The Ultimate Unagi

Happy Fourth of July everyone! I'm in Japan now for a quick trip, and when I rolled into Gifu Prefecture yesterday, I asked the usual question -- what should I eat? Simple: Grilled unagi, the river eel this region is famous for, which is in peak season right now. In fact, one unagi joint after the other dotted the main road into the town of Seki, my destination. My host here directed me to place called Shigeyoshi, on a side street. "It's where the locals go," he assured me. A crowd milled outside the restaurant when we arrived. Walking towards the door, I was instantly intoxicated by an unbelievable caramel-y, roast-y aroma from smoke billowing from the grill inside. Oh my god. As I waited for a table, I watched the grill cook as he laid unagi fillets over glowing charcoals, the eels skewered, bloody and glistening fresh, and deftly roasted them to perfection. Just before he pulled them off the fire, he dipped the fillets into an earthenware vat filled with inky black tare, the restaurant's secret sauce, and quickly finished them on the coals. We were seated forty minutes later. We ordered and awaited salvation: At last, the glorious grilled unagi arrived, resting on a bed of rice. What can I say? The skin was perfectly smoky and toasty, the flesh tender, fatty and delicate. The tare added a caramelized, savory sweetness, but totally subtle and complementary. As I dug into the rice, I discovered another layer of eel hiding inside. The ultimate unagi, simple as that. Some pictures follow. (Phone 0575-22-9566 in Seki.)

Posted by Harris Salat in Japan | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email | Print

Comments (2)

I loved unagi when I first came to Japan--had it at a memorable spot in Ogawa-machi (a small town in Saitama-ken famed for unagi and washi). But as the years went by, and the family (umm, husband) bought unagi at the local supermarket, unagi just never held the appeal. My eldest son Christopher, now 20, still craves unagi--especially in the summer. He's back from college in Portland now and I'm surprised he hasn't requested it. I suppose his list is just too long. He missed "real" Japanese (farm) food big time when he was in the U.S. Now you've got me hankering for some "real" unagi, where they start grilling the impossibly wriggly creatures while still "glistening." It's like the thing when kids tell me, "I don't like "x" and I say, you've never tried this "x." I want to try that unagi. If you come by way of Saitama, you must stop by to visit Soba Ra. You will not be disappointed. Check out the blog posts I wrote. Kanchan (the chef) is a friend and has done a couple soba dinners at Chez Panisse. He's the real deal.

Nancy Singleton Hachisu | Posted 10:24 05 July 2011

Awesome! Living in Kyoto, Its the hamo season now and it feels like its Hamo everywhere and in everything! While hamo is rather tasty and should not be compared to unagi, i cant to help to think that Unagi is the best summer eel, it gives you that stamina to combat the super hot summer in Japan and taste soooo good. Have fun in Japan!!

Johan K | Posted 22:44 06 July 2011

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