UNAGUI SAUCE RECIPE

[Luis Barreda]

I DESPERATELY NEED THE RECIPE FOR THE UNAGUI SAUCE.

ALSO FOR THE ORANGE COLORED SAUCE PUT ON SALMON SKIN HAND ROLLS.

PLEASE, ANYONE.

THANK YOU,

ALEX B.

[Norm]

Hi Alex,

I buy my unagi in the freezer section of the local Japanese grocery.
You can buy
bottled sauce but I haven't found any authentic brands that include the
eel
parts in the ingredients. So, I make my own based on a recipe I got
from Nobuka
Tsuda's Sushi Made Easy.

My sauce is pretty simple. 1/3 soy sauce, 1/3 sugar, 1/3 mirin, few
drops of
sake. Boil. Stir. Let cool. Boil. Stir. Let cool. Freeze
overnight for added
thickness.

After dripping this stuff on, don't forget to drop a few toasted sesame
seeds on top.

Here are a number of other recipes that have been posted to this NG in
the past.
A thousand pardons for not crediting the authors.

Regards,
Norm Delson
Atlanta, GA

PAULINE'S SMOKED EEL SAUCE

The sauce that I am about to describe is the sticky brown one which is
also
sweet. My friend taught us this super simple recipe when she worked at a
Japanese restaurant over the summer. I am a huge fan of playing by ear
when
cooking, and this recipe is no exception.

2 cups of light soy sauce
2 large cloves of garlic, squashed (i.e., keep the whole piece
intact, not
diced or chopped)
2 slices of ginger
one spring onion chopped into 4 or 5 parts
4 tablespoons of sugar
some honey

Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan and heat over medium heat. Stir
until the
sugar and honey are melted. Let the concoction boil slightly and let it
cook for
about 15-20 minutes. The sauce should get to a slightly thicker
consistency.
Remember that the sauce will get thicker once it cools down a little. If
you still feel
it is too watery, add some more honey or sugar.

Taste the sauce for the sweetness. Again, if not sweet enough, add more
honey or
sugar. Remove all the garlic, ginger and spring onions before you place
the eel in
the sauce.

The controlling ingredient here is your honey or sugar content. Some soy
sauces
are saltier than others and taste different. For varying quantities of
soy sauce, you
will need to adjust your sugar and honey quantities.

'AUTHENTIC' SMOKED EEL SAUCE

Pauline's recipe certainly sounds good (I am a garlicaholic) but it
really is hardly authentic, or even Japanese. Honey is seldom used
in Japanese cooking and so is garlic. Believe me, I know. I'm
Japanese.

For the basic sauce, I'd suggest:

1/2 cup soy sauce (Kikkoman)
2 tbs mirin
2 tbs sake
Sugar to taste

Pour ingredients into a saucepan, and simmer until slightly
thickened. You may adjust the proportions according to your taste.
If you want thicker, sweeter sauce, increase the amount of mirin
and decrease the amount of sake. If you want more fragrant, drier
sauce, do the opposite.

For the real sauce:

Ingredients as above
Head, fins and the backbone of eels

Over hot coal, roast the head, fins and the backbone of eels until
charred. Put in the above sauce and simmer for half an hour, or
until the grease from the eels is well blended with the sauce.
Add a tiny bit of sansho, if you like.

ANOTHER SMOKED EEL SAUCE RECIPE

I would start off with about 2 tablespoons of honey and then work
onwards.
Again, this is a recipe that you can't quite screw up. Almost like
Jello. Always
adjust to your own preferences. I prefer a sweeter sauce as opposed to
my friend
who thinks eels should taste salty.

You can freeze it and use it later. If you can, keep the garlic, ginger
and other stuff
in the sauce when you freeze it. The next time you use it, just heat it
up and serve.
I do it all the time.

About the garlic and ginger bit, i honestly don't know if they are the
traditional
ingredients or not. I can just say that my friend "stole" the secret
recipe to unagi
sauce when she worked at a very traditional japanese restaurant.

YET ANOTHER SMOKED EEL SAUCE RECIPE

One very important ingredient of the sauce is what's left of the eel
after it has been
cleaned/opened/deboned.

After the eel is cleaned/opened/deboned, put the head and the bones over
hot
coal and broil until throughly blackened. Place the head and the bones
in a pot
and pour in 1/4 c soy sauce, 1/4 c sake and 2tbs mirin. Simmer over low
heat
until it becomes a little thick. I wouldn't put sugar in it as there's
enough of it in the
mirin.

From late May until August, you may be able to buy live eels at fish
markets
especially in Chinatown. Choose small ones less than 16 inches which
should
weigh somewhere between 6 and 8 oz. After splitting the eel from the
back and
deboning it, cut into 2 6 in. sections and skewer them. Steam them for
1/2 hour or
so to soften the flesh, then broil over hot, hot coal, occasionally
brushing both
sides with the aforementioned sauce. Oh, yes, do not throw away the gut,
either.
It can be enjoyed as a "gu" in osuimono, or skewered and barbecued along
with
the meat. Mmmmm.. delicious.

Oh, yes, don't forget a bottle of chilled sake and a bowl of rice, along
with some
oshinko.

