Unagi Kabayaki

Kabayaki — eel butterflied, skewered, steamed, then lacquered repeatedly over charcoal — is one of Japan's most storied dishes. The tradition dates to the Edo period, when eel restaurants (unagiya) lined the rivers of Tokyo. Eating unagi on the midsummer Day of the Ox (Doyo no Ushi no Hi) is still a national custom believed to restore stamina.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Eel:

• 2 whole freshwater eels (about 600g / 1 lb 5 oz each), or 4 pre-prepared unagi fillets (skin-on, bone-out)

Tare glaze (make ahead — improves with age):

• 150ml (⅔ cup) Japanese soy sauce
• 150ml (⅔ cup) mirin
• 50ml (3½ tbsp) sake
• 30g (2 tbsp) caster sugar

To serve:

• 4 portions cooked Japanese short-grain rice
• 1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
• Shichimi togarashi (seven-spice blend), to taste
• Sansho pepper, finely ground
• 1 sheet nori, cut into thin strips (optional)

Instructions

1. Make the tare: Combine soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cook until reduced by about a quarter and lightly syrupy, 12–15 minutes. Cool and store in a jar — it keeps for months.
2. Prepare the eel (if whole): Lay eel belly-up on a board. Insert a skewer through the head to anchor it. Using a thin sharp knife, cut along the backbone from neck to tail, removing the spine. Discard head. Lay the butterflied fillet skin-side down.
3. Thread 3–4 metal skewers diagonally through each fillet to keep it flat during grilling.
4. Steam: Place fillets in a steamer basket, skin-side up. Steam over high heat for 8 minutes. This renders excess fat and keeps the flesh tender — the traditional Tokyo (Kanto) method.
5. Grill: Heat a grill or broiler to high. Brush flesh side of eel generously with tare. Grill flesh-side down for 2–3 minutes until caramelised. Flip, brush skin side, grill 1 minute.
6. Brush with more tare, flip again. Repeat the basting and grilling process 3–4 times total, building up a deep lacquered glaze. Total grilling time: 10–12 minutes.
7. Slice each fillet into 3–4 pieces. Arrange over hot rice (unadon) or in a lacquer box with rice (unaju). Drizzle with a little extra tare. Finish with sesame seeds and a pinch of sansho.

Cook's Notes: Pre-prepared frozen unagi fillets from Japanese grocery stores work very well — skip the butterflying and start from step 4. The tare is the soul of the dish; a well-aged tare passed down through generations defines each restaurant's identity.