Have fun making one of the Japanese favorites, Unadon (grilled eel rice bowl), in your own kitchen. Sweet caramelized homemade unagi sauce drizzled over perfectly grilled unagi and steamed rice, this recipe will make any Japanese food enthusiasts mouth water.
Unagi sushi is pretty popular and available at most sushi restaurants, but the satisfaction of eating the perfectly grilled unagi on top of warm rice is completely different and can not be compared. This classic dish is called Unadon (鰻丼). The aroma of the sweet caramelized unagi sauce alone is enough to make my mouth water.
What’s Unadon?
Unadon is a classic Japanese dish that consists of steamed rice topped with grilled eel fillets that are glazed with a sweetened soy-based sauce (called tare) and caramelized, preferably over charcoal fire. Unadon is a short word for Unagi (eel) Donburi (rice bowl dish).
For those of you who are not familiar with Japanese cuisine, you might think we are barbaric eaters! Well, to be honest with you, I grew up eating eels without thinking they were strange food. When unagi was served, it always looked like a typical fish fillet to me. Don’t you agree by looking at the picture above?
I was surprised when I found out what eels actually looked like in the aquarium at a young age. It was hard to connect the dots between the snake looking fish in the water and “the fish” I was eating. For better or for worse, that experience did not stop me from enjoying unagi all these years.
Rich in vitamins A and E, and Omega-3 fatty acids, the great nutritious benefits of eel is another reason why Japanese people enjoy eating unagi. From Edo Period (1600-1850), we have a tradition of eating unagi on a particular mid-summer day called doyō-no ushi-no-hi (土用の丑の日) in order to gain stamina from the hot summer heat.
How Unagi is Prepared
Most Japanese home cooks don’t buy a live eel to cook at home. We buy pre-grilled unagi or the ones that are grilled and vacuum-packed.
My local Japanese supermarket sells imported unagi from Japan. They are usually cost between $18-$25 USD each (Frozen unagi from other countries are usually around $9 USD each.). If you are able to find Japanese unagi in your local market, you are in for a real treat! The unagi can be kept frozen until you’re ready to enjoy since they come in a vacuum-sealed package. This unagi is from Kagoshima, Japan.
The style of cooking unagi is called kabayaki (蒲焼), similar to Teriyaki. It’s a very typical way to prepare unagi and other fish that can be prepared the same way as well. Basically, the fish is split down the back (or belly), gutted and boned, butterflied, cut into square fillets, skewered, and dipped in a sweet soy sauce based sauce before broiled on a charcoal grill.
In the Tokyo region, the skewered eel is first broiled without the sauce, and we call it Shirayaki (白焼き). Then the unagi is steamed, before being dipped in the sauce and grilled again.
When unagi is served in a big rice bowl, it’s called Unadon (鰻丼) and when it’s served in a fancy square lacquer box, it is called Unaju (鰻重) because the tiered lacquered boxes are called jubako (重箱).
Unagi Sauce (unagi no tare) for Unadon
Today I will share how to prepare Unadon with my homemade unagi sauce. You can buy premade Unagi Sauce from a Japanese (or Asian) market, but you can easily make it at home.
With just 4 ingredients, you can quickly whip up a sweet caramelized sauce to flavor the grilled eel. If I have any leftover unagi sauce, I’ll also use it to dress Yaki Onigiri (Grilled Rice Balls). For the minimal effort, it takes to make delicious unadon, it’s truly worth it.
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- 2 fillets unagi (eel) (1 fillet = 160 g or 5.6 oz) (defrosted)
- Japanese sansho pepper (for toppings; optional)
- In a small saucepan, add mirin, sake, sugar. Turn on the heat to medium heat and whisk all the mixture.
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Then add soy sauce and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to the low heat/simmer and continue simmering for 10 minutes, or until the sauce slightly thickens. Toward the end of cooking, you will see more bubbles
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Remove from the heat. As it cools, the sauce will thicken more. You can store the sauce in an airtight jar and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
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Preheat the broiler* with a rack placed about 6" (15 cm) away from the top heating element (in the middle) for 3 minutes. Line a baking sheet with foil for easy cleaning (Brush/spray the foil with oil). Cut the unagi in half (or thirds, depending on the serving bowl size to fit the unagi fillet) and place it on the foil, skin side down. Broil it medium/high until the surface is blistered a bit, about 5-7 minutes. No need to flip. *Typical broiler setting: Low/450ºF/232ºC, Medium/500ºF/260ºC, and High/550ºF/288ºC.
