Unagi Don (Unadon) is an umami-packed rice bowl featuring broiled Japanese eel dressed in unagi sauce. Serve over steamed rice and top with nori, sesame seeds, and scallions. Make this delicious donburi for a quick dinner with homemade or store-bought unagi sauce.
Unagi donburis are one of our favorite ways to enjoy unagi. The combination of ingredients is hearty and delicious and it comes together in just a few steps. Make it an extra satisfying meal with sides like Spicy Shishito Peppers, Kani Salad, or miso soup.
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Why You'll Love This Unadon Recipe
- Taste - The mild flavored unagi with the umami flavored unagi sauce creates a unique bbq flavor.
- Texture - The unagi is tender and soft while the toppings add crunchiness. The eel sauce is thick and syrupy.
- Effort - The rice and sauce are easy to make then you just need to briefly cook the unagi and assemble the donburi.
- Time - It takes about a half hour to cook the rice, unagi, and sauce then 10 minutes to assemble the don.
What is Unagi?
Unagi is Japanese freshwater eel. It is often sold pre marinated and pre cooked through a process called kabayaki. Through kabayaki, the eel is split down the back, gutted, deboned, and cut into rectangular fillets. The eel fillets are then marinated in sweet sauce and grilled. Finally, the grilled eel is vacuum sealed and frozen before it is sold in stores.
Ingredients
Unagi Sauce
- Mirin - Mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine that adds umami flavor and is the base of many Japanese sauces and marinades.
- Granulated sugar - Sugar adds sweetness to the sauce.
- Sake - Sake adds savoriness.
- Soy sauce - Soy sauce, or shoyu in Japanese, is an essential condiment in Japanese cooking. It adds rich savory and umami flavors to the sauce.
Unagi Donburi
- Rice - Japanese short grain steamed rice is best for unadons because it is neutral and just lightly salted for flavor.
- Unagi - Unagi is sweet and light with a fishy texture. Grilled unagi tastes delicious when cooked in unagi sauce.
- Nori - Nori adds a tasty crunch and seaweed flavor. Kizami nori is one of our favorite brands.
- Sesame seeds - Toasted sesame seeds add a mild and nutty flavor.
- Scallion - Scallion adds an aromatic flavor and a light crunch.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Brown rice - If you want ot make this don healthier, enjoy it with brown rice instead of white.
- Ikura - Make an ikura don if you like the texture and rich briny taste of ikura. Given how rich ikura is, we often enjoy ikura dons in smaller bowls than unagi donburis.
Variations
- Yuzu Ponzu sauce - Enjoy yuzu ponzu sauce on the side for dipping. Yuzu ponzu sauce is a tangy and citrusy sauce that is slightly lighter than shoyu.
- Teriyaki sauce - Substitute unagi sauce with teriyaki sauce if you prefer a slightly sweeter sauce with a more molasses like flavor.
- Tobiko or masago (Flying Fish Roe) - Replace ikura with tobiko or its cheaper cousin, masago, for a slightly sweeter roe.
- Sansho pepper - Add a dash of sansho pepper for an aromatic, citrusy, peppery taste.
- Sushi rice - Add seasoned rice vinegar to normal rice to make sushi rice. The vinegar adds a light sweet and tart flavor to the rice.
- Furikake - Furikake is a Japanese seaweed seasoning commonly made of dried seaweed, sesame seeds, and salt. It adds an ocean-like flavor to this seafood dish.
- Mitsuba - Mitsuba is a Japanese garnish that tastes similar to parsley.
- Extra unagi flavor - If you want to add extra unagi flavor to the donburi, drizzle extra unagi sauce on it.
- Daikon sprouts (Kaiware Daikon) - Daikon sprouts add a light pepperiness.
- Eggs - Enjoy this donburi with eggs for added protein.
How to Make Unagi Don
- Make rice - Rinse rice in a bowl until it runs clear. Then make rice on the stovetop or in an electric rice cooker pot. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Transfer cooked rice to a bowl and season with seasoned rice vinegar. Fluff and fan the rice until cool.
- Make unagi sauce - While rice is cooking, add mirin, sake and sugar to a sauce pan on medium heat. Whisk the ingredients. Once the mixture reaches a boil, turn down the heat to low and add the soy sauce and whisk. Simmer for 10 minutes and occasionally stir. Once the sauce thickens, remove from heat, then allow to cool. Store-bought unagi sauce is fine too!
- Prepare unagi - Place the unagi fillet skin side down on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Brush the sauce on the unagi and place on the middle rack. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350° F.
- Broil - Broil for an additional 2 minutes, until bubbling and caramelized. Remove from the oven. Let cool and slice into ½ to ¾-inch strips.
- Assemble the bowl - Divide the rice into the two bowls. Brush the Japanese rice with unagi sauce and place a fillet on top of each bed of rice. Garnish with sesame seeds, kizami nori, or scallions if desired.
Hint: If the unagi sauce is too thick, mix in an extra tablespoon of soy sauce and mirin to thin it.
