Hello everyone, I'm MASA
When we read "Kabayaki" in Japanese
Normally, we'll directly link to eel (unagi)
Since unagi is a relatively expensive ingredient
in my childhood memory,
my mother would prepare eel donburi
ONLY on a very special occasion
For your record
Normally, we don't buy eel alive
and process it at home
This ingredient is very unique
It needs to be processed with special tools
and high level of skills
Also, it needs to be cooked with
special equipment to make it done
I’ve been asked how to make
kabayaki eel several time
by viewers via internet
If you’d like to make it from scratch by yourselves
You need to be well-trained
in order to have a higher success rate
Thus, in common households,
we will buy already-made kabayaki eel
And reheat it to enjoy the flavorful taste
But, one question is
What if you cannot buy one nearby
where you live?
Never mind!
Today I’m going to use salmon
to replace eel
You’ll know it when you taste it
By substituting salmon for eel
You can enjoy the same delicacy
as kabayaki eel donburi
Or, even tastier!
The recipe is very simple!
Ok, let's get started! (๑>◡<)و
[Tip] You can use the regular Salmon
Steak instead of belly part!
Ok, here is a serving of super delicious
(JP) Shake no kabayaki ju
(Salmon Kaba Yaki Don)
The cooking time of this dish is pretty short
because the cooking process is not
that complicated
We can enjoy it simply by heating it up
within a short period of time
The salmon part I use today is quite special
which is the belly part
If you cannot buy the belly part
It's fine
You can use the regular steak salmon
Simply remove the pin bones
and cut into small pieces
Remember
do not remove the skin
Cut the salmon into pieces with the skin attached
And follow the same steps
to coat the starch and pan-fry them
All right, let's dig in
The salmon is quite heavy
Look at this mouthwatering salmon
(JP) Dewa Itadakimasu
It's super tasty
You get to enjoy the tender texture
of salmon and the tasty sauce
Besides, we have steamed rice drizzled
with kabayaki sauce and the nori pieces
All these bring an abundant taste to this dish
Also, if you use salmon
It won’t have the taste like…
I don’t know if you have noticed before
Some types of eels have a bit of mud taste
So if you use salmon,
you won’t feel the dirt taste
and you can simply enjoy the flavorful seafood
For this dish,
you have another way of enjoying it
Which is called (JP) Hitsumabushi
Originally, it means the dish
is served in an (JP) o hitsu
which is a wooden container
You can scoop out the rice and enjoy as it is
Or you can enjoy it in a chazuke style
Actually, it’s quite easy
You simply prepare a bowl
For the original unagi don,
you can enjoy about half of it
And when you feel like
changing the tasting method
you just scoop out the rice and put in the bowl
and place the salmon on top
Then, pour in Japanese dashi
(LOL) Quite a vibe here
You may garnish some small rings of scallion
Top some wasabi paste
Sprinkle some white sesame
Ok, let me try the taste first
Take a bite with salmon
It’s also delicious this way
Wonderful!
You buy one salmon back home and
can enjoy it in two different ways
For today’s recipe, I have two points for you
First, it is suggested to coat
ingredient(salmon)
with starch before pan-frying it
In that case,
it helps keep the flavor inside the meat
and the salmon itself coat
with reduced sauce more easily
The other point is sugar
The amount of sugar is a bit more this time
The sugar not only adds sweetness
But also elevate the (JP) koku of this dish
In Chinese we can say “thickness”
If you cook soy sauce and sugar until reduced
they create salty-sweet savory!
If the part of seafood you use
doesn’t have enough fat
I’d recommend to add some
unsalted butter into the sauce
which will elevate the whole dish
(whisper by demon!)
Anyways, we’re currently restricted
to travel overseas freely
And thus, it’s hard to taste
the local delicacy in Japan…
Here is to show you that we can
make similar dish at home
If you’re interested in this recipe
Welcome to give it a try
SPECIAL THANKS TO Amy Chou
If you live in Taipei,
I’d recommend a restaurant to you
I remember its name is called “ogura”
or “kokura”
Should be “Kokuraya”
This restaurant has delicious eel donburi
I’ve been there many times
And I always ordered their “hitsumabushi”
If you’re interested in it, you can give it a try