Hitsumabushi (Nagoya Style Grilled Eel)
Hitsumabushi is a famous regional Nagoya dish made with grilled eel coated in a delicious, sweet unagi sauce served over rice in a wooden container. There are 3 delicious ways to enjoy this recipe, so here I will teach you how to make it from scratch and eat it like a local!
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 2 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 3 tbsp turbinado sugar (light brown with coarse texture)
- 1 tsp dark brown sugar (muscovado or similar)
- 5 tbsp sake
- 5 tbsp mirin
- 5 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
- 300 g filleted eels
- 2 tbsp sake
- 300 g cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- 1 pinch Japanese sansho pepper (optional)
- ½ tbsp unagi sauce (to mix with rice)
- 300 ml dashi stock (for ochazuke)
- 2 g green tea bag (for ochazuke)
- 2 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu) (for ochazuke)
- 1 tbsp finely chopped green onions
- 1 tbsp kizami nori (shredded nori)
- 1 tsp wasabi paste
- 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
Instructions
- 1
Add 3 tbsp turbinado sugar and 1 tsp dark brown sugar to a sauce pan. Place the pan on the stove and turn on the heat to medium-high.
- 2
Once the sugar starts to melt, add 5 tbsp sake and 5 tbsp mirin. Bring to boil and allow to bubble for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- 3
Add 5 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu) and lower the heat to a simmer.
- 4
Simmer until thickened slightly (about 10 minutes). Stir occasionally to prevent the sugar from burning. Remove the scum/foam that forms on top.Remove from the heat and allow to cool while preparing the eel.
- 5
Wash 300 g filleted eels with cold running water. Cover a chopping board with plastic wrap and place the eel on top. Cut each eel into 2-3 pieces by pressing a sharp knife into the area you want to cut and pushing the eel back and forth over the plastic wrap.
- 6
Place the eel in a frying pan with the skin side down and add 2 tbsp sake.
- 7
Turn on the heat to medium-low and steam for 3 minutes with the lid on. Remove it from the heat and line the grill with foil. Preheat the grill on medium-high for 5 minutes.
- 8
Place the eel on the foil with the skin side down and grill for 6 minutes.
- 9
Turn the eel over and grill the skin side for 5 minutes or until lightly charred.
- 10
Apply the sauce generously but evenly over the skin and place back under the grill for 30 seconds.
- 11
Turn the eel over and apply the sauce on the meat side and grill for 30 seconds. Repeat 2 more times on each side (6 times in total).
- 12
Cut the grilled eel into strips.
- 13
Mix some of the left over unagi sauce with the rice. (Approx 1/2 tbsp per 2 portions of rice.)
- 14
Divide the rice into wooden bowls and top with the grilled eel. Brush liberally with more unagi sauce.
- 15
Brew 2 g green tea bag in 300 ml dashi stock (approx 80 °C (176 °F)) and add 2 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu). Brew for 2-4 minutes then remove the teabag. Serve in a teapot or jug placed on the table.
- 16
Divide the eel and 300 g cooked Japanese short-grain rice into quarters using a rice paddle.
- 17
Take out the first quarter and place it in an individual rice bowl. Eat as it is. (Optional - Sprinkle with 1 pinch Japanese sansho pepper to taste.)
- 18
Place the second quarter into the same bowl and add toppings such as 1 tbsp finely chopped green onions, 1 tbsp kizami nori (shredded nori) or 1 tsp wasabi paste.
- 19
For the third quarter, add it to the bowl and then pour the dashi tea over the top. (This is also good with wasabi and additional toppings such as 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds.)
- 20
Enjoy the final quarter using your favourite from the 3 above.
- 21
Enjoy!