📝 About This Recipe
Transport your senses to the bustling riverside stalls of Shizuoka with this quintessential Japanese delicacy. This recipe masters the art of 'Kabayaki,' where fresh eel is butterflied, skewered, and basted in a rich, sweet-savory tare sauce that caramelizes into a glossy, smoky lacquer. The result is a sublime contrast of crispy, charred skin and melt-in-your-mouth tender flesh that defines high-end Edomae-style cuisine.
🥗 Ingredients
The Eel
- 2 large Freshwater Eel (Unagi) fillets (cleaned and butterflied, approximately 10-12 inches long)
- 1/4 cup Sake (for steaming and deodorizing)
- 1 pinch Sea salt (fine grain)
The Homemade Kabayaki Tare
- 1/2 cup Soy sauce (high-quality Japanese brand like Kikkoman)
- 1/2 cup Mirin (sweet rice wine)
- 1/4 cup Granulated sugar (adjust for desired sweetness)
- 1/4 cup Sake (dry Japanese rice wine)
- 1 set Eel head and bones (optional, toasted for deep umami flavor)
For Serving and Garnish
- 3 cups Short-grain Japanese rice (steamed and hot)
- 1 teaspoon Sansho pepper (Japanese citrus pepper for a numbing kick)
- 1 teaspoon Toasted white sesame seeds (for crunch)
- 2 tablespoons Pickled ginger (Gari) (to cleanse the palate)
👨🍳 Instructions
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1
If using eel bones for the sauce, toast them in a dry pan over medium heat until browned and fragrant. This adds an authentic depth to your tare.
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2
In a small saucepan, combine the soy sauce, mirin, 1/4 cup sake, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer.
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3
Simmer the sauce for 15-20 minutes until it reduces by about one-third and thickens into a syrupy consistency. Remove the bones if used, and set the tare aside to cool.
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4
Prepare the eel by cutting each long fillet into two or three manageable pieces, roughly 5 inches each. Pat the skin and flesh completely dry with paper towels.
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5
Lightly score the skin of the eel with a sharp knife in a crosshatch pattern; this prevents the eel from curling too much during the cooking process.
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6
Place the eel pieces on a heat-proof plate or in a bamboo steamer. Drizzle with a little sake and steam for 8-10 minutes. This 'Kanto-style' step ensures the meat is incredibly soft.
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7
Remove the eel from the steamer and let it air dry for 5 minutes. Carefully thread flat metal skewers through the flesh to keep the pieces flat during grilling.
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8
Preheat your grill or broiler to high. Lightly oil the grill grate to prevent the delicate skin from sticking.
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9
Place the eel skin-side down first. Grill for 2-3 minutes until the skin is bubbling and slightly charred. Flip carefully.
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10
Brush a generous layer of the prepared tare sauce onto the flesh side. Grill for 1 minute, then flip and brush the skin side.
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11
Repeat the basting and flipping process 3-4 times. This builds up the signature 'Kabayaki' lacquer—a deep, mahogany glaze with hints of char.
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12
Once the eel is deeply glazed and the sauce is bubbling vigorously on the surface, remove from heat and carefully slide the skewers out.
💡 Chef's Tips
Always use high-quality short-grain rice; its stickiness is essential for catching the dripping sauce. If you cannot find fresh eel, frozen 'Unagi no Kabayaki' can be revitalized by rinsing off the old sauce, steaming, and re-grilling with this homemade tare. Don't skip the steaming step—it is the secret difference between chewy eel and the professional 'melt-in-your-mouth' texture. Be extremely careful when flipping; steamed eel is very fragile and can break easily. Store any leftover tare in the fridge; it lasts for months and gets better with age as you add more eel juices to it.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Serve as 'Unadon' by placing the eel over a hot bowl of rice drizzled with extra tare. Pair with a clear Dashi-based soup (Kimo-su) to balance the richness of the eel. Serve alongside Tsukemono (Japanese pickles) like pickled radish or cucumber. A cold, crisp Japanese lager or a dry Ginjo Sake cuts through the fatty richness of the fish perfectly. Always offer a side shaker of Sansho pepper to provide a bright, citrusy tingle that clears the palate.