Unajū (鰻重, grilled eel in a lacquered box)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Lacquered jūbako box, or a shallow rectangular lacquered or ceramic serving box
• •Charcoal grill, gas grill, or oven broiler
• •Steamer basket, or a metal rack set in a covered pot
• •Small saucepan and fine-mesh strainer
• •Rice cooker, or a heavy covered pot

Instructions

1. 1

   Wash the rice

   Rinse the short-grain rice in several changes of water, swishing with your fingers, until the water turns almost clear. Drain it well and let it sit for 20 minutes before cooking. Washing removes loose surface starch so the grains cook cleanly, and the short rest lets moisture settle into the center instead of leaving the outside soft and the middle firm.

2. 2

   Cook the rice

   Cook the rice with the measured water in a rice cooker, or bring it to a boil in a heavy covered pot, lower the heat, cook 12 minutes, then rest off the heat for 10 minutes without lifting the lid. That rest is not politeness for the pot. It lets the steam finish the grains evenly, which matters because unajū needs rice that can hold tare without collapsing.

   Keep the rice hot and covered until assembly. Cold rice stiffens and refuses the sauce.
3. 3

   Make the tare

   If you have eel bones and head, brown them under the broiler or over a grill until the edges color and smell roasted, 4 to 6 minutes. Put the shōyu, mirin, sake, sugar, and browned bones in a small saucepan. Simmer gently until glossy and reduced to about 2/3 cup, 15 to 20 minutes, then strain. The bones give depth, the alcohol softens and cooks away, and the reduction turns a thin seasoning into a glaze that clings.

   Stop while the tare still runs from a spoon in a smooth ribbon. Reduce it too far and it turns salty before it turns better.
4. 4

   Prepare the eel

   Pat the cleaned eel dry and cut each fillet into pieces that fit your lacquered box. Do not rinse the flesh under running water now; water dulls the surface and makes browning harder. If you're using prepared kabayaki, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and go to the final glazing step.

   Use eel that has been cleaned by a fishmonger. Raw eel blood is harmful, and heat is what makes the fish safe to eat.
5. 5

   First grill

   Heat a charcoal grill, gas grill, or broiler to medium-high and lightly oil the grate or foil. Grill the eel plain first, skin-side down, until the skin tightens and small beads of fat appear, then turn and cook the flesh side until lightly colored. This first grilling firms the eel and wakes up the fat before any sugar touches the heat.

6. 6

   Steam for tenderness

   Set the plain-grilled eel in a steamer, skin-side down, and steam gently for 8 to 10 minutes, until the fillets feel supple when lifted. This is the Kantō way: grill, steam, then glaze. The steaming renders fat and softens the flesh, so the final grill can focus on shine and aroma instead of forcing the eel to cook through under a sugary sauce.

7. 7

   Glaze and grill

   Return the eel to the grill or broiler. Brush a thin layer of tare over the flesh, cook 1 to 2 minutes until glossy, then brush again. Repeat three or four times, turning once if needed, until the surface is soy-dark and lacquer-like with a few browned edges. Thin coats build flavor cleanly. Thick coats burn, and burnt sugar is a loud seasoning.

   If using prepared kabayaki, warm it gently under the broiler, brush with fresh tare twice, and stop as soon as the surface shines. It is already cooked.
8. 8

   Layer the box

   Spoon a shallow layer of hot rice into each lacquered jūbako, then brush or drizzle lightly with tare. Lay one smaller piece of eel over the rice, add a second layer of rice, season that rice lightly, and place the best glazed eel piece on top. This middle piece, naka-ire, makes the box feel generous without piling food high. The rice should be seasoned, not soaked.

9. 9

   Rest and serve

   Close the lid for one minute before serving. The brief rest lets the fragrance of hot rice, eel fat, and tare gather inside the box. Offer powdered sanshō at the table and use it lightly after the first bite; its citrusy bite cuts the richness without covering the eel.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the fishmonger for freshwater eel, unagi, cleaned and butterflied for kabayaki. If they look uncertain, buy prepared kabayaki from a Japanese market instead. Sourcing first, always.
• •Unagi is pressured in the wild, so treat this as special-occasion food and buy from the most transparent source you can. Honmono is not only method. It includes restraint.
• •A charcoal grill gives the best aroma, but a hot broiler is the stand-in that works. Keep the eel close enough to shine and color, not so close that the sugar blackens before the flesh warms.
• •Do not turn tare into a heavy sauce. The eel is rich already. Brush, grill, brush again, and let each layer dry slightly before the next one. That is how the gloss becomes clean.
• •Use a lacquered jūbako if you have one. If not, use a shallow rectangular lacquered or ceramic box. Put the same food in a bowl and you've made unadon, a good dish, but not the same one.

Advance Preparation

• •The tare can be made up to one week ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm it gently before brushing so it coats the eel in thin layers.
• •If any brush has touched raw eel, keep that portion of tare separate and boil it before using again. Do not pour it back into the clean sauce.
• •The eel can be first grilled and steamed a few hours ahead, then chilled. Finish with tare on the grill just before serving.
• •Prepared frozen kabayaki should thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Refresh it under the broiler with fresh tare rather than microwaving it hard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 490g)