On my birthday, I got this weird present. They weren’t wrapped with pretty pink ribbon nor beautifully packed with wrapping paper, since I got them on my birthday, I consider that they were my birthday present.
The present I got is eggs baked on Elvan stone. Have you ever had eggs baked on Elvan stone before? I wouldn’t think so. It was my first time trying these eggs too.
You can see them at a sauna (public bath) in Korea. They are called “Maekbanseok gyeran” (Maekbanseok is Elvan stone and gyeran is an egg) Apparently lots of people love to eat those eggs there. Eggs baked on Elvan stone are more expensive than normal eggs, my sister thinks that one egg is about US 50 cents or more. The person who gave them to me works at a sauna, so he said he got it cheaper than retail price.
It takes about 3 hours or more to bake the eggs on the stone, and they taste really good when they are still warm, but they were cold when I had them. It tastes like roasted chestnuts to me (only the egg white part). The unshelled egg is soft, delicate, and shiny. When I first cracked the shell, I thought they were boiled in soy sauce or something.
Now you would wonder why these eggs are so special? I did too.
I couldn’t find any reason for their popularity, but Elvan stone is known as a really useful stone for health. It gets rid of harmful metals in your body, it is good for the skin (it cleans skin diseases, like pimples, tumors etc), and when it is heated, it releases far infrared rays, which are good for blood circulation, delaying aging, and activating cells. So eggs baked on Elvan stone must be good! 
In English, there is some information about Elvan stone at Olumpus Spa. It summarizes pretty well. Now I feel like going to a spa and having some warm baked eggs on Elvan stone. What about you?
Other health related Posts
Radish and Oysters on Rice (Gulbap in Korean)
Ginger Tea (Saenggang Cha in Korean)
Ginseng Tea (Insam Cha in Korean)
Related posts:
Have you ever considered creating an e-book or guest authoring on other sites? I have a blog based upon on the same subjects you discuss and would love to have you share some stories/information. I know my visitors would enjoy your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.
[...] I’ve been told that in Finland some saunas are equipped with egg racks. Depending on where the rack is placed one could probably chose between hard boiled and soft boiled eggs. But the sauna would have to be kept warm for a long time due to the slow heat transfer from the hot air. And talking about eggs and saunas: If the eggs are placed directly on the hot stones they will not only be hard boiled, but actually turn completely brown and aquire a nutty flavor. In Korea such sauna eggs are known as Maekbanseok gyeran. [...]
I made these eggs a few times and tonight i’m also making some, these eggs are great! but you have to wait 3 hours for the eggs to cook in a crock pot,
1. dozen eggs
2. crock pot
put eggs in crock pot and set for high, then wait 3 hours “ding” there done ( caution Contents will be hot!)
Wow! That is great to know. I always wondered why they ate those.
[...] ir vesela māksla. Savukārt Japānā olas vāra karstajos avotos un Korejā īsta delikatese esot publiskā saunā vārītas olas. Notiek tas trīs stundas un garša esot pēc ceptiem kastaņiem. Nemaz nerunājot par to, ka [...]
[...] to mykoreankitchen.com, they are made by baking eggs for 3 hours on an Elvan stone. Elvan stones are used in Korean saunas [...]
You can also use a crockpot. Put a single layer on bottom, or lay others on the sides on top of the bottom layer. Only the eggs touching the crockpot will get the full smoky flavor. The total cooking time on “high” is approximately 3 1/2 hours, then turn off and let sit for about an hour.
Haha, are they really the weirdest eggs you have ever eaten?
Thanks for the explanation.
I think ‘tea smoked eggs’ are the same as ‘tea eggs’ which as per wikipedia, ‘are simply hard boiled eggs that have been further stewed in a salted tea liquid. Other flavorings such as soy sauce and Chinese five-spice powder are often added as well.’
Tea eggs were the weirdest egg I have ever eaten.
Kat, certainly these ones didn’t have the sulfur smell. You might like these.
Equinox, When I go to a jjimjilbang, I never felt like having some of these eggs and sikkye. I might not be Korean.
Sandy, cracking eggs on their heads, I don’t think it is very common.
TV dramas like to do so to make it fun I guess.
Evil Jonny, I have read lots of people wanting to make these eggs at home and they try, no one succeeded so far.
I hope you break the record.
tigerfish, I totally agree with you. However, spa places seemed to cook them in bulk, so you can eat them straight away.
Melting wok, what are the tea smoked eggs like? I haven’t seen them.
Bit similar to the chinese tea smoked egss, but this is different and great !!
I only knew how to eat the raw eggs over the korean seafood hot pot, but this is definitely much healthier and interesting, cheers !:)
What, 3 hrs to cook that egg ? Only can try when just eaten a meal so that you would not keep feeling hungry while waiting for that egg to cook.;D
Wow, I’ve never heard of this before. So cool! I want to try some.
I’ve always wondered why people who go to bath houses must eat these eggs. And why do they crack the eggs on their heads? At least this is what the TV drama shows. Do koreans really do that when they go to spas?
ì°œì§ˆë°©ì— ê°€ì„œ 그런 계란 ë¨¹ê³ ì‹í˜œ ë§ˆì‹ ë‹¤ê³ í•´ìš”. ìž¬ë¯¸ìžˆì£ =)
These sound like the “onsen tamago”–the eggs that are hardboiled in the hot spring water. I think I would like these better because they wouldn’t have the sulpher smell like the hot spring ones do.