Short answer
Unagi donburi, often shortened to unadon, is a bowl of hot rice topped with grilled eel fillets brushed with a sweet soy glaze. The rice absorbs the sauce, and the dish is finished with pickles and sansho pepper.
Unagi donburi is a Japanese rice bowl topped with grilled eel fillets that have been brushed with a sweet soy glaze, and it is often shortened to unadon. This unagi donburi guide covers the bowl itself, the rice, the glaze, the toppings and how the dish differs from chazuke.
What is unagi donburi?
Unagi donburi is a donburi, which means a large bowl of hot rice with a topping, where the topping is glazed grilled eel. The shortened name is unadon, from unagi plus don, short for donburi.
Donburi is a whole family of rice bowl dishes, including katsu don with crumbed cutlet, oyakodon with chicken and egg, and gyudon with beef. Unagi donburi is the eel member of the family. Unagi itself is a freshwater eel, grilled in the style called kabayaki, and it is explained in more detail in the guide to unagi on this site’s blog.
How is the eel prepared for a donburi?
The eel for a donburi is split, boned, grilled and glazed in the kabayaki style, then cut into pieces that fit across the rice. Restaurants prepare it fresh, while most home cooks buy it ready grilled.
The glaze, called tare, is made from soy sauce and sugar and reduced until syrupy. It is brushed on during grilling, so the surface caramelises. In a restaurant the cook may grill the fillet twice, once plain and once with glaze, to keep the skin lightly crisp and the flesh tender.
How do you make unagi donburi at home?
To make unagi donburi at home, cook Japanese rice, warm a pre-grilled eel fillet, slice it and lay it on the rice with extra tare spooned over. The whole bowl takes about 25 minutes, most of it rice cooking.
Ingredients for two bowls:
- 2 cups cooked short-grain rice, hot
- 1 vacuum-packed glazed unagi fillet, about 150 to 200 g
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons dashi or water
- Sansho pepper, nori strips and pickles to finish
Method:
- Simmer the soy sauce, sugar and dashi in a small pan for 3 to 4 minutes until slightly syrupy. Let it cool a little.
- Warm the unagi on a tray under a hot grill for 3 to 4 minutes, skin side up.
- Fill two bowls with hot rice and drizzle a spoonful of the glaze on the rice.
- Slice the unagi into 2 cm strips and arrange across the rice.
- Brush with more glaze, then add sansho pepper and pickles.
Do not use the sauce from the pack in large quantities if it is very salty. Taste it first.
Unagi donburi vs chazuke: what is the difference?
Unagi donburi is eel on rice served dry with a glaze, while chazuke is rice with a hot tea or broth poured over it. The eel can appear in both, but the eating experience differs.
| Unagi donburi | Unagi chazuke | |
|---|---|---|
| Liquid | None, only a thick glaze | A hot soup or tea poured over |
| Texture | Rice and eel are firm and sticky | Rice softens as the soup is added |
| Flavour | Sweet and salty glaze | Milder, savoury broth with the eel flavour |
| Eaten with | Chopsticks, in a few bites | Spoon and chopsticks, slowly |
| Origin idea | Classic rice bowl | Rice and broth dish, a light meal |
The soup in a chazuke is usually clear and savoury, so the eel flavour spreads through the whole bowl.
What toppings and sides go with unagi donburi?
Common toppings are sansho pepper, nori and pickles, and the most typical side is a clear soup. The toppings add contrast to the rich glaze.
- Sansho pepper: a numbing, citrusy Japanese pepper that cuts the richness.
- Shredded nori or sesame seeds for aroma.
- Pickled cucumber, daikon or takuan for a sharp crunch.
- Spring onion or a few leaves of mitsuba for freshness.
- A clear soup, such as a simple dashi soup, or a miso soup.
Egg is sometimes added as kinshi tamago, thin strips of omelette laid over the rice, in a style called kinshidon.
Does Eight Ounce Café serve unagi donburi?
