When it comes to gatherings in Hawaii, the food table beats all other potlucks I’ve experienced in quantity and quality. Over the years, I’ve gotten to know many island staples and I look forward to my favorites. Even if I can make them at home, having a real mix of cultural and culturally adjacent foods on one plate is a very beautiful thing.

When I was a kid on the continent, I would come across many dishes that I never saw at home, like deviled eggs. While I do enjoy deviled eggs, I probably wouldn’t bring a plate of them to any gathering here except Easter. But then I thought … what if they were Korean-style marinated deviled eggs?

In no time at all, I boiled some eggs, waited impatiently for them to soak in the marinade, and deviled them properly with Kewpie mayonnaise. It hits different. These eggs are good without the deviling, too. They’re great inside a rice ball or plopped into your ramen. I suggest you do a soft boil on the eggs until the yolk is jammy (in my experience, 6 1/2 minutes at full boil). After marinating, don’t store them in the liquid as they will get saltier.

Marinated Deviled Eggs
Ingredients:
• 12 boiled eggs
• 3/4 cups soy sauce
• 6 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons gochujang
• 1 tablespoons sesame oil
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoons grated ginger
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red chile pepper, sliced
• 1 bunch scallions, minced
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• Sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, gochujang, sesame oil, water, ginger, garlic, chile pepper and scallions until the gochujang fully dissolves.
Peel and add the eggs to the liquid. A good sealed container that barely holds the eggs and the liquid works best. Otherwise, put the eggs and marinade in a smaller bowl and gently stir the eggs around every once in a while. Marinate for at least 2 hours (they’ll reach a stronger flavor if you leave them overnight).

Slice the eggs lengthwise and scoop out the yolks into a small bowl. Add Kewpie mayo. Mash the yolks together until you get a creamy consistency. Lay out the whites on a platter and scoop a little of the yolk mixture into each half. Sprinkle with sesame seeds or some more minced scallions if desired.
Makes 24 halves.

Mariko Jackson writes about family and food. Email her at thelittlefoodie@gmail.com.