UPDATED OCTOBER 2026
This Egg Soufflé is my go-to when I need to get something on the table quickly and the pantry options are looking a little bleak. It’s fast, comforting, deeply savory, and packed with protein. Best of all, the eggs cook up incredibly soft and custardy, with tiny boiled sardines adding the little hit of funk that I crave.
This is weeknight pantry cooking at its best. I always have eggs, dashi, and mirin on hand, and with just a few more ingredients, dinner is ready in about 15 minutes.
While Egg Soufflé has its roots in Korea, where it’s often served as a side dish, or banchan, alongside Korean barbecue, my version comes from my mom. She knew what it was like to spend all day feeding people in a restaurant and then come home to hungry kids who needed dinner too.
She made this regularly, and now I do too. I still make it the way she did. Why improve upon perfection?
My parents, in one of their early 80’s Miami restaurants!Let’s Get Cracking!
To start, combine the seasonings with the water in a small pot and bring to a simmer.
Don’t be scared of the little boiled sardines in this recipe. They really do make the dish. Known as shirasu, these tiny steamed fish add a subtle saltiness and a little texture to the velvety eggs without making the dish taste overly fishy.
I keep packages of shirasu in the freezer and pull them out whenever I need them. They thaw quickly under running water, although I’ll usually move a package to the fridge the night before if I remember. (No promises.)
Shirasu are tiny juvenile fish—usually sardines, anchovies, or round herring—that are commonly eaten in Japan. They’re soft, mild, and a great pantry/freezer ingredient to have around. My nephew Noah loves them and is perfectly happy eating a couple of packages, sometimes still frozen, over rice for a meal.
You can find shirasu and their cousin, chirimen jako (the same fish that has been boiled and then dried), in the freezer section of many Asian markets. Either works here. If you can’t find them, a little shredded crab stick or a few small shrimp will do the job, or simply leave out the seafood altogether.
Then slowly pour in the whisked eggs:
After stirring the eggs, I cover the pot with a lid and let it cook gently for 4-5 minutes. The steam will make the eggs puff up and inflate. You can serve it directly from the pot, or carefully transfer it to a shallow bowl. I like to garnish it with scallions for some color, toasted sesame oil for flavor, and serve it with either a quick veggie side like Stir Fried Pea Shoots or with Japanese Style Spinach. Or go ultra simple with some steamed rice and pickles.
And there you have it: a savory, comforting dinner that comes together in about 15 minutes, with ingredients you can keep on hand for those nights when you need food to happen and you need it to happen now.
Make this savory Egg Soufflé for dinner tonight, and let me know what you think. Rate and comment on the recipe, and tag us in your pics @funkyasiankitchen, we love hearing from you and seeing your creations!
Egg Souffle
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: serves 2
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 4 tablespoons shirasu baby sardines
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 ½ Tablespoons mirin
- ½ teaspoon dashi powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Garnish:
1 scallion minced
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Crack the eggs and whip them with a fork. Set aside.
- Put the water, mirin, dashi powder, and salt in a small heavy bottomed pot and stir to combine.
- Put the pot over medium high heat and bring to a simmer, 1-2 minutes.
- Lower the heat to medium low, add the sardines, and pour the eggs into the pot. Stir gently.
- Cover with a lid and cook for 4-5 minutes. The eggs will inflate and turn into a soft mousse-like consistency.
- Sprinkle with scallions, drizzle with sesame oil, and serve either in the pot or transferred to a shallow bowl.
