over ramen, slice them over steamed rice with sesame oil and chili crisp, add them to a grain bowl, or lay them on avocado toast with furikake. Once you have them in the refrigerator, you’ll find yourself reaching for them constantly.
Actively boiling water tightens shrimp proteins quickly and unevenly, leading to rubbery shrimp. Removing the pot from the heat cooks them gently and evenly. This technique makes the shrimp more tender.
Try These Other Asian Inspired Recipes!
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Poached Shrimp Salad with Marinated Eggs
Ingredients
For the Marinated Eggs
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¾ cup tamari
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
For the Edamame and the Shrimp Salad:
- Kosher salt
- ½ package frozen edamame about 1 ½ cups
- 1 tablespoon peppercorns
- Peel of 1 lemon
- Few sprigs of mint
- 2 pound peeled and deveined shrimp
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kewpie mayo
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chili crisp
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
- 1 tablespoons finely chopped chives
For the Rest:
- Sesame oil
- Rice vinegar
- Chili crisp
- Large handful microgreens
- 2 baby cucumbers thinly sliced
- ¼ cup pickled ginger
- Sesame rice crackers
Instructions
- A few hours before serving, set a medium pot filled with water to boil. Once the water is boiling, carefully lower the eggs and boil for 7 minutes and 20 seconds. While the eggs are boiling, make an ice water bath. When the eggs are done, transfer them to the ice water bath with a slotted spoon and let cool for 10 minutes.
- While the eggs are cooling, make the marinade: To a medium bowl, add the sugar and 6 tablespoons of warm water, and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the tamari and rice wine vinegar.
- Carefully peel the eggs and add them to the bowl with the marinade. Give them a stir so that they are coated in the marinade. Marinate the eggs in the fridge for 2-6 hours, or at least an hour.
- Set a large pot with at least 2 quarts of water over high heat. Prepare an ice bath. Once the water is boiling, add 2 tablespoons of salt and the edamame. Cook for 1-2 minutes then remove with a spider or slotted spoon to the ice bath to stop the cooking Drain and set aside.
- Add the peppercorns, lemon peel, and sprigs of mint to the same pot of boiling water you cooked the edamame in. (Turn the heat back up if it isn’t at a boil any longer.) Once at a boil, add the shrimp then immediately cover the pot with a lid and remove the pot from heat. Poach the shrimp in the hot water for 5 minutes then immediately transfer to the ice water bath with a spider or slotted spoon. Let the shrimp to sit in the ice water for a few minutes then drain. Transfer the shrimp to a cutting board and cut then into ¼ inch pieces and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the mayo, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and chili crisp until well-combined. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Place half of the shrimp mixture in a food processor and pulse a few times until the mixture is in small pieces but not a smooth texture. Add back into the bowl along with the red onion, celery, chives, and a pinch of salt and stir to combine.
- To make a salad platter: Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, scoop the shrimp salad onto a platter. Arrange the greens, edamame, halved marinated eggs, crackers, avocado, and pickled ginger. Season everything with a sprinkle of salt and finish with chili crisp and marinated red onions.
- To make mini meal jars or bowls: Assemble the jars (or bowls) by adding a drizzle of sesame oil and rice wine vinegar on the jar bottoms and a little chili crisp, if you want. Add a small handful of microgreens, a quarter of the shrimp salad, half a marinated egg to each jar. Divide the cucumber slices, edamame, and pickled ginger among the jars and top each a few sesame crackers. Enjoy!
- Note: The recipe is for a shrimp salad platter but if you’re making this recipe specifically for mini meals, I recommend making half the shrimp salad recipe.
Notes
- Don’t skip the ice baths! It is so important to stop the cooking for your eggs and shrimp to avoid overcooking.
- Dissolve the sugar before adding it to the tamari. To avoid a grainy texture, add the sugar to warm water and whisk until dissolved.
- Add the crackers at the last moment so that they stay nice and crispy.
- I prefer to keep my edamame in the shell, but if you want to remove the shell or only have the beans, that is great too.
- My favorite hack is using an ice cream scoop to make the perfect shrimp salad scoops on your platter.