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In half way through, brush the unagi with the sauce once.
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Broil again for 30-60 seconds until you see bubbles on top of Unagi.
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Preheat the oven to 425°F/218ºC with a rack placed in the middle and bake the unagi on parchment paper until the surface is blistered a bit, about 10-12 minutes. No need to flip.
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Wrap the unagi in foil (similar to this recipe) and reheat on low heat for 5-8 minutes. You won't get nice blisters/chars if you use this method.
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Serve rice in a bowl and pour or brush Unagi Sauce on the rice. Serve Unagi on top of rice and pour/brush more Unagi Sauce. Serve immediately. You can also sprinkle Japanese sansho pepper.
Unagi Sauce (Unagi Tare): I updated the sauce recipe to ⅓ of my original recipe for just 2 fillets (However, the step-by-step pictures above show my original recipe portion). I usually make unagi sauce with the following recipe below and store the sauce in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 months.
My original Unagi Sauce Recipe:
- ¾ cup soy sauce
- ¾ cup mirin
- ½ cup (3.5 oz/100 g) sugar
- ¼ cup sake.
- Combine the ingredients in the saucepan.
- Reduce the sauce for 20 minutes, or until thicken (instead of 10 mins as written above).
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Update: The post was originally published on May 31, 2012. The recipe was updated in July 2012. The images and content have been updated in November 2017.
Hi Nami, Wow! I never knew there were different names for the different dish the unagi is served in. Thanks for sharing with us how to make unagi sauce. I never knew how simple the ingredients were. I’m a bit confused still with making the unagi. You mentioned not to preheat the oven. Do I just place the baking sheet and then start the oven?
P.s. I just saw you were featured on Hodo Soy’s June e-blast. =)
Thanks,
Candice
Hi Candice! 7 minutes is for broiling without preheat. Yes, just put the baking sheet in the oven and set the timer for 7 minutes. 🙂
Thanks for letting me know about the Hodo Soy’s e-blast feature. 🙂
i love unagi and this looks very tasty and is it like poultry were you have to cook it??
and is there any substations for the saki and mirim?? I’m in a school so i kinda cant get an alcoholic drink on center.
Hi Thor! The frozen pack unagi is already pre-cooked, so you just need to broil it until it’s thoroughly heated. Most of available unagi is already charcoal grilled and not raw because we need that charcoal flavor and cannot be done easily at home.
Regarding sake and mirin, I think majority of alcohol is being evaporated while cooking. The Japanese cook with sake and mirin for majority of Japanese food, and it’s okay for small kids. You just need to cook long enough to evaporate alcohol content. However, you can omit, but the result won’t be the same. You must replace mirin with sugar as mirin adds sweetness. I hope this helps. 🙂
Eel is one of my favorites. I would love to try this!
Thanks Kate! I hope you will enjoy it! 🙂
Hi Nami,
I live in Canada and we hardly ever get to buy eel around here. If it is available, it is allways smoked.
People think I am barbaric for eating and enjoying) ‘snake fish’…
Well, I grew up in northern Germany and we ate a lot of eel. My mother usually got them alive from local anglers. She used to put them into the bathtub to get rid of some of the muddy taste (they live and feed on the bottom of streams – and, therefore, are not the most healthy choice of fresh water fish).
If you are sqeamish, please do not read any further.
Well, then she would numb them and cut off the head, clean them and pan fry them. Much like a chickenl that runs around after the head came off, the pieces of eel would sometimes jump out of the pan – it is just an electric reaction. As a kid, I never really wondered why this was happening – otherwise I would never have eaten eel.
I love unagi! I think the sweetness goes very well with the richness of the eel.
I you are interested in traditional eel recipes from northern Germany/Denmark let me know.
Best and thanks for sharing all the good stuff!
Karina
Hi Karina! Thank you so much for your feedback. I heard before that some European countries enjoy eel and that made me happy, especially living here I’m not getting positive response all the time. 🙂 I enjoyed reading the story about your mom and eel. Very interesting. Growing up in Japan, eels are usually packaged already and sold in supermarket, so as a kid, I never knew what eels would look like. By the time I learned it, I enjoyed the taste so much it didn’t bother me much. 🙂 Thank you for sharing your story!
Unagidon are one of my favorite food in Japan,it’s sooo yummy! …delicious!!!
Thank you Rueben! Hope you can make it at home too! 🙂
thank you so much! 🙂
this is one of my favorite sauces 😀
Hi Ken! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! 🙂
This looks delicious! I must try this
How different would it be if I used a frying pan instead?
