Recipe for Unagi Don (rice bowl with grilled eel)
Unagi don is an iconic Japanese dish featuring grilled eel fillets topped with a sweet and sour sauce, served on a bed of hot rice. Tasty and comforting, this dish showcases eel in all its umami richness.
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cooking Time
- 30 minutes
- Servings
- 2
Ingredients
- 2 unagi fillets (grilled eel, usually pre-cooked, available in the frozen section at iRASSHAi)
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 300 g Japanese white rice
- Sesame seeds (optional, for garnish)
- Finely chopped green onions (optional, for garnish)
- Sansho, wasabi or shichimi powder (Japanese spices, optional)
Directions
- Rinse the rice in cold water until the water runs clear. Cook in a rice cooker or saucepan according to package instructions. Once cooked, keep the rice warm.
- In a small saucepan, combine soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake. Heat over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. Set aside.
- If the eel is pre-cooked, heat it gently in the oven at 180°C for 8 to 10 minutes, or in a frying pan. Drizzle with kabayaki sauce during cooking to caramelize slightly.
- Divide the hot rice between two bowls. Arrange the unagi fillets over the rice. Drizzle a little kabayaki sauce over the top.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped scallions, if desired. Add a pinch of sansho, wasabi or shichimi for a spicy touch.
