Hitsumabushi (Nagoya Style Grilled Eel)

Name: Hitsumabushi (Nagoya Style Grilled Eel)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 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

Prep:30minCook:30min

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!

Updated at: Wed, 18 Feb 2026 08:33:16 GMT