A decorative bowl filled with white rice, topped with three glazed, grilled catfish kabayaki fillets, garnished with chopped green onions and sesame seeds. A wooden spoon and soup bowl are nearby on a wooden table.

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Recipe Highlights

Growing up in Japan, I ate fish far more often than I do now in the U.S. My mom cooked different kinds of fish throughout the week. She always alternated meat and fish so we could enjoy food from both the sea and land.

Grilled unagi is a dish I love, but good eel is expensive. So I created Catfish Kabayaki as a budget-friendly alternative, and it’s become one of my favorites!

Here’s why I keep coming back to this recipe:

  • Ready in 15 minutes with easy-to-find ingredients
  • Uses basa, an affordable catfish with unagi-like flavor
  • A satisfying rice bowl with fish glazed in sweet-savory tare

If you love Japanese rice bowls, try my Unadon, Oyakodon, and Gyudon next!

A bowl of steamed rice topped with glazed catfish kabayaki fillets, garnished with sesame seeds and chopped green onions, served with a bowl of soup and chopsticks on the side.

What is Kabayaki?

Kabayaki (蒲焼き) is not a sauce. It’s a Japanese cooking style, much like teriyaki (照り焼き).

A long fish (such as eels and conger eels) is filleted, deboned, skewered, and grilled, then brushed with a sweet soy glaze called tare (たれ). It’s the same method behind Japan’s beloved unagi no kabayaki (鰻の蒲焼き), or grilled eel.

Ingredients for Catfish Kabayaki

  • Catfish (basa) fillets
  • Sauce – soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar
  • All-purpose flour
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Neutral oil

For serving

  • Cooked Japanese short-grain rice
  • Green onions/scallions
  • Toasted white sesame seeds
  • Sansho pepper (optional)

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

Jump to Recipe

How to Make Catfish Kabayaki

  1. Prep the fish. Cut the basa fillets in half crosswise, then season both sides with salt and pepper.
  1. Coat with flour. Dust the fillets lightly with flour and shake off the excess.
  1. Pan-fry. Heat the oil over medium heat and fry the fillets 3 to 4 minutes per side, until the crust is golden and the flesh turns milky white.
  1. Add the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk the sauce ingredients until the sugar dissolves. Pour it over the fish and cook 1–2 minutes, spooning it over until it thickens and glazes the fillets. Sprinkle with sliced green onions.
  1. Serve. Spoon the fish and sauce over warm rice. Top with sesame seeds.
A person slicing a raw catfish fillet for kabayaki on a wooden cutting board with a sharp knife, using one hand to hold the fish steady and the other to cut.
Close-up of hands pressing flour onto a piece of catfish kabayaki fillet, preparing it for cooking. Other floured fish fillets are visible in the background.
Six pieces of seasoned white fish fillets, similar to catfish kabayaki, are cooking in a black nonstick pan on a stovetop. The fillets are lightly browned, indicating they are being pan-fried.
Catfish kabayaki fillets cooking in a skillet with bubbling brown sauce as a spoon drizzles more sauce over the tender fish.
A bowl of catfish kabayaki with sauce on rice, garnished with sliced green onions and sesame seeds, sits on a wooden table next to chopsticks and a bowl of soup.
Namiko Hirasawa Chen

Nami’s Recipe Tips

Here are the tips I rely on to make this dish work every time.

  • Choose thin fillets – My local fishmonger recommended basa, a type of catfish, because it comes in thin fillets that cook quickly and stay tender.
  • Dust with flour first – Coating the fish in flour before frying holds the flesh together, gives a crisper surface, and thickens the tare as it reduces.
  • Cook on medium – Medium heat browns the crust without drying the inside, so the fish stays juicy.
Two hands evenly coating raw catfish kabayaki fillets with flour and seasoning on a wooden surface, preparing the fish for cooking.
Four catfish kabayaki fillets are being cooked in a pan with a bubbling brown sauce. A spatula is about to flip one fillet. The fish is lightly seasoned and the rich sauce surrounds the fillets.
  • Use more oil for a crispier crust – I use 1½ tablespoons in a nonstick pan, but bump it up to 2–2½ tablespoons in a stainless steel pan for extra crunch.
  • Use real sake and mirin – These two staples flavor most savory Japanese dishes, so they’re worth stocking. My pantry pages list substitutes if you need them.
A bowl of steamed rice topped with glossy catfish kabayaki fillets, garnished with sesame seeds and chopped green onions, sits alongside a bowl of miso soup and a lidded condiment jar. Chopsticks rest beside the bowl.
A bowl of white rice topped with two glazed, grilled unagi (eel) fillets or catfish kabayaki, garnished with sesame seeds and chopped green onions, with a pair of wooden chopsticks resting on the bowl.

Variations

Feel free to mix and match based on what you have on hand.

  • Try another fish. Any mild white fish with slender, thin fillets works well with the same tare glaze.
  • Spoon it over noodles. Skip the rice and serve the fish and sauce over udon or soba.
  • Tweak the sauce. Swap in my Homemade Eel Sauce (unagi tare) for a deeper, more traditional sweet-salty flavor.

What to Serve with Catfish Kabayaki

Add these sides to make a complete meal.

