Love unagi? Then you must try this catfish kabayaki recipe, sweet and delicate tare sauce on top of tender juicy catfish and garnished with sesame seeds.
Growing up in Japan I used to eat fish more often than I do now living in the U.S. With the wide variety of fish available in Japan, my mom prepared and cooked different kinds of fish throughout the week. She always said we need to eat meat and fish alternatively so that we can enjoy food from both the sea and land.
Today I want to introduce Catfish Kabayaki that is easy to get ingredients for anywhere you live, economical, simple and fast to cook, and last but not least, delicious for the whole family to enjoy.
What is Kabayaki?
Kabayaki (蒲焼き) is a style of Japanese cooking – just like how Teriyaki (照り焼き) is actually a style of cooking, not the name of the sauce.
This style of cooking is specifically for dishes prepared with fish. Typically a long fish is filleted, deboned, skewered, grilled without the sauce first, and then brushed with sweet soy sauce called tare (pronounced [ta LEH] たれ).
This tare is similar to yakitori tare and unagi tare. The sauces are all made with soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar, just with different ratio of the ingredients.
The popular Japanese eel or unagi (鰻) is actually called Unagi no Kabayaki (鰻の蒲焼き) because the way it’s cooked is kabayaki-style.
Catfish Kabayaki as an Alternative to Unagi (Eel)
Speaking of eel or unagi, this Catfish Kabayaki is a wonderful alternative to Unadon (鰻丼, Unagi Donburi) or Unajyu (鰻重).
For several years, good quality domestic unagi has been really expensive in Japan. We occasionally find them in the US at Japanese grocery stores, but the cost is close to $30 for one fillet. The non-Japanese frozen unagi in vacuum pack is cheaper, but has a rubbery texture and it doesn’t taste very good.
So what’s a good alternative? Try this Catfish Kabayaki! It is not unagi, but I think it’ll satisfy your cravings!
Key Ingredients to Make Perfect Catfish Kabayaki
Catfish: My local fish monger recommended me to use basa fish, a type of catfish for this recipe and I liked how it turned out! Of course you can use other types of fish as well, but choose fillets that are relatively thin so it’ll cook faster.
Flour: I use all-purpose flour for my Teriyaki Salmon recipe as well, and some of you asked why. Applying flour before cooking the fillet helps to retain the shape (flesh) of the fish, resulting in crispier texture, and thickens the sauce when you pour the liquid seasonings later.
Sake & Mirin: If you’re new to Japanese cooking, you probably want to ask if you can replace or substitute sake and mirin for something else. I always say to get these two ingredients because that’s they are essential Japanese ingredients that we use for a majority of Japanese (savory) recipes. Please check each pantry page for substitute information: sake here, and mirin here.
As usual, my family are the guinea pigs of my creation and they absolutely loved this dish. The sweet tare sauce worked really well with tender catfish and you have to enjoy it on top of rice. We liked this dish so much we ate it twice in 1 week. Enjoy!
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Catfish Kabayaki
Ingredients
- 2 basa fillets (catfish fillets)
- ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1½ Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1½ Tbsp neutral oil
- 2 green onions/scallions
- 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice (typically 1⅔ cups (250 g) per donburi serving)
- 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
- Japanese sansho pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Before You Start: Gather all the ingredients. For the steamed rice, please note that 1½ cups (300 g, 2 rice cooker cups) of uncooked Japanese short-grain rice yield 4⅓ cups (660 g) of cooked rice, enough for 2 donburi servings (3⅓ cups, 500 g). See how to cook short-grain rice with a rice cooker, pot on the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
- Cut 2 basa fillets (catfish fillets) in half. Season both sides of the catfish fillets with ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper.
- Coat the fillets with 1½ Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour). Gently shake off the excess flour.
- Heat 1½ Tbsp neutral oil (if you like a crispier texture, use 2 to 2½ Tbsp oil) in the frying pan over medium heat. Cook both sides of the fillet until golden brown, about 3–4 minutes each side.
- Whisk 2 Tbsp sake, 2 Tbsp mirin, 3 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp sugar together in a small bowl. Pour the sauce over the fish in the pan. Using a spoon, scoop some sauce and pour it over the fish several times. Cook a few minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Thinly slice 2 green onions/scallions and sprinkle over the fish. Turn off the heat. Divide 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice into individual large donburi bowls or plates. Serve the fish over the rice. Drizzle the sauce over the fish. Sprinkle with 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds and Japanese sansho pepper, if you‘d like.
Do you use only certain parts of green onion? In the picture, I don’t see dark green parts.
Btw, I made your poke recipe for guests and they loved it — I’ve never gotten so many compliments on a dish.
You can use any part of green onion. I usually cut green onions in half, and then line up so green and white part will nicely mixed. I think in this picture it looks green, but mine is usually mixed. 🙂
I’m so happy to hear you and your guests liked my Poke recipe! Thank you for letting me know!
Hello, I was wondering if you could make a recipe on how to make home-made eel sauce! It’s so sweet and delicious, but I don’t know how to make it.
Hi Theresa! Unagi sauce recipe is here:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/unagi-don-unadon/
Thank you for this recipe. Easily the best fish of any kind I’ve ever made!!! So fast and inexpensive too.
Hi Maria! So happy to hear you liked it! Thank you!! xo
Hi Nami!
I’m so excited to try this recipe! I live in Oklahoma, where it is very hard to get unagi but very easy to get catfish! Thanks so much!
