Unaju (Japanese Grilled Eel on Rice)

Name: Unaju (Japanese Grilled Eel on Rice)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 3 tbsp turbinado sugar (light brown with coarse texture); 1 tsp dark brown sugar (folded in with the turbinado for extra depth); 5 tbsp sake; 5 tbsp mirin; 5 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu); 300 g filleted freshwater eels; 2 tbsp sake; 2 portions cooked Japanese short-grain rice; Japanese sansho pepper (optional)

Instructions

Prep:20minCook:35min

You can make luxurious restaurant-style Unaju at home. Tender pieces of grilled eel coated in a sweet, homemade unagi sauce, all served over rice in a special box called a jubako.

Updated at: Wed, 10 Jun 2026 02:24:19 GMT