Japanese · Dinner
Grilled Butterflied Eel
A whole butterflied freshwater eel fillet is skewered flat and grilled over direct high heat, basted repeatedly in a reduced sweet soy glaze until lacquered and blistered at the edges. Served over steamed short-grain rice with scallion and a light dusting of ground sansho pepper.
$10
15 minsPrep
15 minsCook
30 minsTotal
MediumLevel
Nutrition per serving
542Calories
38.2gProtein
21.1gFat
47.6gCarbs
26.4gSugar
1.1gFiber
2380mgSodium
174mgChol
5.1gSat Fat
520mgPotassium
55mgCalcium
2.4mgIron
4.8mcgVitamin B12
3.2mgVitamin C
Goes well with
Yuzu juice or yuzu lemonade
local
Sake (hot or chilled, depending on season)
international
protein-rich
gluten-free-adaptable
rich-umami
thirty-min-meals
all-time-classics
Instructions
1
Prep
Thread 1–2 skewers lengthwise through the butterflied eel fillet to keep it flat during grilling.
2
Simmer
Combine soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat 5–6 minutes until the glaze coats the back of a spoon.
3
Grill
Brush grill grates with vegetable oil and grill the eel skin-side down over medium-high heat 3–4 minutes until the skin blisters and releases easily.
4
Glaze
Flip flesh-side down, brush generously with glaze, and grill 2 minutes until the glaze bubbles and caramelizes at the edges.
5
Plate
Remove skewers, place eel over rice, spoon remaining glaze over top, and finish with thinly sliced scallion and sansho pepper.
Serves
2 portions ·
2 adults, 0 over 10, 0 under 10
Ingredients
- 13 oz371g butterflied eel fillet, backbone removed and skin scored
- 6 tbsp6 tbsp soy sauce
- 6 tbsp6 tbsp mirin
- 4 tbsp4 tbsp sake
- 3 tbsp3 tbsp sugar
- 22 bamboo skewer or 2 metal skewers
- 7 oz200g cooked short-grain white rice
- 22 scallion
- 1/2 tsp1/2 tsp ground sansho pepper
- 2 tsp2 tsp vegetable oil, for the grill grates
