Fresh Kushi Unagi AAA 350g

What is Kushi Unagi?
Kushi unagi (串鰻) is fresh Japanese eel, skewered and ready to grill, from Aichi and Shizuoka. Unlike pre-cooked kabayaki, this eel ships fresh and uncooked — the form usually kept for restaurants — so you grill it yourself and control the char and doneness. Each eel is about 350g and serves two.

Cooking it from raw is the difference: pre-cooked kabayaki is reheated, while this you grill fresh, which gives a crisper skin and a hotter, just-grilled result. Unagi is tied to summer in Japan, especially Doyo no Ushi no Hi (the Day of the Eel), and is most often served over rice as unadon.

Specifications

How to enjoy

Grill it — over charcoal for the best char, or under a broiler. The classic finish is kabayaki: grill, then brush with unagi sauce and grill again until it glazes, and serve over warm rice as unadon. For shirayaki, grill it plain and eat with salt and wasabi. Note the sauce isn't included, so pair it with an unagi kabayaki sauce if you want the glazed style.

Pairing notes — warm rice, unagi sauce, sansho pepper, salt and wasabi, and green tea.