How to Enjoy this Unagi Don
This unagi rice bowl is best enjoyed by combining a little bit of each ingredient in a megabite. The combination of neutral rice and rich unagi is delicious. If you want to enjoy this eel don with a tasty side, it pairs wonderfully with these other Japanese dishes:
- Spicy Kani Salad
- Furikake and Lemon Shishito Peppers
- Ebi Tempura (Crispy Japanese Shrimp Tempura)
- Sautéed Broccolini (Broccoletti)
FAQ
You can buy the ingredients at Japanese markets, like Mitsuwa or Nijiya, or some common chain grocery stores.
Yes, unagi is high in vitamins A and E, and omega-3 fatty acids. Nori is also packed with calcium and vitamins. The only part of this dish that isn't super healthy is white rice since it is high in carbohydrates without much added nutrition. If you want to make this dish healthier, you can use brown rice instead of white rice.
No, unagi is deboned and filleted through a process called kabayaki.
No, unagi's mercury level is about 0.052 PPM. This is considered to be a very low level of mercury and safe to eat.
Yes, unagi is already precooked then frozen, then we cook it again in the recipe. As a result, it should be safe to eat while pregnant. However, we recommend consulting with your doctor before eating it.
Equipment
This unagi don recipe requires a few kitchen essentials. To make this donburi, you will need a knife, cutting board, mixing bowls, a pot or rice cooker to make the rice, and a rice paddle. To explore more kitchen items to make your kitchen complete, head to our Kitchen Essentials Shop.
Storing Leftover Unagi Don
This unagi donburi is best enjoyed immediately or within 1 day of making. Store the ingredients in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. The key is to keep the moisture locked in so the rice doesn't dry out. This eel donburi recipe does not stand up well to freezing.
Top tips
- Fewer steps - If you want to make this recipe in fewer steps, use store-bought unagi sauce.
- Use a large bowl - Serve this dish in a large bowl or donburi bowl (slightly smaller than ramen bowls) to ensure all of the ingredients will fit.
- If you are using a rice cooker and the outside of the rice gets crispy and hard, use a fork to fluff the rice and add moisture back into those crispy bits.
Did You Like this Recipe?
If you liked this Unagi Don recipe, please rate and comment on the recipe below! If you want to make other rice bowls or similar Japanese food, check these out:
- Spicy Ahi Poke (Spicy Tuna Bowl)
- Salmon Sashimi Donburi (Rice Bowl)
- Ikura Donburi
- Yellowtail Sashimi Bowl
- Teriyaki Chicken Bowl
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📖 Recipe
Unagi Don Japanese Eel Rice Bowl
Equipment
- 1 knife
Ingredients
Unagi Don
- 1 cup rice
- 1â…“ cup filtered water
- 11 oz unagi fillet
- Kizami nori for garnish optional
- sesame seeds for garnish optional
- scallion finely sliced, optional
- sansho pepper optional
Homemade Unagi Sauce
- 6 teaspoon mirin
- 6 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon sake
Instructions
Rice
- Rice Stovetop instructions - Place rice in a saucepan and rinse the rice in the sink until the water runs clear, then drain. Combine washed rice and filtered water in a medium saucepan. Bring the rice to a low boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Remove from the heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork.1 cup rice, 1⅓ cup filtered water
- Rice cooker instructions - Place rice in the electric rice cooker pot and rinse the rice in the sink until the water runs clear, then drain. Combine rice and filtered water in the pot and cook per the rice cooker directions.
Homemade Unagi Sauce
- Mix ingredients - While rice is cooking, add mirin, sugar, and sake to a sauce pan on medium heat. Whisk the ingredients. Once the mixture reaches a boil, turn down the heat to low and add the soy sauce and whisk. Simmer for 10 minutes and occasionally stir.6 teaspoon mirin, 3 tablespoon granulated sugar, 2 tablespoon sake, 6 tablespoon soy sauce
- Cool and store - Once the sauce thickens to the desired consistency, remove from heat. If it's too thick, mix in an extra tablespoon of soy sauce and mirin to thin the sauce. Allow to cool.
Unagi Don
- Prepare and cook unagi - Cut the unagi fillet in half widthwise and place them skin side down on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Brush the unagi with unagi sauce and place on the middle rack. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350°F.11 oz unagi fillet
- Brush with sauce - Broil for an additional 2 minutes, until bubbling and caramelized. Remove from the oven.
- Assemble the bowl - Divide the rice into the two bowls. Brush the rice with unagi sauce and place a fillet on top of each bed of rice. Garnish with sesame seeds, kizami nori, scallions, or sansho pepper if desired.ÂKizami nori for garnish, sesame seeds for garnish, scallion
Notes
Storage
This unagi don is best enjoyed immediately or within 1 day of making. Store the ingredients in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. The key is to keep the moisture locked in so the rice doesn't dry out. This eel donburi recipe does not stand up well to freezing.Top tips
- Use a large bowl - Serve this dish in a large bowl or donburi bowl (slightly smaller than ramen bowls) to ensure all of the ingredients will fit.
- If you are using a rice cooker and the outside of the rice gets crispy and hard, use a fork to fluff the rice and add moisture back into those crispy bits.
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