Hi Sal! You can use a frying pan. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Hi Nami,
Can you advise how should I reheat the frozen unagi using a pan? I don’t have oven or toaster in my tiny studio in NYC 🙁 Thanks!
Hi Siyun!
You can use a frying pan too! 🙂
1) In a non-stick frying pan, heat oil on medium to medium high.
2) Put the unagi and add 2 Tbsp. water and 2 Tbsp. sake. Immediately cover with a lid and cook for 2-3 minutes until unagi is heated through.
3) Open the lid and let the remaining liquid evaporated.
4) Add the Unagi Sauce.
Hope that helps! 🙂
Thanks for the quick response! I can make this for my dinner party for 6 tomorrow!!
One last question. Do your thaw the fish in the fridge before cooking or just directly reheat the fish from out of package while it is still frozen?
Thanks!
No problem! Thaw the unagi in the fridge overnight. Enjoy the party tomorrow! 🙂
Thank you so much for all the recipes shared here! In addition to the unagi, I also make the soba salad, the quick and easy tamago and the spicy tuna salad! And my friends love them all!
Hi Siyun! Thank you so much for your feedback! I’m so happy to hear your dinner party was very successful! It’s such a great feeling when your friends (and family) enjoy food you cook. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by again to write feedback. xoxo 🙂
Hi Nami, I am super unagi fans! Can you advise what is the degree I should use to broil the unagi?
Hi Vianice! Here it’s not common to have temperature for “broil” option, but found this online. I use boil “high”.
Broiling: low 400, medium 450, high 500
Hope that helps!
Just found your website and am excited to try your recipes! I’m a southern girl who’s comfort food should be fried chicken & collard greens but instead it’s sushi! Unagi is my favorite, so I’m excited to learn to make it at home. I have a couple of questions….what kind of rice do you use for this bowl? Sushi rice or steamed rice?….For this novice do you have any other dishes or suggestions on ways to uses the unagi sauce? Other cuts of meat it might work well with? I have a husband & 4 teenage boys so buying sushi grade fish isnt in the budget & my husband is diabetic but I would love to integrate some Japanese flavors into my everyday “American” cooking…..I have the same obsession with fish sauce:-)…Thanks! Can’t wait to get started!
Hi Pam! So happy to hear you like Japanese food! 🙂
In Japanese cooking, we use (Japanese) short grain rice. It’s different texture and shape from long grain rice (Chinese rice). Short grain rice is sometimes packaged and written as “Sushi Rice” in the US (or outside of Japan), but for Japanese “sushi rice” means vinegared (seasoned) rice that we use for making sushi (recipe: https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to/how-to-make-sushi-rice/). Steamed rice in my recipe means cooked/steamed short grain rice.
For Unagi sauce, sure you can use for other recipes including other kinds of fish and meat.
Hope you enjoy! 🙂
That looks delicious, and I really wish I could enjoy it. The problem is that like Our European eels the Japanese eel is endangered now. The FAO calls the Japanese eel fisheries “unsustainable” and this will be true until sustainable hatchery techniques are developed.
I don’t know about other species, but European eels are considered unfarmable because we know little about how they breed. I really hope we can learn more about eels, not only to protect the species themselves, but to protect recipes like this one.
It wasn’t until the 50’s that we understood the lifecycle of the seaweed that nori is made out of enough to cultivate it efficiently, so maybe there is hope for eels too.
Thank you so much for your information, Hanaconda! 🙂
What a thrill for me to see this recipe today! Unagi might be one of my all-time favorites, but I have never made it at home! You’ve inspired me…hopefully I can find some the next time I travel to the next town.
Hi Damie! I’m glad you caught this old recipe (but delicious!) of mine. 😀 Finding good quality unagi has been very difficult (and expensive) but hope you get to enjoy this dish sometimes. Try Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (Asian) grocery stores to see if they have it. Sometimes (or always, depending on a store) in frozen section. 🙂
Just made this tonight, with squid and prawns on the side and it was amazing. Thank you so much for posting this because you really made this easy to prepare. I grew up eating this, however when my family moved to North Carolina eel was no longer readily available, well now that I am living on my own, and in a mainly Japanese and Korean part of my city I have an Asian grocery store just a few km away and I am trying to learn to cook the foods I grew up eating. Thank you for helping to make that possible.
Hi T.J.! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! I’m so glad you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it. I hope you find some recipes/foods that you grew up eating on my blog. Thank YOU for following my blog. Feel free to ask me if you have any question. Happy cooking!