White ceramic bowls containing Cabbage and Onsen Tamago Miso Soup topped with green onions and shichimi togarashi.
Green bean shiraae in a Japanese ceramic.

Storage and Reheating Tips

To store: Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to a month.

To reheat: Warm gently in a covered pan over low heat.

FAQ

What kind of fish should I use?

I use basa, a type of catfish, but any thin white fish works. Pick thin fillets so they cook through quickly.

Does this taste like real unagi?

It isn’t identical—catfish is milder than eel. But the sweet tare glaze and warm rice make for a satisfying unadon experience at a fraction of the cost of real unagi, which can run $30 or more per fillet.

Can I cook this without sake or mirin?

I recommend keeping both on hand, since they flavor most savory Japanese dishes, but my pantry pages list substitutes if you’re in a pinch.

What is sansho pepper?

It’s a citrusy Japanese pepper often paired with grilled eel, and a small pinch adds a light, tingly finish.

I’d love to hear how yours turned out! 💛 Please leave a star rating and comment below to share your experience. Your feedback not only supports Just One Cookbook but also helps other home cooks discover recipes they can trust.

Catfish Kabayaki

4.93 from 56 votes
by Namiko Hirasawa Chen
A bowl of steamed rice topped with glazed catfish kabayaki fillets, garnished with sesame seeds and chopped green onions, served with a bowl of soup and chopsticks on the side.
Love unagi? Then try my Catfish Kabayaki, a Japanese catfish recipe with a sweet-savory tare. I pan-fry tender basa fillets, then glaze them in a glossy sauce of sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar. Serve it over warm rice for a quick, satisfying weeknight dinner.
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Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 15 minutes

Ingredients  

Servings: 2

For the Sauce

For Serving

Instructions

To Prep

  • Gather all the ingredients. It's best to start when the rice is resting.
    Three raw white basa fillets for catfish kabayaki on a black plate, surrounded by small bowls of sugar, flour, sesame seeds, salt, green liqueur, soy sauce, a pepper grinder, and green onions on a wooden surface.
  • Cut 2 basa fillets (catfish fillets) crosswise in half. Season both sides with ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (use half the amount or the same weight for table salt) and ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper.
    Two images: on the left, a hand slices a raw basa fillet lengthwise on a wooden board for catfish kabayaki; on the right, two fish fillets are cut in half and sprinkled with salt and pepper.
  • Lightly coat the fillets with 1½ Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour) and shake off the excess.
    Two close-up images show hands coating raw catfish kabayaki fillets with flour on a wooden surface, preparing them for cooking. The fillets are lightly dusted, and the hands are gently pressing the flour onto the fish.

To Cook

  • Heat 1½ Tbsp neutral oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the fillets and fry for 3–4 minutes per side until the crust is golden brown and the flesh is opaque and milky white.
    Nami's Tip: Use 2–2½ Tbsp oil for a stainless steel pan or for a crispier texture.
    A side-by-side comparison of a pan with raw, lightly floured catfish kabayaki fillets on the left and the same fillets cooked to a golden brown on the right. Both images show the fish in a black frying pan on a stove.
  • In a small bowl, whisk 3 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp mirin, 2 Tbsp sake, and 1 Tbsp sugar until the sugar dissolves. Pour over the fish and cook for 1–2 minutes, spooning it over the fish until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
    Thinly slice 2 green onions/scallions and sprinkle over the fish. Turn off the heat.
    Two side-by-side images show catfish kabayaki fillets cooking in a skillet. On the left, sauce is spooned over the fish. On the right, a hand sprinkles chopped green onions onto the cooked catfish.

To Serve

  • Divide 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice into the donburi bowls and top with the fish. Drizzle with the pan sauce and sprinkle with 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds and Japanese sansho pepper, if you'd like.
    A bowl of steamed rice topped with glazed catfish kabayaki fillets, garnished with sesame seeds and chopped green onions, served with a bowl of soup and chopsticks on the side.

To Store

  • Transfer the leftovers to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days or in the freezer for up to a month. To reheat, warm it gently in a covered pan over low heat so the flesh stays moist.

Notes

Japanese short-grain rice: ½ cups (300 g, 2 rice cooker cups) of uncooked Japanese short-grain rice yields 4⅓ cups (660 g) of cooked rice—just right for 2 donburi servings. Cook it your way: rice cooker, pot on the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
Variations
  • Try another fish. Any mild white fish that comes in slender, thin fillets takes well to the same tare glaze.
  • Make it vegetarian. Coat firm tofu or eggplant in flour and pan-fry, then glaze with the tare for a meat-free bowl.
  • Spoon it over noodles. Skip the rice and serve the fish and sauce over udon or soba.
  • Use eel for the classic version. Swap in grilled unagi and make traditional unagi no kabayaki.

Nutrition

Calories: 515kcal, Carbohydrates: 40g, Protein: 31g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 94mg, Sodium: 1247mg, Potassium: 586mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 122IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 35mg, Iron: 2mg

The nutrition facts shown are generated by an online calculator and are estimates only. Please consult a professional nutritionist for specific dietary needs.

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on June 18,m 2018 and republished with more helpful tips and techniques on 6/7, 2026.