Chefs share innovative egg variations that are sure to tantalise your taste buds

Remember the popular jingle from four decades ago ldquoSunday ho ya Monday roz khao anderdquo It used to be a favourite considering itrsquos easy to eat an egg every day Eggs are one of the most versatile ingredientsmdashshowing up not only on breakfast plates around the world but they can make for a quick lunch or dinner option as well Recently while looking up some recipes we got eggcited to find a whole new world of marinated eggs and went looking for more Full of sweetsavoury funkiness you can marinate eggs for up to 24 hours and once you remove them from the marinade they can be stored in the fridge for up to two days Enjoy them over rice noodles or just on their own as a quick healthy snackMayak eggs are commonly called Korean drug eggs because they are so delicious that you canrsquot stop eating them They look visually enticing sitting in a jar of soy sauce and sesame oilbased marinade in South Mumbaibased home chef AyushiGuptaMehrarsquos kitchen She calls them a staple ldquoYou need just a few ingredientsrdquo she explains as she scoops out a drug egg and places it onto fragrant jasmine rice The marinade a reddishbrown concoction with bright red bits of gochugaru Korean red pepper flakes and spring onion greens drizzles down the sides of the mound of rice ldquoInfusing the eggs with new flavours is what makes it excitingrdquo she says adding ldquoItrsquos an overnight recipe You whip up the marinade on the side while cooking dinner soak the eggs in it in a mason jar or sealed container and itrsquos ready to eat the next dayrdquoGupta has been sharing her series of egg recipes on The Foodie Diaries on Instagram for a while now Korean drug eggs are currently her favourite because they are spicy and have a burst of flavours searing the tongue The yolk is jammy a consequence of boiling them eggsactly for sixandahalf minutes Gupta muses as an afterthought that sliced cucumbers would add to the richness of the marinade recipe ldquoIrsquoll try those next timerdquo she smiles Kandivlibased home chef Sanjana Das explored her interest in cooking during the pandemic Of the many eggbased recipes shersquos worked on recently Chinese black tea eggs have become a quick favouriteChinese black tea eggs with a marinade of tea and soy sauceThe recipe requires patience itrsquos not something that can be whipped up for breakfast she explains but the outcome is worth it Das creates a tea broth out of a few whole spices such as bay leaves star anise peppercorns and cinnamon sticks which imparts a layer of spice to the marinade The eggs have to be submerged in the tea broth overnight ldquoThe next morning when you peel off the shells completely you get a fascinating darkcoloured marble pattern on the egg white imparted by the black tea mix You also get a mild aromatic smell and flavour with a dash of umami It is salty and earthy and tastes great on toast for breakfast Or the eggs can be chopped and added to a salad They would also taste delicious with a bowl of ramenrdquo she adds ldquoAs for the leftover black tea mix I can see myself marinating chicken in the same for my next mealrdquoAyushi GuptaMehra created the Korean lsquodrugrsquo eggs recipe to experiment with ingredients found commonly in the kitchenAnother interesting marinade recipe is ramen soy eggs a Japaneseorigin dish thatrsquos originally called ajitsuke tamago Chef Amal Farooque founder of the gourmet Mediterranean kitchen Sage amp Olio explains the process ldquoOne thing I enjoyed was adding vinegar and salt to the eggs while boilingmdashit firms them up just enoughmdashand working with the icecold eggsrdquo The eggs have to be ldquoshockedrdquo in an icecold bath after theyrsquore boiled for about five to 10 minutes to halt the cooking process and it keeps the yolks moistmdasha technique useful for any egg recipeldquoThere are no spices in thisrdquo she explains ldquoonly basic Chinese seasoning I used soy sauce and a type of black vinegar called Chinkiang vinegar instead of Mirin a rice wine commonly used in Japanese cuisine a little water and sugarrdquo The mixture is then poured over the eggs and the marinade is once again left to soak up the flavours for about three to four hours ldquoYou can eat ramen eggs with rice or noodles or even add them to humble daalchawal for a twistmdashand the leftover marinade can be eaten the next day with plain rice or noodlesrdquo The taste is unusually creamy and fresh ldquoIt doesnrsquot taste like eggmdashor even smell like one The sugar I added didnrsquot add any sweetness it just enhanced the umami flavourrdquoSanjana Das and Amal FarooqueFarooque works with multiple egg combinations in her capacity as a baker and has also explored beetroot pickled eggs which call for yellow mustard seeds black peppercorns chillies and apple cider vinegar While the combination of spices and beetroot may sound crazy itrsquos delicious ldquoItrsquos not sweet although you might think the beetroot ismdashit turns out sour and spicy yet with a delicate flavour profilerdquo she says If anything these dishes have certainly egged us on to create our own marinated versions of boiled andas Get inspired and try your own version