A very quick and simple bowl of rice topped with a fatty eel fillet, slathered in a sticky sweet and salty sauce.
Feel-good eel food!
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“Unadon” is short for “unagi donburi”, a rice bowl topped with freshwater eel. Ever since my first (very hesitant) encounter with this fatty fish at a sushi place many years ago, it’s become one of my favorite tastes in the world. Finally trying it fresh off the grill at Tsukiji market in Tokyo only solidified my love for it. If you’re not familiar due to a lack of regular access to this fish, I implore you to give this recipe a try at least once.
Can’t stop the eeling
So unless you’re in Japan – the Eel Dorado of this dish if you will –, chances are you can’t just go out and get fresh eel or eat at a local unagi place. That’s why frozen eel is the next best (and still very good) thing. Japanese eel is the ideal choice, but other origins will also do. Just make sure the eel is pre-grilled and prepared like the fillets in the picture, deboned and butterflied. It may or may not be pre-marinated. Either is fine as long as it’s a sweet Japanese sauce. Just slather yours on top, it won’t be too much, trust me.
Unadon
Equipment
- 1 silicone brush optional
Ingredients
- 1 pack unagi kabayaki frozen, 250-300g
- 300 g Japanese short-grain rice dry weight
- 1 stalk green onion optional
- some neutral oil
For the sauce
- 50 ml mirin
- 20 ml sake
- 30 g sugar
- 50 ml soy sauce
Instructions
Preparation
- Take the unagi out of the freezer at least an hour ahead of time. Remove from the packaging and defrost at room temperature.
- Wash the rice and pop it in the rice cooker in salted water.
- Set your oven to broil (heat from above) at maximum heat to pre-warm.
- If using scallion, thinly slice it and set aside for garnish at the end.
Make the sauce
- Mix the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring occasionally.
- Once it boils, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Take the sauce off the heat and set aside. It should be reduced to about a third of its volume by now.
Broil the eel
- Cut the unagi into halves crosswise.
- Line a baking sheet aluminum foil and apply a film of neutral oil, e.g. with a silicone brush.
- Put the unagi on the foil with the skin facing down (no need to flip it later).
- Place the baking sheet in the second-highest position in the oven, close to the heat, and leave it to broil for about 5 minutes.
- Take it back out, and generously brush on about half the sauce from the pot.
- Put it back in the oven and broil for another minute or two in the second-highest position. When taking it out, the sauce should be bubbling.
Assemble
- When the rice is done, distribute it to bowls evenly.
- Brush some of the sauce on the rice.
- Place the unagi halves on the bowls and pour remaining sauce over it.
- Sprinkle with optional green onions and serve!