Hi Nami, just made this Unadon for dinner tonight. It was so scrumptious especially with the special made sauce. When we eat Japanese food, I always wonder how to make this special sauce. Now I know how…thank you so much, You’re a great Chef!!
Hi Caroline! I’m so happy to hear that you liked this recipe/sauce! I make this sauce all the time and it’s pretty simple yet amazing flavor. 🙂 Thank you for your kind words, but I’m just a stay at home mom. 😀
I’ve always enjoyed unagi donburi since I was a child. There was a time when my mother would put unagi in the futomaki she would make.
Suggestion of to how to serve unagi donburi that I learned from my mother: Top the unagi that’s on top of the gohan with chopped green onions and grated lemon zest. Another suggestion that I learned from a restaurant here in Little Tokyo (LA) … add slices of avocado.
Sadly, unagi has gotten really expensive recently.
Hi Elaine! Thank you so much for sharing some wonderful tips! Domestic unagi (in Japan) has been very hard to get, so the price at Unagi restaurants has gone up quite a lot. $40-50 is very typical these days. 🙁
Can I grill the unagi instead of broiling it in an oven? Thanks.
Yes you can. 🙂 Hope you enjoy this dish!
Hi Nami,
Thanks for all great recipes.
Just 1 quick question, I’m gonna make a big portion, but the original recipe in your note (small print):
“My original recipe: ¾ cup soy sauce, ¾ cup mirin, ½ cup (4.4oz/125g) sugar, ¼ cup sake.”
seems they are not in proportion, could you please kindly clarify? Thanks again.
Hi Joey! The recipe is correct. Please note that the recipe uses “Tbsp.” for sugar and sake, but my original recipe uses “cup” for sugar and sake. 1/2 cup = 8 Tbsp and 1/4 cup is 4 Tbsp.
Oh my bad ! I overlooked it, arigatou Nami !
No problem! I really love this sauce, and I hope you like it too! 🙂
Do you still need to simmer the sauce for 20 minutes with your adjusted (smaller) recipe? Seems like a long time.
Hi Lacey! Good point. I updated the recipe! Thank you so much! 🙂
We made the sauce, lacqueredand grilled our unagi and grilled until it was chestnut dark and salty sweet.
Delicious.
Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Karin! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Yay! Thank you for your kind feedback! xo 🙂
Wonderful easy recipe! Made for a quick and delicious lunch. I did have a couple of questions about it.
The frozen eel I got had a whole lot of soy sauce/corn syrup/other stuff mixture on it, so I blotted most of it off with a paper towel before broiling. Would you recommend doing anything different with the eel?
I love how easy this dish is, but eel is a bit expensive, so I was wondering if there was any other kind of protein that would work well for this. I thought of tilapia, or some other fish. The only problem is that I’m not sure what the best way to cook it would be. The precooked eel is definitely the easiest I can think of.
Great recipe, and a rainy day food too! For some reason, eel just puts me right to sleep.
Thank you Jonathan! I usually buy unagi that is from Japan (not vacuumed sealed) and it doesn’t have too much sauce on it. You can use a pastry brush to brush off excess sauce on top.
Unagi sauce works great with other meat like chicken and fish, but it’s thick sauce, so I’d recommend to put the sauce after being cooked/bbqed/broiled. Otherwise the sauce will easily burn. You can’t really marinate in this sauce, so it’s more like additional sauce you put it. While grilling, you can brush the sauce, for example. Hope this helps… 🙂
Hi Nami,
One of my favorite Japanese meals is Unadon! Japan is a little too far for me to reach so whenever I travel, I look for the most traditional Japanese restaurant and order the Unadon!
Unfortunately where I live, we don’t have a Japanese market or restaurant unless it’s sushi. I know it’s sacrilege but if I want to substitute the eel for another fish, would you recommend something? I love the sauce with the rice and I know it won’t be as good but I really want to make this so any tips would be great!
Thank you 🙂
Hi hfriday! I’m so glad to hear you like Unadon! That’s a great idea – To me, same thing. Unagi from Japan costs close to $25-30 for one pack… but it’s much cheaper than going to Japan, so I once in a while treat myself with homemade unagi…
Someone told me she uses catfish fillet. You coat with flour (so it won’t break easily and brown nicely) and cook in a frying pan, and then add the sauce at the end. I haven’t tried it but I think it’s similar enough… Let me know if you try! 🙂
hi nami,
I could only find already marinated unagi, do I follow the same steps as you?