No unagi donburi appears in the recorded menu for Eight Ounce Café, a Japanese-inspired cafe at 2/10 Fitzgerald Avenue in Springwood, Brisbane. The cafe serves its eel as the Unagi Chazuke instead.
The recorded description of the Unagi Chazuke is a whole grilled eel on furikake rice with tempura perilla and enoki, served with a clear savoury soup. This menu is compiled from public listings and reviews, since no official menu is online, and no price is recorded. See the menu page for the full recorded list, and check the cafe’s Instagram or phone before you go. The cafe is walk-in only and the hours page has the times from Google Maps.
How should you store and reheat leftover unagi?
Leftover unagi keeps for a day or two in the fridge in a sealed container, and it reheats best under a grill or in a covered pan rather than in a microwave. Keep the glaze separate if possible.
Eat cooked eel within a day or two and do not refreeze eel that has already been thawed. Warm the fillet at a low to medium heat so the fat softens without drying the flesh. If the pack says to cook from frozen, follow it, because thickness varies between brands.
What are good alternatives to unagi?
Good alternatives to unagi are grilled salmon, grilled mackerel or aubergine with the same glaze. These give a similar sweet and savoury bowl without eel.
Eggplant (called aubergine in Australia and eggplant by many) grilled until soft and brushed with the glaze is a well-known plant-based swap, and it makes a bowl on its own. Salmon or mackerel with the same tare also work well. In each case, keep the rice warm and the glaze thick.
Why does the glaze matter so much in unagi donburi?
The glaze matters because it is the only seasoning on the dish. The rice is plain, the eel is rich, and the sweet soy tare ties them together with salt, sugar and a deep caramel flavour.
A good tare is thick enough to cling to the fillet and thin enough to soak a little way into the rice below. If the glaze is too runny, the rice goes soggy. If it is too thick or burnt, it turns bitter. Reducing the sauce gently over low heat, and brushing it on in thin coats, gives the glossy finish that is typical of the dish.
Some cooks add a spoonful of glaze to the rice before the eel goes on, and a second spoonful over the top. This layers the flavour so every mouthful of rice has some sauce, which is the method used in many unadon shops.
How does unagi donburi compare with other donburi?
Unagi donburi is richer and sweeter than most donburi, and it is eaten without a soup or egg binding the topping. The eel is the single star of the bowl.
| Donburi | Topping | Style |
|---|---|---|
| Unadon | Glazed grilled eel | Sweet and smoky |
| Oyakodon | Chicken and egg simmered in dashi | Soft and savoury |
| Gyudon | Thin beef and onion in a sweet soy broth | Hearty and saucy |
| Tendon | Tempura on rice with sweet soy sauce | Crisp and sweet |
| Kaisendon | Raw seafood on sushi rice | Fresh and light |
Each of these shares the same bowl shape and rice base, which is why donburi is a staple of Japanese lunch counters.
Common questions
What is the difference between unadon and unaju?
Both are rice topped with glazed eel. Unadon is served in a bowl, while unaju is served in a stacked lacquer box, which is traditionally a little more formal and often has more eel.
Can you make unagi donburi with frozen eel?
Yes. Frozen, vacuum-packed grilled eel from Asian grocers is the usual home shortcut. Thaw it, warm it gently under a grill, slice it and set it over hot rice with extra glaze.
What rice is best for donburi?
Japanese short-grain rice is the standard choice. It is plump and slightly sticky, so it holds the glaze and eats well with chopsticks. Medium-grain sushi rice also works if cooked with a little less water.
What sides go with unagi donburi?
Common sides are a clear soup, pickled vegetables such as takuan or cucumber, and a little sansho pepper. A small green salad or steamed greens balances the rich eel.
Is unagi donburi sweet?
It tastes both sweet and salty. The glaze is a reduction of soy sauce and sugar, so the surface of the eel is sweet and savoury, while the plain rice underneath is mild.
Looking for the basics? Eight Ounce Café address and opening hours are on the home page.
This article is general information from an independent guide, not from Eight Ounce Café itself. For the store’s current details see hours and location.