Japanese Seafood Recipes - Barbequed Eel (Unagi Kaba-Yaki) Recipe

Ingredients

• 10 oz (300 g) cooked and prepared eel or 1 lb (500 g) fresh eel fillets

• Ready-made young pickled ginger shoots, to serve

• Sansho powder, to serve

Seafood Glazing Sauce

• 3 tablespoons sake

• 2 tablespoons mirin

• 2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce

• 4 teaspoons sugar

• 1/2 cup (125 ml) fish stock

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Method:

1. To prepare the Seafood Glazing Sauce, place all the ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, skim the surface and continue simmering until the sauce has reduced by half. Set aside.

2. Thread two or three long skewers through the prepared or fresh eel so that it keeps its shape while cooking. Place the skewered eel on a hot charcoal grill under a broiler, meat side facing the heat. Grill for 3 minutes and turn so that the skin faces the heat. Grill for another 3 minutes.

3. Brush the eel with the prepared Glazing Sauce and grill each side for a little over 1 minute. Repeat several times, about 1 minute on each side, basting with the glaze each time.

4. Place the cooked eel on a cutting board. Twist the skewers and pull them out gently. Slice the eel into 4-in (10-cm) pieces and arrange on a platter, served hot with the pickled bamboo shoots and sprinkle with the sansho powder.

Note: To make fish stock, grill eel bones or the bones of any fish (3 oz/90 g) until they turn whitish, then put them in a pan with 1 cup (250 ml) water and boil for 5 minutes. Strain, discarding the solids and reserve.