Eel dish

Eel dish Unadon is a form of donburi (Japanese rice bowl) made with unagi (freshwater eel). Unadon is a portmanteau of unagi donburi and is thought to be the first actual donburi, invented withinside the past due Edo Period. In Japan, unadon is famous withinside the summer.

What Is Unadon?

Unagi is normally organized kabayaki-fashion. Kabayaki manner that the fish is dipped in unagi no tare, a soy sauce-primarily based totally tare sauce, earlier than it’s far grilled over charcoal, a cooking technique much like teriyaki.

In Tokyo, the eel is grilled, steamed, sauced, and grilled again, in a way known as shirayaki, and in Kyoto, the unagi is simply grilled.

What Is Tare Sauce?

Tare is a multipurpose glaze and dipping sauce which includes soy sauce, sake, brown sugar, and candy mirin (Japanese rice wine). Like all terrific kitchen condiments, person recipes for tare vary, however they may be effortlessly adjusted to in shape the dish at hand.

Add miso or shio koji for a candy increase of umami or togarashi (or favored spice powder) for warmness. If you don`t have tare to your pantry, teriyaki sauce makes a terrific substitute.

Ways to Serve Unadon

Unadon has distinctive names relying at the vessel it’s far served in and the condiments it comes with.

Unadon: Eel dish

When served in a massive bowl, eel donburi is called unadon, an abbreviation for unagi donburi or unagi-don.
Unajū: When the grilled eel and rice are served in a jūbako (lacquer box), the dish is known as unajū.

Hitsumabushi: Eel dish

This fashion of serving unadon with distinctive toppings comes from Nagoya. The grilled eel and rice normally are available a massive bowl or ohitsu (timber rice tub), with the eel sliced into bite-length portions.

Hitsumabushi is served with condiments like sansho pepper, crumbled nori, thinly sliced inexperienced onions, wasabi paste, and dashi stock.

How to Make Unadon in four Steps

Unadon is normally served at Japanese restaurants, however well-stocked Japanese grocery shops promote frozen, vacuum-sealed grilled unagi fillets and pre-packaged unagi sauce for making unadon at home.

Thaw the frozen eel. Before reheating frozen grilled unagi, first thaw the eel withinside the refrigerator.
Cover the eel with sake. Brush sake on each facets of the grilled unagi.

Use a broiler to warmness the eel. Heat the eel on a grill or below a broiler, paying near interest in order now no longer to burn the unagi.
Add sauce to serve. Drizzle unagi sauce over the rice and eel.
Simple Japanese Unadon Recipe
Email Recipe

Make the unagi no tare. In a small saucepan over medium-excessive warmness, integrate mirin and sake and allow simmer till all of the alcohol odor has evaporated.

Remove from the warmth and stir withinside the soy sauce and honey.Position an oven rack approximately six inches farfar from the heating detail and preheat the broiler.

Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.Cut the unagi into portions simply small sufficient to suit to your serving bowls.

Brush each facets of the fish with a bit sakePlace the eel at the baking sheet skin-facet down.Broil till the floor of the fish begins offevolved to darken, approximately three–five minutes.

Brush the pinnacle of the fish with unagi no tare and go back to the oven.Broil till the sauce begins offevolved to bubble, approximately 30–60 seconds.

To serve, divide rice amongst bowls and drizzle every bowl of rice with 1–2 teaspoons of the sauce.

Top with unagi and sprinkle with sansho.

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