Hi Fen! So sorry for my late response. Yes, all the unagi sold at the store is grilled and brushed on top with the sauce. 🙂
hi nami,
thanks for your reply 🙂 so do u mean I can remove those sauce & make my own sauce using your recipe instead?
thanks!
Hi Fen! You don’t need to remove the sauce as the sauce is not that much to begin with. But it gets burn easily when you grill, so if yours have too much sauce, just gently brush off and start grilling. You can use the sauce that you brushed off or make your own sauce to apply toward the end of cooking. I like extra sauce so that I can apply over rice too (that’s how Unagi restaurants do). Hope this helps!
Hello, thanks for the recipe. How do you broil unagi using a convection oven? 🙂
Hi Airi! Does your convection oven has “broil” function? Mine does (most sold here has “broil” function). If not, use bake option for 500-550F which is “broil” temperature. 🙂
Hello,
I love all your recipes!!!! When I worked @ Ninja Japanese restaurant in Nola the chefs would put eel filets in the toaster oven skin side up to make the skin crispy. I’ve had an eel box from wholefoods and the skin was very chewy. Do you recommend I put my eel filet skin side up when broiling it?
Hi Lee! Be careful when you do skin side up. Make sure the flesh won’t stick to the toaster oven tray. If the eel stays on top of the wire rack, it’s less likely that it will stick but if it’s on the tray, be careful. If you include the skin to sushi roll etc, you can broil it separately too after you remove the skin from the fish. I cook father just for the skin etc for salmon as it needs to cook further more after fish is done cooking. Hope this helps!
Hi, I bought vacuum-packed unagi at Nijiya. However, there were many little bones. Normally when I eat unagi at a restaurant, there aren’t bones. I can’t read Japanese — is there a way to tell if there are bones are not?
There were 2 types of unagi at Nijiya. One was very expensive. I bought the cheaper one. Maybe if I had bought the expensive one, it wouldn’t have had bones.
I think, the one you got is from China? The quality is very poor. 🙁 The other one is on a tray and plastic wrap covered. I think it was from Kagoshima, but it costs close to $28 or something like that (but it tastes much better than vacuumed packed). I only buy these really on a special occasion… They used to have the packaged one from Kagoshima that I showed in the post, but they don’t carry it anymore.
Hi ! this is a great help for me ! I found frozen Unagi in an Asian store and will try your recipe. Just wondering if I have to defrost or not before putting in the oven. Thanks for your reply 😀
Hi Sylvia! If you reheat at lower temp for a longer time, you can put into the oven while frozen, but I usually defrost first and cook (according to my recipe above). 🙂
Oh ! Domo arigato Namikochan ! 😀 I will defrost then slowly while preheating.
I found a Uo Kichi (China) better than nothing. It tasted good the first time I ate but didn’t know how to prepare and therefore it was chewy ! I’ll will update with the result. It’s for Saturday 😀
I did it ! Just like you wrote ! it was divine ! “Hontoni oichikata” Thank you !
Hi Sylvia! Thank you for your kind feedback! I’m so happy you enjoyed this dish! 🙂
Hi Nami,
Thank You for great recipes, I love trying them at home.
Just wondering when you said sake in your recipes, do you mean cooking sake or sake like drinking sake?
Hi Grace! Thank you for reading my blog and trying my recipes! I use inexpensive drinking sake for cooking. Cooking sake has other seasonings in it which I don’t need in my food. 🙂
Here are sake brands I use (I pick depends on which one is on sale):
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/sake/
Hi Nami,
I live in indonesia and it’s hard to get drinking sake in here as alcohol drinks here are not easily attainable, is it still ok to substitute with cooking sake? As I see most of ur recipes uses sake instead of cooking sake.
Sure that’s okay! 🙂 Hope you enjoy cooking Japanese foods!
Do you use Cooking Sake or Regular Drinking Sake we buy at liquor stores?
Thanks!
Hi Jackie! I buy regular drinking sake (cheap one) at Japanese grocery stores or Asian grocery stores. If they have a liquor license they carry “real” drinking sake. If not, you might only see cooking sake.
Here’s what I use: https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/sake/
What is the weight of the unagi fillets?
Hi Shlomi! I’m sorry but I did not measure the weight. I will try to remember next time I get the fillet from the same company. 🙂
Just for reference (until Nami gets around to measure the weight), I used only one filet which was 225g, and I think that would nearly be enough for 2 people.
