Eel sauce or unagi no tare (うなぎのたれ) is a thick and sweetened soy sauce used to glaze broiled eel or recipes that feature unagi. While you can easily buy it at the market or online, it’s incredibly easy and tasty to make at home! My Japanese Homemade Eel Sauce recipe uses just four ingredients and takes only 20 minutes to make. It keeps for 2–3 months in the refrigerator, so you can make a batch and use it for your favorite dishes. Let me show you how it’s done!
What is Eel Sauce?
What is that caramelized brown sauce with a syrup-like consistency that goes with grilled unagi in your unagi don or unagi sushi? Well, this irresistible glossy sauce is eel sauce or unagi sauce.
Eel Sauce vs. Teriyaki Sauce
Unagi sauce and teriyaki sauce use different proportions of the same ingredients—sake, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. You might think these sauces are the same, but you’ll notice slight differences in the richness and sweetness. Try my homemade recipe on the blog if you want to make authentic Japanese teriyaki sauce the way we make it in Japan!
Ingredients for Homemade Eel Sauce
You only need four simple ingredients from the Japanese pantry to create a rich, umami-packed sauce:
sake (Japanese rice wine) – adds umami flavor; the alcohol burns off during cooking, so it’s suitable for all ages mirin (sweet rice wine) – for a mild sweetness and luster soy sauce – use Japanese soy sauce for an authentic flavor; use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari for GF sugar – sweetens and thickens the sauce so it’s easy to pour
Note: Authentic unagi sauce does not use rice vinegar, which has an acidic tang that takes away from the sauce’s integrity. While you might be tempted to make other variations using substitutes, don’t add cornstarch, garlic, and ginger. Those flavors will overwhelm the delicate unagi.
How To Make Eel Sauce
Making homemade unagi sauce is so simple. Plus, you get to adjust the balance of sweet and salty to suit your taste when making it yourself. There are no additives or preservatives, either. The instructions couldn’t be more simple: Store the leftovers in an airtight container or jar in the fridge (or freezer) for 2–3 months.
How To Use Eel Sauce
Aside from unagi dishes, unagi sauce is finger-licking delicious on BBQ. Think grilled fish, pan-fried chicken, tofu, mushrooms, and onigiri rice balls. All you need is a light brush or a drizzle of this sweet-savory sauce to heighten the flavor. In addition, you can use it as a marinade for meats or as a dressing for noodles.
Recipes for Unagi Sauce You’ll Love
Unadon (Grilled Eel Rice Bowl) Yaki Onigiri (Grilled Rice Balls) Eggplant Unagi Donburi Dragon Roll
More Recipes for Authentic Japanese Sauces
Teriyaki Sauce – the way we make it in Japan! Tonkatsu Sauce Ponzu Sauce Okonomiyaki Sauce Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram. Editor’s Note: The post is originally published on May 6, 2013. The new images have been added to the post in May 2019.
title: “Homemade Eel Sauce Unagi Sauce " ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-31” author: “Janet Kelley”
Eel sauce or unagi no tare (うなぎのたれ) is a thick and sweetened soy sauce used to glaze broiled eel or recipes that feature unagi. While you can easily buy it at the market or online, it’s incredibly easy and tasty to make at home! My Japanese Homemade Eel Sauce recipe uses just four ingredients and takes only 20 minutes to make. It keeps for 2–3 months in the refrigerator, so you can make a batch and use it for your favorite dishes. Let me show you how it’s done!
What is Eel Sauce?
What is that caramelized brown sauce with a syrup-like consistency that goes with grilled unagi in your unagi don or unagi sushi? Well, this irresistible glossy sauce is eel sauce or unagi sauce.
Eel Sauce vs. Teriyaki Sauce
Unagi sauce and teriyaki sauce use different proportions of the same ingredients—sake, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. You might think these sauces are the same, but you’ll notice slight differences in the richness and sweetness. Try my homemade recipe on the blog if you want to make authentic Japanese teriyaki sauce the way we make it in Japan!
Ingredients for Homemade Eel Sauce
You only need four simple ingredients from the Japanese pantry to create a rich, umami-packed sauce:
sake (Japanese rice wine) – adds umami flavor; the alcohol burns off during cooking, so it’s suitable for all ages mirin (sweet rice wine) – for a mild sweetness and luster soy sauce – use Japanese soy sauce for an authentic flavor; use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari for GF sugar – sweetens and thickens the sauce so it’s easy to pour
Note: Authentic unagi sauce does not use rice vinegar, which has an acidic tang that takes away from the sauce’s integrity. While you might be tempted to make other variations using substitutes, don’t add cornstarch, garlic, and ginger. Those flavors will overwhelm the delicate unagi.
How To Make Eel Sauce
Making homemade unagi sauce is so simple. Plus, you get to adjust the balance of sweet and salty to suit your taste when making it yourself. There are no additives or preservatives, either. The instructions couldn’t be more simple: Store the leftovers in an airtight container or jar in the fridge (or freezer) for 2–3 months.
How To Use Eel Sauce
Aside from unagi dishes, unagi sauce is finger-licking delicious on BBQ. Think grilled fish, pan-fried chicken, tofu, mushrooms, and onigiri rice balls. All you need is a light brush or a drizzle of this sweet-savory sauce to heighten the flavor. In addition, you can use it as a marinade for meats or as a dressing for noodles.
Recipes for Unagi Sauce You’ll Love
Unadon (Grilled Eel Rice Bowl) Yaki Onigiri (Grilled Rice Balls) Eggplant Unagi Donburi Dragon Roll
More Recipes for Authentic Japanese Sauces
Teriyaki Sauce – the way we make it in Japan! Tonkatsu Sauce Ponzu Sauce Okonomiyaki Sauce Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram. Editor’s Note: The post is originally published on May 6, 2013. The new images have been added to the post in May 2019.
