Hitsumabushi is grilled eel (unagi), chopped into strips and laid over rice in a lacquered wooden tub, glazed and grilled crisper at the edges than a standard unadon. It is Nagoya's signature eel dish, and the appeal is eating one serving three different ways from the same tub.
Hitsumabushi is grilled eel (unagi), chopped into strips and laid over rice in a lacquered wooden tub, glazed and grilled crisper at the edges than a standard unadon. It is Nagoya's signature eel dish, and the appeal is eating one serving three different ways from the same tub.
DIETARY NOTES
VegetarianVEGETARIAN
Not vegetarianGrilled eel over rice; the third serving is poured with bonito dashi. Contains fish and alcohol (tare).
PorkPORK
No pork in the standard version.
AlcoholALCOHOL
Cooked with mirin and/or sake. Most of the alcohol cooks off, but not all of it.
AllergensCOMMON ALLERGENS
FishSoyWheat / gluten
General guidance for the standard version of this dish. Recipes vary by shop and region — always confirm with the restaurant if you have an allergy or a religious dietary requirement.
A Nagoya restaurant dish from the Meiji era, created so that leftover eel from large orders could be portioned and served without waste.
How to EatHOW TO EAT
Divide the tub into four. Eat the first quarter plain; the second with wasabi, nori, and spring onion; the third with those condiments plus hot dashi or tea poured over (ochazuke style); the fourth however you liked best.