Thanks so much for your information, Tobias! Yes each unagi should be good size for 2 adult size serving. 🙂
I finally looked at the package and remember to come back to this comment. It was 160 g (5.6 oz). 🙂
❤️️????Love your simple Le recipes..
Thank you Nancy! 🙂
Hello Nami, this looks absolutely fabulous! I have a few questions just to make sure before I do it wrong:
The broiler function in my big convection oven seems to only go up to 250°C. Will this be enough? Should I broil it longer, or on a higher rack?
Hi Tobias! Thank you for your kind words. 🙂 250C (482F). American broiler is usually between 500-550F (260-288C). So your oven is a bit low in temp. But don’t worry, you will need a bit longer to make the unagi bubbly on top. Nothing is wrong with it. Cooking for a long time might dry the fish, but in this case, the cooking time shouldn’t be too different. 🙂 I’m not sure of your oven size, so keep it 6 inches (15 cm) away from the broiler. You don’t want to get char while the unagi is still cold. Hope you enjoy!
Nami, thank you so much for your detailed answer! Looks like my dream of a home-made Unagi Don can come true after all, haha. (I love Unagi Nigiri so much, but they are so… small. This looks like heaven.)
You’re very welcome! Enjoy! 🙂
I charred the Unagi a good bit because I put it too close (I had to choose between 12 and 18 cm and I clearly chose wrong) and didn’t watch the oven, but it was delicious nonetheless! And now I can’t wait to try other recipes from your page. All of it looks so good….
Thanks a lot for all the work you put into this!
You’re very welcome! Yeah when working on high heat (such as broil), it’s good to keep an eye on it as it burns fast! I learned a lesson…. when I started to use American oven (we don’t have an oven at my house in Japan). 🙂
I loveeeee unagi!! Like you, I grew up eating eel and I love it! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Levina! It’s too bad it’s getting expensive. It’s so hard to find domestic unagi these days. The unagi texture is very different from Japanese unagi and unagi from other countries. 🙂
I love all your Japanese published recipe. It is easy to follow and delicious! ????
Hi Audrey! Thank you so much for your kind words!
This sauce is delicious! So tasty over rice with the eel.
Hi Rose! So happy to hear that. Thank you for your kind feedback!
Hi Nami,
My kids love unadon. We just visited Tokyo and have the best unadon and unagi on the skewer at Tsujiki. The frozen unagi I found at the local Asian markets are all Chinese import and they taste spongy to me. Is there still Japanese import unagi to US? Thanks!
Hi Alice! I totally agree. I can’t eat those unagi and they are incredibly cheap. Japanese grocery stores sell imported unagi, and one fillet costs at least $25-30. But that’s similar cost if you would eat Unadon in Japan… Japan’s domestic unagi has really good texture, no rubbery or spongy at all. Hope your local grocery stores import unagi. 🙂
Nami, I made this dish today as our main course dinner. The unagi’s were heated/grilled on both sides in the broiler and cut into 1-2 inches strips. I also made tamagoyaki (with sakura denbu) to go with the unagi. For the rice, I used sushi rice (black fox rice). Sauce was excellent and very flavorful. Everyone enjoyed their plate and I ran out of grilled unagi. [Mitsuwa had unagi, 7.6 oz. at $3.99, and I bought more than a few.]
In the past, I have included unagi in sushi rolls, but this the first time I topped unagi over rice. This was a winner in my family and I will make it more ofter. Arigato, arigato, arigato!!!
Hi Steve! Your dinner sounds very fancy and delicious! Glad to hear you liked the unagi sauce. 🙂
I actually like Unadon better than unagi in sushi roll as it’s easier for me to prepare (haha) and we can enjoy the unagi flavor more.
Thank you again for your kind feedback!
You are absolutely correct! Unagi in sushi gets lost with the other ingredients. In this recipe, one can distinctly taste the unagi and could be appreciated more.
As of today, Mitsuwa still had unagi, 7.6 oz. at $3.99. And yes, this unagi is a product of China. The authentic Japanese unage was priced at $29.99 for the 300 gm pack. Honestly, I cannot afford the unagi at that price. I am pretty sure it’s also 100% tastier.
Hi Steve! I’m really happy you enjoyed making unagi at home, it’s a lot cheaper than eating unagi don at Japanese restaurant too! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
I love all of your recipes. I have tried several of them and they came out perfect. Thanks for sharing the recipes. I love Japanese food and I had been to Tokyo. I will revisit Japan again soon.
