Today we will tell you about unagi sauce, what it is and what it tastes and smells like. We will also teach you how to prepare a classic recipe at home.
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What it is
Rice and seafood make up most Japanese dishes. And of course they had to be made tastier, and that’s how unagi sauce was born.
What does unagi sauce look like?
The unagi sauce is quite thick, and looks like frosting. Somewhat reminiscent of teriyaki sauce, but not as spicy. Quite sticky and stretchy, the color of soy sauce mixed with honey, with its own characteristic shine. In the photo you can see what color it is.
What a smell and taste
It tastes both sweet and salty, with the aroma of spices and soy sauce. Gives off a slight smoky taste. Due to the fact that it contains rice wine Mirin, the sauce has a slight pleasant sourness.
Benefits, harms, calories
The sauce has an average calorie content, about 150 kcal per 100 g. But you still need to be able to eat a hundred grams of sauce at a time. Nevertheless, people with gastrointestinal diseases should be more careful with its use.
If you are concerned about your liver and kidneys, it is also better to consult a doctor. After all, it contains both salt in large quantities and alcohol. This is why it is also not recommended for pregnant women and children.
But it has much more benefits. The sauce contains saturated healthy fats that affect the skin, hair and nails. Protein, iron, iodine and phosphorus also benefit the body. What can we say about vitamins and antioxidants, as well as amino acids contained in unagi sauce?
All this helps the thyroid gland, helps prevent atherosclerosis and boost immunity. In addition, it improves brain activity and gives a good mood.
Classic recipe
The ingredients for the classic unagi sauce recipe are of course rare, but you can find them in hypermarkets if you want. Or, as an option, order from the online store.
Composition:
- Mirin rice wine – 1 glass
- Dry broth “Hondashi” – 1 tsp.
- Cane sugar – 2 tbsp. l.
- Natural soy sauce – 1 glass
- Dry white wine – 1 glass
How to make unagi sauce:
- Start heating the wine, soy sauce and mirin over medium heat.
- Add Hondashi and mix thoroughly until the broth is completely dissolved.
- Now you can add heat and bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 30 minutes until thickened.
- Then add sugar and stir until it dissolves.
Homemade recipe
Ingredients:
- Honey – 1 tsp.
- Soy sauce – 0.5 cups
- Balsamic/rice vinegar – 30 ml
- Unscented sunflower oil – 50 ml
- Fresh ginger – 2 cm of fruit
- Sugar – 1 tbsp. l.
- Corn/potato starch – 1 tsp.
- Water – 0.5 cups
How to cook:
- Place a saucepan on low heat and pour in soy sauce with vegetable oil and vinegar.
- Add sugar and honey and begin stirring until they are completely dissolved.
- Grate the ginger and squeeze the juice into a saucepan, let the sauce boil.
- Reduce to medium and simmer for 10 minutes, during which time we dissolve the starch in cold water.
- Add it little by little to the sauce to the desired thickness, cool and you’re done!
As you can see from both recipes, the sauce is not spicy, but if desired, you can add garlic and pepper.
Easy unagi sauce recipe
This recipe couldn’t be simpler. But it needs Mirin wine.
We will need:
- Mirin – 150 ml
- Soy sauce – 150 ml
- Sugar – 150 gr.
Cooking process:
- Pour wine with soy sauce into a thick-bottomed saucepan and add sugar.
- Immediately begin stirring over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Next, evaporate for about half an hour and the sauce is ready!
This sauce is very good for sushi, especially if you made it yourself.
Where to add and what to combine with
Unagi is often used as dipping sauce for dipping pieces of food into it. Chicken and vegetables are also marinated in it. And of course, eel with unagi, it’s a classic.
Whether it’s sushi, rolls or just eel as a dish in itself. In addition, there is the famous saladunagi kunsei, which doesn’t have any sauce.
Where and what to buy
In large chain hypermarkets (we won’t write the names) you can almost always find unagi sauce. Look in the Asian food section or next to the soy sauce.
You can also look for a market that sells spices or Korean food. And of course, in the modern world, search on the Internet, but only in trusted online stores.
It is better to buy a sauce that contains a minimum of ingredients. It is also desirable that there are no preservatives or various taste stabilizers.
How to find the products you need
If you decide to make the sauce yourself, then it is better to look for dry broth “Hondashi” on the Internet. But Mirin rice wine will quite possibly be on the shelves of hypermarkets. Especially those aimed at servicing restaurants and cafes.
You can also ask the cafe where the rolls are prepared, where they get the ingredients or the finished sauce.
What to replace
If you need unagi sauce for eel rolls, it is better not to substitute it. Moreover, there is nothing else, you can only prepare a simple and quick sauce according to our recipe.
Soy, Worcestershire, fish and even , they are all somewhat similar to it, but completely different. Therefore, you won’t be able to replace unagi; it’s better to make the sauce yourself. Jack Daniel’s sauce
What is the difference between unagi and teriyaki
The main difference between unagi sauce and teriyaki sauce is its sweetness. It is much sweeter, has no garlic flavor and less pronounced ginger flavor.
Teriyaki is also more sour, because it contains more mirin. And sometimes sake is added to rice wine.
Finally, another video sauce recipe. Tell us in the comments how you prepare unagi.
