🍱 Unagi Don
Unagi don is grilled freshwater eel brushed with a sweet glaze of soy sauce, mirin and sugar and laid over a bowl of fluffy white rice. The glaze turns sticky and lightly caramelized on the grill, while the eel stays soft and buttery-textured inside. It is a classic summer dish in Japan, often served with pickles and clear soup.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g eel fillets
- 600 g cooked short-grain rice
- 60 ml soy sauce
- 60 ml mirin
- 30 g sugar
Method
- Simmer soy sauce, mirin and sugar for 8–10 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Grill the eel skin-side down over high heat for 4–5 minutes, then flip for 2–3 minutes.
- Brush with the glaze and grill 1 minute more; repeat two or three times.
- Serve over hot rice with a spoonful of the remaining glaze.
How to make it lighter
- Use a smaller rice portion (about 120 g) and add a side of cucumber or pickled vegetables.
- Brush on the tare instead of pouring it — the sauce is mostly sugar and soy.
- Eel is rich in fat; a 70–80 g piece is a satisfying single serving.
History
Grilling eel over charcoal and glazing it with a sweet soy-based sauce became popular in Edo (today's Tokyo) in the 18th–19th centuries. Eating eel on the midsummer Day of the Ox is a custom still widely kept in Japan.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →