Three Eel Dishes うなぎの蒲焼料理3種類

Fresh water eel or “unagi 鰻” is a popular fish item in Japan and many restaurants specialize in eel dishes. At these specialized restaurants, eels are brought in live and prepared on site. “Kaba-yaki 蒲焼“ (eel grilled with sauce) is the most common dish with two variations of preparation and cooking* i.e., Kansai, Eastern Japan 関西 and Tokyo 東京 styles.  (Even in Japan, however, other types of restaurants may use previously prepared and frozen eel the majority of which comes from China (99 percent) and the rest from Taiwan.) Once eel kaba-yaki is prepared, two main ways of eating it is “Una-ju 鰻重” and “Una-don 鰻丼”. Both are eel kaba-yaki on rice but the former is served in a Ju-bako 重箱  (a square lacquered box) and the latter in a don-buri 丼bowl. Consequently, Una-ju is the more expensive and formal way of serving eel on rice. Una-don is the more informal way of serving eel.

In the U.S., although some eel is aqua-cultured in Maine and some restaurants may bring it in live and prepared it on site,  most of the eel is pre-packaged and frozen. The majority of this frozen eel comes from China, and Vietnam.

*For Tokyo style the filet of the eel comes from the eel’s back. It is then steamed, and grilled. For Kansai style the filet comes from the eel belly. It is then grilled without steaming. Please see here in more details.

We had a package of frozen eel kaba-yaki (11oz) in our freezer which came from Weee some time ago. We decided it was time to eat it. Since we are not big eaters and eel is quite rich, we ended up making three dishes over 3 days to finish the entire package. (Of course, we had some other small dishes along with the eel so we didn’t just eat eel for 3 days.)

The first dish I made (picture #1), is called “Wu-zaku 鰻ざく”. I posted a version of this some time ago. It is a combination of cold cucumber with julienned ginger and vinegar dressing and warmed slices of kaba-yaki eel. The cold cucumber slices counteract the rich flavor of the eel.

The next day, I made another standard or popular fail-proof eel dish called “wu-maki 鰻巻き” (picture #2). Again, I made and posted a version of this some years ago. I served this with sliced cucumber and grated daikon with soy sauce.

Finally, I made a mini una-ju ミニ鰻重 as a shime or ending dish the next evening (picture #3). I used a small square box which was a part of a larger ju-bako we used for Hanami. The traditional way of serving this is with white rice, some “unagi” sauce and the filet of kaba-yaki eel placed on top. My wife requested “sushi rice” so I used frozen rice we made some time ago when we cooked rice. After thawing and warming up the rice in a lidded silicon container in the microwave, I added some sushi vinegar (from the bottle). I mixed the vinegar into the rice and let it sit for a few minutes. Meanwhile I heated up the eel kabayaki in the toaster oven (on toast mode) until warm with the sauce bubbling. I added “sansho 山椒” Japanese  pepper powder on the top.

For us, this was the perfect ending to the meal. We spread the enjoyment of this eel over several days because too much eel is too much of a good thing. We were quite pleased with the  quality of this frozen eel kaba-yaki from China which we got from Weee.