The iconic Tokyo classic pairing tender, melt-in-your-mouth fillets of Japanese eel glazed in a glossy, caramelized tare sauce, served over a steaming bed of pearly Japanese short-grain rice and finished with a zesty pinch of sansho pepper.
Ingredients
- 320 g raw trimmed Japanese eel fillets (Anguilla japonica)
- 180 g Japanese short-grain rice for sushi and donburi (japonica)
- 220 ml mineral water
- 90 ml unagi kabayaki tare sauce
- 30 ml Japanese cooking sake (ryorishu)
- to taste ground sansho pepper (Japanese pepper)
Method
- Rinse the Japanese short-grain rice in plenty of cold water in a large bowl, using gentle circular motions, then drain thoroughly in a fine-mesh sieve. Repeat 4 to 5 times until the water runs clear, then let the rice rest in the sieve for 30 minutes at room temperature to drain fully and begin hydrating.
- Transfer the drained rice to a heavy-bottomed pot and add the mineral water. Cover tightly with a heavy lid, bring to a boil over medium heat for 5 minutes until vigorously bubbling (100 °C), then reduce the heat to low and cook for 12 minutes without lifting the lid. Remove from the heat and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes off the burner so the trapped steam finishes plumping each grain.
- Cut the Japanese eel fillets into even portions sized to fit your serving bowls. Soak bamboo skewers in cold water for 15 minutes to prevent them from scorching, then thread several parallel skewers horizontally through each piece of Japanese eel to keep the flesh flat and prevent curling.
- Preheat your oven broiler to 240 °C or prepare a hot charcoal grill over high heat. Place the Japanese eel fillets skin-side down on the lightly oiled grate. Grill for 3 minutes until the skin bubbles, crackles, and the fat beads on the surface, then gently flip flesh-side down and grill for 2 minutes until opaque and pale.
- Set up a steamer over simmering water at 95 °C mixed with the cooking sake. Arrange the pre-grilled Japanese eel pieces in the steamer basket, cover, and steam gently for 20 minutes at 95 °C, until the flesh is extraordinarily tender and reaches an internal temperature of at least 75 °C.
- Gently remove the Japanese eel pieces from the steamer basket using a wide spatula. Twist each bamboo skewer along its axis to loosen the meat without tearing, then carefully slide the skewers out. Let rest for 2 minutes, then generously brush both sides of each fillet with the unagi kabayaki tare sauce.
- Return the eel pieces to the broiler set to 220 °C. Broil each side for 1 minute 30 seconds until the sauce bubbles and caramelizes into a deep mahogany sheen. Brush with two more coats of unagi kabayaki tare sauce per side as they cook, broiling for 1 minute after each coat to achieve a glossy glaze and lightly crisp edges without scorching.
- Divide the hot Japanese short-grain rice among warm serving bowls. Drizzle a spoonful of unagi kabayaki tare sauce over the rice so the grains absorb the flavor. Lay the steaming, glazed Japanese eel fillets on top, then finish with a light dusting of ground sansho pepper just before serving.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 755.5 kcal
- Protein
- 36.5 g
- Carbohydrate
- 74.17 g
- Fat
- 30.35 g
- Fibre
- 1.81 g
- Calcium
- 33.29 mg
- Iron
- 0.19 mg
- Magnesium
- 10.17 mg
