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  • Grilled Eel Fillet Bowl With Vegetables

    Easy
    35 minutes
    2
    With this easy marinated grilled eel fillets rice bowl dish, you can enjoy some of the flavours that are popular in summertime Japanese cooking. This eel rice bowl recipe is a famous unagi don recipe featuring eel marinated in soy sauce alongside avocado and tender stems - truly delicious! In Japanese, unagi means eel, including this one-bowl unagi recipe, which features white rice topped with marinated eel fillets, drizzled with unagi sauce. You can cook the unagi on the grill in the oven at night, or grill it on a sunny day during the summer.
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    Ingredients

    • Freshwater eel fillets
    • 2 ½ tablespoons of sugar
    • 1 ½ tablespoon of cooking sake
    • 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
    • 4 tablespoons of mirin
    • 2 eel fillets, skin-on
    • 500g sushi rice or sticky rice
    • 260 ml water
    • 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
    • 2 teaspoons of white sugar
    • A dash of salt and Japanese sansho pepper
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 avocado
    • Fresh stem broccoli in a bunch
    • Radishes, sliced thinly
    • Black onion seeds

    Method

    • How to Make Grilled Eel Fillet Bowl With Vegetables
    • Rinse the sushi rice thoroughly under cold running water until the water runs clear
    • Combine rinsed rice and 260 ml water in a rice cooker or saucepan, cook until tender and fluffy
    • In a separate small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons white sugar, and a dash of salt to create sushi vinegar
    • Once rice is cooked, gently fold sushi vinegar into the rice and keep warm, cover to prevent drying
    • Prepare the eel sauce by combining 2 ½ tablespoons sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons cooking sake, 4 tablespoons soy sauce, and 4 tablespoons mirin in a small saucepan
    • Simmer eel sauce mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and glossy
    • Preheat grill or broiler to high, ensuring grates are clean and lightly oiled
    • Pat eel fillets dry with paper towels for better caramelization
    • Brush eel fillets generously with prepared sauce on both sides
    • Grill eel fillets skin-side down first for 2-3 minutes, then flip, basting with sauce until cooked through and gently charred, about 6-8 minutes total
    • Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil
    • Blanch stem broccoli for 1-2 minutes until vibrant green and just tender, then shock in ice water, drain well
    • Crack eggs and beat well, season with a pinch of salt
    • Heat a non-stick pan on medium-low, pour eggs in, swirl to make a thin omelette; cook until just set, then remove, cool, and slice into thin strips (kinshi tamago)
    • Slice radishes thinly and halve the avocado, removing the stone and flesh, then slice into segments
    • To assemble, portion seasoned sushi rice into bowls, spreading evenly
    • Slice grilled eel into bite-sized pieces and arrange attractively over the rice
    • Artfully arrange blanched broccoli, sliced radish, avocado, and egg strips around the eel
    • Sprinkle black onion seeds and a pinch of Japanese sansho pepper over the top for aroma and spice
    • Drizzle extra eel sauce over the fillet if desired
    • Serve immediately with pickled ginger or a lemon wedge for freshness if available
    • Present the bowl with visual balance and color contrast in mind for restaurant-quality appeal