Hi Angel! Thank you for your kind words. I’m so happy to hear my recipes work out for you. I hope you get to visit Japan again soon! xo
I wish I could try this recipe…. Unfortunately I cannot. Not a single one of my local asian markets sell any vacuum sealed eel. :/ I am really sad. There is a Japanese restaurant near me that is the only one that I found that has unadon on their dinner menu, but for the price of 1 portion there, its not really worth it. I am so sad 🙁
Hi Blake! I’m so sad too! Just to double check, did you check the freezer section at the Asian grocery stores? If you cannot find them in refrigerator, I was thinking maybe not too many demand in your area… but they might possibly carry it as frozen. People make sushi roll with unagi (not raw) so there is a demand for sushi making… I hope you could find unagi one day…
Yeah I checked everywhere… I was so sad 🙁 even asked and they were like nope sorry
Sigh… I’m sorry you can’t find it. I like this Catfish Kabayaki as much as Unagi recipe.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/catfish-kabayaki/
Hope you enjoy!
Oh that looks yummy as well! Thank you for the link!
I used to eat unagi donburi. Unagi is actually my favorite! But I have stopped eating unagi because I heard they are being overfished, and soon there will not be enough unagi left in the waters. I eat other food instead. I heard there was a vegetarian dish like unagi – have you heard of it? I think it might be made from eggplant. I’ve seen photos and it looks good!
Take care,
Erin
Hi Erin! Yes that’s true. If you like catfish, I recommend this recipe instead too.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/catfish-kabayaki/
As an eggplant lover, I’d love the eggplant version too. though the texture won’t be the same…
How long does a batch of your unagi sauce keep in the refrigerator?
Hi Kristen! You can store the sauce in an airtight jar and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Thank you for another delicious and foolproof recipe! Just had the best unagi & plenty of sauce left over for another time. Really appreciate you sharing these wonderful recipes.
Hi Maria! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy this dish at home! It’s so easy, right? 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback. xo
Thanks very much for this recipe, very simply laid out and easy to follow, the end result was delicious as well.
Hi Demariea! So happy to hear you enjoyed this dish! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. xoxo
Many thanks for this simple yet great recipe! We are lucky to have an excellent Japanese grocery store nearby, and I always keep unagi in the freezer and some if this delicious sauce in the fridge for a quick dinner. Also an excellent dish for when we are having guests for dinner and no time to cook!
Hi Olesya! I’m so happy to hear you are enjoying this dish. Yes, I agree, it’s a great dish for a busy weeknight, as you just need to reheat. 🙂 Have you tried my Unagi Chazuke recipe? If you like Unagi you may enjoy this variation. We love this Unagi Chazuke recipe more as it’s so light and comforting. Just a thought. 😉
Good Morning Nami,
I am going to make an Unagi Box tonight. I have frozen eel however it is from China…….as you said it is less expensive that those from Japan. Is there a real discernable taste difference…..after broiling and brushing with your Unagi sauce?……Let me know and maybe next time I will splurge on the Japanese product. We get this dish in NYC at BlueRibbon Sushi in Soho…..it is pressed into a box with a bit of avocado as well…….
Thanks
Gary
Hi Gary! It’s the taste and texture that’s a bit different. Unagi sauce will help to have the right taste note, but unagi itself is different. The skin is usually very thick and rubbery from ones from China. Unfortunately, it’s hard to get unagi from Japan, and when it’s in the Japanese market, it’s usually in the refrigerated section (not frozen). The price is 3-4 times more than frozen ones from China. But if you go to unagi specialized restaurants or any restaurant to eat unagi in Japan, it’s typically priced at $30 to 50 so it’s considered a pretty expensive meal. Hope yours come out well. Sorry for my late response. 🙂
Thanks Nami,
I’m making it tonight so thanks for the info. I did see the Japanese unagi (frozen) but it was 3X the price as you said. Next time I will buy it as I’m sure it’s superior. Making an Unagi Box, broiled unagi/avocado and sushi rice pressed in to a box mold…..Then some Shrimp Tempura rolls.
No young ginger here yet….When does that arrive usually…..AND what wasabi can I buy that is decent…most are just horseradish. I just bought some frozen Wasabi from Whole Foods….states that it has real wasabi in it. Doubtful….we’ll see…..The real stuff is very expensive as well and the website that has it is always sold out of the small jar (I can’t recall the sites name)…..I’m sure you know. Let me know.
Take Care
Gary
Hi Gary! Hope the sushi night went well (and sorry for my response). The menu sounds amazing! Young ginger is usually available in summer. 🙂
Hello all folks, I access here from Japan.