[Dave Vick]

In article <6epro5$p...@bgtnsc02.worldnet.att.net>, "Luis Barreda"
<lbar...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:

>> I DESPERATELY NEED THE RECIPE FOR THE UNAGUI SAUCE.

You also desperately need to turn off your caps lock.

[Elizabeth & Keith Falkner]

Luis Barreda wrote:
>
> I DESPERATELY NEED THE RECIPE FOR THE UNAGUI SAUCE.
>

> ALSO FOR THE ORANGE COLORED SAUCE PUT ON SALMON SKIN HAND ROLLS.
>
> PLEASE, ANYONE.
>
> THANK YOU,
>
> ALEX B.

Alex:

Here is the text of a page which I hope will help you:

The Sushi Reference Recepe Annex - Kabayaki No Tare (Unagi Sauce)

Copyright © 1995-1997 by John Maraist. Redistribution by commercial and
for-profit entities restricted. To the full notice.

[FAQ] - [Full] - [Summaries] - [Glossary] - [Credits] - [Misc] -
[Recepies]

Disclaimer

The primary source for this guide has been the alt.food.sushi newsgroup,
plus some personal communications, and for the
small number of places where I've actually eaten, my own opinions. The
opinions contained here are ostensibly those of the
originators of the messages cited at each review, and constitute in no
way a recommendation for or against the subject
establishments on my part or on the part of the School of Computer and
Information Science, the University of South Australia,
or any body supervising those two.

I can make no guarantee of the accuracy of this information. Prior to
exploring any establishment mentioned in these pages, I
would recommend verifying both that it is indeed still open, and its
exact location.

And of course, updates and additional feedback are welcome and invited!

Don't know if anyone has replied to this one yet, but the sauce I use is
a reduction of 3 parts soy to one part mirin. [DLM,
alt.food.sushi, 2 May 1995]

Traditional Tare is made by simmering eel broth, sugar (not honey) and
soy sauce for two days.

[SSo, alt.food.sushi, 21 April 1995]

Pauline's recipe certainly sounds good (I am a garlicaholic) but it
really is hardly authentic, or even Japanese. Honey is seldom
used in Japanese cooking and so is garlic. Believe me, I know. I'm
Japanese.

For the basic sauce, I'd suggest:

1/2 cup soy sauce (Kikkoman)
2 tbs mirin
2 tbs sake
Sugar to taste

Pour ingredients into a saucepan, and simmer until slightly thickened.
You may adjust the proportions according to your taste. If
you want thicker, sweeter sauce, increase the amount of mirin and
decrease the amount of sake. If you want more fragrant,
drier sauce, do the opposite.

For the real sauce:

Ingredients as above
Head, fins and the backbone of eels

Over hot coal, roast the head, fins and the backbone of eels until
charred. Put in the above sauce and simmer for half an hour,
or until the grease from the eels is well blended with the sauce. Add a
tiny bit of sansho, if you like.

[KIi, alt.food.sushi, 21 April 1995]

[Pkay, alt.food.sushi, 17 April 1995]

Yes, it's me again,

I would start off with about 2 tablespoons of honey and then work
onwards. Again, this is a recipe that you can't quite screw
up. Almost like Jello. Always adjust to your own preferences. I prefer a
sweeter sauce as opposed to my friend who thinks
eels should taste salty.

You can freeze it and use it later. If you can, keep the garlic, ginger
and other stuff in the sauce when you freeze it. The next
time you use it, just heat it up and serve. I do it all the time.

About the garlic and ginger bit, i honestly don't know if they are the
traditional ingredients or not. I can just say that my friend
"stole" the secret recipe to unagi sauce when she worked at a very
traditional japanese restaurant.

I need a disclaimer or some sort, don't I?

:) Don't take me too seriously :)

[Pkay, alt.food.sushi, 17 April 1995]

One very important ingredient of the sauce is what's left of the eel
after it has been cleaned/opened/deboned.

After the eel is cleaned/opened/deboned, put the head and the bones over
hot coal and broil until throughly blackened. Place
the head and the bones in a pot and pour in 1/4 c soy sauce, 1/4 c sake
and 2tbs mirin. Simmer over low heat until it becomes
a little thick. I wouldn't put sugar in it as there's enough of it in
the mirin.

From late May until August, you may be able to buy live eels at fish
markets especially in Chinatown. Choose small ones less
than 16 inches which should weigh somewhere between 6 and 8 oz. After
splitting the eel from the back and deboning it, cut
into 2 6 in. sections and skewer them. Steam them for 1/2 hour or so to
soften the flesh, then broil over hot, hot coal,
occasionally brushing both sides with the aforementioned sauce. Oh, yes,
do not throw away the gut, either. It can be enjoyed
as a "gu" in osuimono, or skewered and barbecued along with the meat.
Mmmmm.. delicious.

Oh, yes, don't forget a bottle of chilled sake and a bowl of rice, along

with some oshinko... [KIi, alt.food.sushi, 7 April 1995]

The "orange sauce" may just be Kewpie brand Japanese "mayonnaise".

Elizabeth