Hearty and savory rice bowl with unagi (eel) and eggplant! This Eggplant Unagi Donburi is a really great rice bowl that won’t disappoint. It’s easy to make and packed with amazing flavors.
Rice bowls are lifesavers for everyday dinners, be it a hectic weeknight or a lazy Friday night. Today’s rice bowl, Eggplant Unagi Donburi (茄子と鰻の丼ぶり), is a little luxurious yet simple enough to pull together when you need dinner on the table fast. The sweet meat of unagi, tender eggplant, fluffy steamed rice, and the most tantalizing sauce all in one bowl. You’d be in for a treat!
Table of Contents
Economical Way to Enjoy Unagi
If you are like us and enjoy eating unagi, you have probably noticed that the price of eels has skyrocketed in recent years. It used to be a relatively inexpensive ingredient, but now it has become a highly prized food. With today’s recipe, you cut down on the serving of unagi, yet you won’t feel like you’re missing out.
I use two simple tricks:
- Use eggplant to bulk it up.
- Use delicious unagi sauce to coat everything ♥
Why eggplant, you may ask? Well, eggplant has a meaty and tender texture once it is cooked, and best of all is its ability to soak up the delicious sauce like a sponge. Not a fan of eggplant? You can use another meaty ingredient like portobello mushrooms. But do give eggplant a try first. You’d be surprised how complementary eggplant is with unagi.
And here comes my second trick. When you smother everything in the delicious homemade unagi sauce, everything tastes just like unagi! The sauce is so utterly good that it evokes the flavor of the entire dish, don’t you think? Mr. JOC and my kids, who are not so fond of eggplant, devour the rice bowl like they haven’t eaten for days.
Ingredients for Eggplant Unagi Donburi
For the eggplant and unagi:
- Japanese or Chinese eggplant
- Unagi (freshwater eel) fillet
- Neutral oil for cooking
- Water
- Sake — Substitute with dry sherry, Chinese rice wine, or water
- Unagi sauce — Store-bought or Homemade
To serve:
- Cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- Shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) — Optional, but if you can get them, don’t skip the herb!
- Shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) and Japanese sansho pepper — Also optional, but these seasonings add a great kick to the rice bowl.
Overview: Cooking Steps
- Gather the ingredients by cooking the steamed rice and cutting the eggplants, shiso leaves (if using), and unagi.
- Cook the eggplant pieces in a frying pan until they turn brown. Add the unagi to the pan. Then, add water and sake. Cover with a lid and cook for 1 minute. Open the lid and let the remaining liquid evaporate.
- Add unagi sauce to the pan and coat the eggplant and unagi well.
- Add the cooked rice to individual serving bowls and transfer the eggplant and unagi over the rice.
- Garnish with the shiso leaves. Sprinkle with shichimi togarashi and sansho pepper if you’d like. Serve and enjoy!
Ingredients Notes
Homemade Unagi Sauce
Did you know it’s super easy to make Homemade Unagi Sauce? It’s one of the condiments that I like to make when I have time in the kitchen and store in the refrigerator for easy access. All you need is 4 ingredients: soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar!
With the magic homemade sauce, you get to enjoy this Eggplant Unagi Donburi, Yaki Onigiri, and Unadon (Unagi Donburi/Unaju).
Shiso Leaves
As the final touch, I used shiso (perilla leaves) to garnish the rice bowl. It not only adds a pop of color but also provides a refreshing taste to the dish. A common herb used in Japanese cooking, shiso goes well with the milder flavor of eggplant. I often use both together in recipes, so check out these delicious ginger pork rolls and this eggplant side/appetizer).
It’s optional, but if you can source green shiso from your local Japanese grocery stores or farmers market, get them for this Eggplant & Unagi Rice Bowl!
Recipe Tips
- Store packages of unagi in the freezer during the summer months. This allows you to prepare a great dinner even when you’re pressed for time.
- Use freezer rice for a speedy dinner! The only time-consuming aspect of this meal is making rice using a rice cooker or pot over the stove, or instant pot separately. But if you happen to have some frozen rice in the freezer, simply thaw and reheat the rice, then cook the eggplant and unagi.
More Delicious Japanese Eggplant Recipes
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Eggplant Unagi Donburi
Ingredients
- 1 Japanese or Chinese eggplant (5 oz, 142 g)
- 1 fillet unagi (freshwater eel) fillet
- 1½ Tbsp neutral oil
- 2 Tbsp water
- 2 Tbsp sake (substitute with dry sherry, Chinese rice wine, or water)
- 3 Tbsp unagi (eel) sauce (add more, if you‘d like)
To Serve
- 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice (typically 1⅔ cups (250 g) per donburi serving)
- 5 shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) (optional; if you can get them locally, don‘t skip them)
- shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) (optional)
- 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 over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
- Cut 1 Japanese or Chinese eggplant into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces widthwise.
- Then, cut each piece in half lengthwise. Finally cut the halves into 2–3 sticks. Soak in water to remove the bitterness.
- Roll up 5 shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) and cut them into chiffonade strips.
- Cut 1 fillet unagi (freshwater eel) fillet into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces.
- In a nonstick frying pan, heat 1½ Tbsp neutral oil on medium high and add the eggplant.
- Cook the eggplant pieces until they turn brown.
- Add the unagi to the pan. Then, add 2 Tbsp water and 2 Tbsp sake.
- Immediately cover with a lid and cook for 1 minute. Open the lid and let the remaining liquid evaporate.
- Add 3 Tbsp unagi (eel) sauce to the pan, pouring it directly onto the eggplant and unagi to coat.
- Using a spoon, coat the eggplant and unagi well with the sauce. Divide and add 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice into individual donburi serving bowls and transfer the eggplant and unagi over the rice.
To Serve
- Garnish with the shiso leaves. If you‘d like to add a spicy kick, sprinkle with shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) and Japanese sansho pepper. Serve immediately.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for a month.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on April 5, 2011. New images and step by step images have been added to the post in May 2019.
