Hi, I'm Francis,
the host of this show "Cooking with Dog."
Today, we will be making Hitsumabushi with frozen roasted unagi.
Let's make dashi stock.
Brush off the dust and sand from the dried kombu kelp.
Put the kombu pieces in a tea pot with a fine mesh strainer.
Put in the dried bonito flakes.
Pour hot water,
and leave it for 5 minutes in order to make dashi stock.
Remove the kombu kelp and bonito flakes along with the mesh strainer.
This is simple, easy way to make dashi stock in a small amount.
Pour the stock into a smal pot.
You can remove the remaining bonito flakes by straining it with a paper towel.
Turn on the burner.
Add the sake,
salt
and usukuchi soy sauce to the stock.
Stir with a set of saibashi chopsticks.
Bring to a boil
and turn off the burner.
Let's make some additional unagi sauce.
Put the mirin
and sake in another pot
and turn on the burner.
Lightly boil and let the alcohol evaporate.
Keep close eye on the sauce to avoid any danger of the alcohol ignition.
When all the alcohol has evaporated,
add the soy sauce
and honey.
Stir
and bring the sauce to a boil.
Turn off the burner
and pour the sauce in a separate container.
Let's re-heat the roasted unagi.
Thaw the unagi beforehand
and place it on a heated grill with the skin side face down.
Coating with sake will make the unagi tender.
Shift the unagi's position on the grill in order to roast evenly.
When the skin gets a bit crispy and aromatic, flip it over.
Like before, brush the skin side with sake.
Keep your eye on the unagi as it is easily burnt.
Shift the position of unagi to roast evenly.
When the flesh side becomes soft and lightly-browned, flip it over.
Place the unagi on a cuting board
and cut it into half inch strips.
Now, the fresh steamed rice is ready.
Lightly mix the rice with a paddle.
Serve it in a bowl for 2 people.
Pour on 5 teaspoonful of the unagi sauce.
Serve the unagi strips on the rice.
Here is how to enjoy Hitsumabushi.
Re-heat the dashi stock and pour it into a tea pot.
Serve the unagi and rice in a small bowl.
For the first bowl, sprinkle on the sansho pepper and simply enjoy the unagi bowl.
For the second bowl,
season with the chopped spring onions,
crumbled toasted nori
and wasabi paste.
For the third bowl,
pour the hot dashi stock onto the unagi bowl topped with the seasonings.
We don't usually find ourselves cooking raw unagi at home.
They aren't normally sold raw in general stores in Japan,
that is why we are using frozen roasted unagi for this recipe.
This recipe will let you experience three different ways to enjoy unagi.
It's definitely worth a try if you find roasted unagi at your local store.
My chef has tried various ways to re-heat unagi
and she thinks grilling brings out the flavor the most.
Good luck in the kitchen.