Unagi

A typical Japanese grocery store is hundreds of vessels with a variety of sauces for a variety of dishes. And I must say that Japanese chefs know a lot about sauces. What is unagi sauce worth – a dressing for fish dishes made from eel!

What is unagi

It is difficult to imagine Japanese cuisine without traditional dressings, which oriental chefs add to almost all dishes. Connoisseurs of Japanese cuisine know that of the abundance of sauces, the most popular are three: shoyu, gamadari and unagi. Shoyu is a real soy sauce, which in the East is called the king of sauces. Nut gamadari serves as a traditional dressing for salads. And unagi, which will be discussed later, is an eel-based sauce.

Unagi is a thick dark-colored sweet-and-salty dressing based on soy sauce. A classic unagi sauce consists of rice wine (mirin), soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, sugar and a few slices of fresh eel. However, there are other recipes for this dressing, in particular, based on smoked eel and starch. Although the second version of unagi is noticeably different from the classic one, lovers of Japanese cuisine appreciate the special piquancy of this dressing.

This sauce got its name for a reason. From Japanese “unagi” is translated as “river eel”. Japanese chefs traditionally serve this dressing with fish and seafood dishes, but most often with dishes from the same eel. Oriental chefs use unagi to marinate eel fillets. In addition, this sauce serves as an excellent addition to rolls and sushi, cold and hot fish dishes. ^[1], ^[2].

Than useful

People often think about the useful and dangerous properties of food when it comes to exotic dishes. This also applies to Japanese cuisine. The benefits and harms of unagi sauce remain unknown to many. But if you analyze the set of ingredients used to prepare this savory sauce, it is not difficult to guess that this dressing has certain health benefits.

Researchers who have studied the effects of unagi on the human body have made several interesting discoveries. At one time, it was proved that dishes containing this dressing speed up the metabolism and improve the functioning of the digestive organs. This Japanese exotic can be very useful in the absence of appetite. The special substances contained in the composition of the product stimulate the production of gastric juice, thereby increasing the feeling of hunger. It is also known that eel fat, which is part of the sauce, has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system, helps keep the body in good shape, fights cholesterol.

And now about calories. The energy value of 100 g of unagi is about 235 kcal. This dressing contains virtually no fat (approximately 1,5 g per 100 g of product). There are also few proteins in it – about 4 g / 100 g, but carbohydrates make up almost half of a 100-gram serving of unagi.

But this product also has contraindications. Japanese acne dressing is not suitable for people with liver or pancreatic disease. And diabetics should be aware of the presence of sugar in the composition of unagi. ^[3], ^[4].

Use in cooking

Unagi sauce was originally created for eel dishes. But today, culinary experts all over the world add it to cold appetizers and hot fish and seafood dishes. It pairs well with vegetables and adds a spicy flavor to boiled rice. Sweet and salty dressing with a smoky flavor perfectly complements the taste of oriental dishes. Although lovers of gastronomic experiments add it to many other dishes. Some argue that eel dressing goes very well with fried chicken and pork ribs.

In addition to the original taste, gourmets appreciate unagi for its beautiful caramel color and pleasant texture. This sauce is often used to decorate ready-made seafood dishes.

How to make unagi yourself

If you rarely visit Japanese restaurants, but you want to taste the taste of unagi, then you can try to cook this oriental dressing yourself. Cooking exotics is pretty easy. The main thing is to get the necessary ingredients. By the way, in Japanese restaurants they never use purchased unagi, good chefs always prepare the dressing themselves. Probably, each of them has its own secrets of making a special sauce, but the general rules for creating unagi are available to a wider audience. There are several recipes for Japanese sweet-salty sauce “walking” on the Internet.

Recipe 1

So, in order to feel at least a little like a chef in a Japanese restaurant, you need to stock up:

• white semi-dry wine;
• mirin rice wine;
• soy sauce;
• sugar;
• dry fish broth hondashi.

In a saucepan, mix white and rice wine, soy sauce (200 ml each) and fish broth (1 teaspoon). When the grains of fish broth are completely dissolved, the mixture can be put on a small fire. After boiling, the gas is reduced and the unagi continues to cook for 90 minutes. During this time, the amount of liquid in the pan is halved, and the mixture will turn caramel in color. At this stage, the pan can already be removed from the heat, add sugar (2 tablespoons) to the hot mixture and mix everything quickly. The finished sauce is usually stored in a transparent glass container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Recipe 2

This version of the sauce is the famous unagi with smoked eel and starch. For cooking you will need:

• soy sauce;
• mirin;
• water;
• sugar;
• starch;
• smoked eel.

In a fireproof bowl, mix water (150 ml), mirin (250 ml), soy sauce (200 ml), sugar (160 g) and finely chopped smoked eel fillet (50 g). Bring the contents of the saucepan to a boil over low heat and cook for about 8 minutes. Separately dilute starch (15 g) in cold water and pour into a boiling mixture. Until fully cooked, the sauce should be boiled for another 5 minutes, then cooled, strained and poured into small bottles.

Recipe 3

The dressing prepared according to this recipe is the least reminiscent of the classic version, but in terms of the set of ingredients it is the most affordable for home cooking.

To make this version of unagi at home, you will need a set of products from:

• 40 ml of soy sauce;
• 5 of fresh ginger;
• 10 g of honey;
• 50 ml of olive oil;
• 3 g starch.

In a small saucepan, combine honey, olive oil, soy sauce and strained ginger root juice. Heat the mixture over low heat and add starch to it. The future unagi, stirring constantly, cook until thickened, but do not allow boiling. Cool the finished dressing and pour into a glass vessel.

What to cook with unagi

Now that you’ve stocked up on a bottle of homemade unagi (or maybe a real one), it’s time to find out what you can make with Japanese dressing. But it should immediately be said: dishes to which eel dressing is added are not salted, since it is already quite salty.

One of the easiest recipes is Japanese baked fish. Cut the cleaned fish into pieces and fry in a pan until golden brown. Then pour over the unagi sauce and put in the oven for 4-10 minutes. In the meantime, fry the sliced ​​vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, onion, carrot, shiitake mushrooms) in a pan. Add oyster and chili sauce to almost ready vegetables. Before serving, drizzle the fish with eel dressing, and vegetables with sesame oil.

In Japanese culinary tradition, unagi is one of the most popular sauces. In the East, it is served with most fish dishes and some types of sushi. Meanwhile, the original taste of this dressing did not leave European chefs indifferent, and many of them are also increasingly resorting to this tasty and healthy assistant.

Sources of