Those recipes you wrote are very good contents for cooking freaks like me.
The Recipe Notes of Unagi Sauce you wrote is “Dashi-Shita ” soup stock basement making.
I guess the tips of Dashi-Shita making is how to remove the smell of fresh soy source.
when you make Dashi-Shita never boil it, keep a bit under boiling tempelature.
Please carameliser slowly, in order to avoid stink taste. So, it is my way of cooking.
I searched the Internet Web Site and I knew the following professional tips,
Chef of Unadon restaurant used to add fried Unagi bones to Dashi-Shita for making more flavor to Unagi soup.
Some peoples has tips ex.) using honey or using boiling source with fresh Unagi head etc.
When you dilute Dashi-Shita with dried bonito soup, then you made soba-soup.
Soba-soup delute with very cold water fit well with Dececco capellini pasta instead of Soumen.
My tip is using fine granule brown sugar made in Okinawa.
Best okinawa’s brown sugar was made using traditional flat pot dry method, it has cool flavor and very easy to dissolve.
I guess people can make even a your original Yoshida-Source using Dashi-Shita base soup.
Yoshida-Source was basically Yakitori-Source, Yoshida families Yakitori-Ya had made it by their own recipe.
Cooking freaks in Japan often refer cookpad.com, written in Japanese language.
Hon-mirin is expensive true-mirin but has good taste.
Cheap-mirin or Ryouri-Shu is made from chemical seasoning and sugar, it has a bit of bad aftertaste.
Very cheap restaurant are using soy bean dense soup in stead of mirin for cooking.
Mirin is a sweet rice wine, taste is alike Tokaji wine.
You will notice the hint of recipe when you try to make your original barbeque source inspired by Japanese cousin.
Hi Hiro! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us! 🙂
I’m gonna try this recipe in a few weeks!
Oven question though, you only use top broiler heat ? No lower heat, no nothing ?
Thanks!
Hi Marco! Yes, broiler is top heat only. You actually cook with infrared. 🙂
Nami-san,
Thank you for teaching us how to make kabayaki sauce. It’s so delicious!
Love your recipes!
Aloha,
Karen
Hi Karen! Isn’t this sauce delicious!? It’s way better than store-bought (with preservatives)! Thank you for your kind feedback! xoxo
How long do the unagi eel last in the fridge ? A already opened vacuumed eel.
Hi Christine! Just a few days – maybe 2-3 days? Use it soon!
I ate this dish on Japan and was delicious, maybe I’ll try make this recipe at home but here cannot buy “unagi”. What type of fish can you recommended for sustitute? Thank you!!
Hi Victor! Here’s my recommendation: https://www.justonecookbook.com/catfish-kabayaki/
Hi Nami,
Are you using salt water eel? Is Hamanako Eel salt eel? I also see a canned eel with black beans in it, Tong Yeng Roasted eel.
Hi Jolene! Unagi is freshwater eel. Saltwater eel is called Anago. I’m not familiar with the Chinese canned eel with black beans… sorry!
This recipe works and easy to follow. I always enjoy Japanese dishes. Now I can practice myself.
Hi Junias! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind words. I’m glad to hear you enjoy Japanese food. 🙂
Can I assume this recipe is for the prepackaged unagi? I was able to get hold of some fresh (not smoked) eel. Will this recipe work for this as well? Thanks!
Hi David! I had never worked with fresh unagi before… Typically the unagi is smoked over charcoal to cook/grill, and we do not pan fry or bake it at home.
Obsessed with Unagi, had it fresh once In Paris and have been in love ever since! Definitely trying this recipe if I can find the right unagi in Houston ,Texas. My question Is is this jasmine rice or short grain sushi rice?
Hi Miah! Hope you can find good unagi in Houston! Don’t go for inexpensive ones – they tend to have skin that’s rubbery and I do not like them. Hopefully, you can get high quality ones in the Japanese or Korean market? I recommend Japanese short-grain rice. Jasmine rice grains are separated so not good for typical Japanese meals.
Update: I found a Japanese supermarket in Houston called Seiwa. I tried two types and definitely noticed the different in the skin. The more expensive one was the best with white flesh and thin skin. And used tamaki gold rice and it was perfect. Thanks for the tip!!
Hi Miah! Awww! You made me so happy! Thanks for experimenting with the two kinds! Isn’t it nice to have thin, non-rubbery skin? Ugh even though some unagi is $10, it’s not worth it at all…. glad you enjoyed the meal. Thanks for coming back to leave your feedback. It meant a lot to me!