Ever since I was little, unagi was one of my favorite Japanese dishes. A sweet-salty sauce is brushed on an eel fillet and grilled until caramelized. You may be hesitant to give it a try because it is eel, but it just tastes like tender fish. Nowadays, you can purchase already prepared eel at many Asian markets. All you have to do is pop it in the oven and it's ready to serve. In fact, I can rarely find eel fillets without the Japanese tare sauce already brushed on. I wanted to step my lunch a step further and prepare unagi don, a donburi type bowl with sweet simmered eggs on steamed rice. The combination is unbeatable!
Unagi Don
Ingredients
- 2-3 cups rice cooked
- 8 ounces unagi fillet
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon sake
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1 sheet nori, torn into small pieces, for garnish
- ¼ cup chopped scallion for garnish
- togarashi, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place unagi on a lined baking sheet and cook in the oven for 5-8 minutes or until hot. Turn on the broiler and broil for 1 minute. Remove from oven and keep warm.
- Heat 1 tablespon oil in a non-stick saute pan over medium heat. Whisk eggs and add soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar. Pour egg mixture into hot pan. Cover and let cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes. The eggs should still be wet but set. Remove from heat.
- Portion rice into 2 bowls and top with sweet simmered eggs and unagi. Finish with avocado slices, chopped scallions, and nori. Sprinkle togarishi on top if desired.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
Unagi don is one of those quick and easy meals that also taste fantastic. Since markets already sell the unagi preseasoned, all you have to do is heat it up and cook some eggs.
If you are unable to find the already prepared version of unagi, you can make it yourself at home. The unagi sauce is simply a combination of soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and sake. You can also find unagi sauce sold in many Asian markets. I like to prepare a batch of the sauce and add it to other meats, fried eggs, meaty vegetables like mushrooms or eggplant, and even ramen noodles.
Heat the unagi in the oven until hot and then finish it in the broiler for about 1 minute or until slightly charred.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a bowl with soy sauce, mirin, and sake. Heat a nonstick saute pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon oil. Add the eggs to the pan, cover it with a lid and let it sit undisturbed for 2 minutes.
The eggs are ready when they are set but still a little runny. You want the eggs to be still wet; that is the true Japanese way!
Now it's time to plate the unagi don. Distribute the rice among the bowls and carefully pour the eggs over the rice. Top with unagi, nori, fresh scallions, sliced avocado, and a sprinkle of togarashi if desired.
This unagi don was amazingly good. I mean, really good people. I may be a little biased since I already love unagi, but how can you go wrong with eggs, rice, and unagi? If you're still questioning if you should give this a try, I recommend just preparing the eggs with the rice. That alone is already delicious!
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