I also had a question or maybe a suggestion for a post someday: What would you consider to be the standard set of dishes a person would want to have in their house in Japan? For example in the US, people generally think you should have a set of 6 matching large plates, small plates, bowls, and tea cups with saucers, as well as glasses, knives, spoons, and two sizes of fork. People usually get such a set when they get married. Is there an equivalent “standard set” of dishes in Japan? My experience was that generally in Japan every family member has a personal rice bowl, soup bowl, tea cup and chopsticks, so maybe there is not an equivalent “standard set.” Thanks!
Best,
Anne
Hi Anne! I hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
We have Ichiju Sansai (one soup three dish as basic Japanese meal setting). Hope this picture/illustration will be helpful. You can buy the same set everyone (like set of 4).
http://www.yamaki.co.jp/knowledge/dashi/recipe.html
You got me an idea to share this concept on my blog. 🙂
What a fantastic idea! Printing out the recipe and going to give it a go this weekend!
Hi Jackie! Hope you like(d) the recipe! Thank you for trying this recipe. xo 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe! Catfish served over rice reminds me of a very similar dish that my grandmother used to make. (My mom never liked to cook catfish, so it was a treat when my grandmother made it.)
Glad to hear that your travels are going well, despite the summer heat and humidity!
Hi Kimmi! Thank you! It’s nice that you remember your grandma’s cooking! I was shocked to see catfish in American grocery stores when I first came to the US. I didn’t know it was commonly eaten! 😀
Dear Nami,
Thank you for the recipe. For the sauce, what kind of soy sauce did you use? Light salt? Thanks
Hi Carrie! I use regular soy sauce (Kikkoman organic soy sauce).
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/soy-sauce/
What other fish do you recommend? My husband won’t eat cat fish? This looks amazing and enjoy your trip…regards, Lyn
I apologize I didn’t see other comments before I commented….The reason my husband won’t eat Cat Fish is”bottom-feeders issues..Is Petrole sole too thin?
Hi Lyn! In general, we are also careful not to eat too much bottom feeding fish and shellfish as well as fish that contains high levels of mercury. For those who’re not familiar with bottom feeding fish: flatfish (halibut, flounder, plaice, sole), eels, cod, haddock, bass, grouper, carp, bream (snapper), catfish and shark. We can’t / don’t avoid 100% but choose different fish and don’t eat often… For example, we don’t eat catfish all the time. Just alternate with meat and other types of fish. However, there are not too many selections of fish available in fish monger in the US, which is a bit difficult…. The Petrole sole is okay, but sole is bottom feeder too.
Petrole sole are bottom feeders
I have read somewhere that catish are not eaten in Japanese cuisine because they are bottom-feeders and due to such nature, they are considered akin to trash fish. Can you elaborate and/or explain?
Hi Tim! Catfish is not a fish that we can buy in supermarket. Japan has sooooo many kinds of fish that are available depending on season and catfish is not a common fish to eat like the US.
However, there are catfish speciality restaurants in Japan (even in Tokyo area). Also Yoshikawa city in Saitama prefecture is known for its specialty in catfish since Edo period.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshikawa,_Saitama
Hope this helps.
I finally made this one, although I skipped the flour and used tilapia instead of basa/catfish. My wife and 3yo son loved it. Will definitely put into regular rotation.
Incidentally, 99 Ranch usually has good prices on basa, at least in Cupertino.
Hi Tim! I’m glad to hear your family liked it! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
HI Nami, would frozen white fillet like tilapia haddock be suitable for this dish?
And would this be suitable to be pack in bento?(bento will be consume 6hours after packing)
Thx
Hi NJ! Yeah tilapia will work. And bento, YES!!! Hope you enjoy. 🙂
Hi Nami,
Thankyou for all your various recipes and travelogues. We visited Japan a few years ago and I really enjoy trying to recreate some of the wonderful dishes we had whilst we were there. I love unagi but it is also either not available or very expensive here. I haven’t cooked with sake yet – could you please advise if there is any particular type of sake which is best for cooking?
Many thanks!
Veronika
Hi Veronika! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed spending time in Japan and cooking Japanese food! Here are sake that I use.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/sake/
Don’t buy the white color or cloudy sake (it’s called Nigori sake). You just need an inexpensive sake for cooking. 🙂
I love catfish and usually have it deep fried with a heavy breading, which means I can’t eat it as often as I’d like..
This is so much more healthy and I really want to taste the flavorings of the seasoning ingredients..
Thank you for sharing this recipe… :O)
Hi Ross! Yeah, I love it deep fried too. You can actually deep fry this fish too (‘shallow fry”) for crispier finish. But like you said, this is much healthier version. 😉 Hope you enjoy the recipe!
I found some English white fish names ???? : fresh cod (unsalted), plaice, pollack, coalfish, hake, haddock and sea-bream. By hoping that can help !(?) ????
Yes it helped! 🙂
Bonjour Nami, Hello Nami,
I’m so happy for this recipe ! I love unagi but like in Japan, it’s very hard to find in France and very expensive… But white fish filet like catfish or – sorry, I don’t know their names in english… – cabillaud, carrelet, églefin, lieu noir, etc can well substitute eel ! I’ll try it very soon, yum yum, miam miam ! ????
Hi Corinne! Yeah, any fish that is flat, firm and not flaky will work great! I hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂 xo
Hi Nami !
Hope you enjoy your trip with your family!
Your receipe cannot be easier.
I will try it next time
Thanks a lot
Aurelie
Hi Aurelie! Thank you, we are having a good time in Japan. Hope you like this recipe! 🙂