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Sweet, bold, and rich Unagi (Japanese eel) sushi roll is a perfect dinner everyone will love and enjoy. Great popular sushi takeout dish to make at home!
Howdy friends!
I have a great (delicious and popular) Japanese takeout dish recipe to share with you today! If you are a fan of sushi, I do not doubt that Unagi (Japanese eel) roll is one of your favorite. Who doesn’t like sweet, bold, and rich taste of unagi? Unagi is Japanese word for freshwater eel. It’s covered in this amazing delicious teriyaki sauce. If you have Asian grocery store near by, you can easily find vacuum packed frozen unagi. My mom picked one up for me a while ago and I decided to make this roll for Sunday dinner.
When you buy frozen unagi, it’s super easy to cook. You just need to bake it in the oven and broil it at the end to caramelize the sweet sauce on top of rich unagi. The package always has the cooking direction/instruction on the back and you can cook them accordingly.
I cut the unagi in strips (length wise) and prepare other veggies such as cucumber, avocado, and red bell pepper into strips.
Sushi Rice Ingredients:
- 1.5 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 cups cooked sushi rice (I used brown sushi rice)
Mix first four ingredients in a small bowl and mix until all the sugar and salt dissolves. I would season the rice with 3 tablespoons of mixture first and taste to see if it needs more seasoning. If so, I’ll add little by little until it’s to your liking.
Then you pile up unagi, cucumber, avocado, and bell pepper on top of rice that has been spread out on a seaweed paper. Avocado echoes the creamy and rich texture of unagi and sweet red bell pepper adds the pop of color to the roll as well as enhance the sweet sauce on unagi. Finally, crisp cucumber ties the whole roll into a next level of deliciousness!
Ohhh, here is a great tip I can share with you on cutting the sushi roll! When you are ready to cut them, spray your knife quickly with your cooking spray. This will prevent your knife from sticking to rice in the sushi roll. I will recommend cooking spray with mild to no taste such as vegetable oil or canola oil spray.
How about unagi (Japanese eel) sushi roll dinner for your upcoming date-night? I would serve the unagi roll with a cup of green tea to really give that “I’m at my favorite Japanese restaurant” feel, you know what I mean (wink wink)?!! Please let me know how it goes! Happy eating, my friends!
PrintUnagi (Japanese eel) Sushi Roll Dinner
Sweet, bold, and rich Unagi (Japanese eel) sushi roll is a perfect dinner everyone will love and enjoy. Great popular sushi takeout dish to make at home!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 rolls 1x
- Category: Main course
- Method: Assemble
- Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients
For Sushi Rice
- 1.5 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 cups cooked short-grain rice (You can use white or brown)
For Unagi Roll
- 4 seaweed/nori sheets
- 1 cooked unagi (see note)
- 1 English cucumber, cut into thin match sticks
- 1/2 avocado, cut into strips
- 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
- Wasabi and soy sauce for serving
Instructions
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- Cook unagi according to the package. I like to cook mine in the toaster oven and broil it at the end for a couple of minutes. Broiling caramelizes the sauce and yields a better texture for the unagi.
- While you are cooking unagi, prepare your sushi rice. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and vinegar until sugar and salt dissolve completely. Use half of this mixture over cooked rice and mix. Taste the rice and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Let the rice cool to room temperature. Make sure to cover your rice with a kitchen towel so the rice won’t dry up.
- Once the unagi is cooked, cut into strips length-wise. Set them aside.
- Prepare the vegetable. Cut the cucumber and red bell pepper into thin match sticks and cut the avocado into thick strips. Set them aside.
- Assemble unagi roll. On a piece of nori/seaweed paper, evenly spread 1/4 of the seasoned sushi rice. If the sushi rice is sticking to your hand, wet your hand with water and use your fingertips to spread the rice. Place the cooked unagi, cucumber, red bell pepper, and avocado on top of the rice. Grab the bottom of the seaweed paper and place it over so it covers the fillings. Carefully roll the roll and give it a gentle squeeze.
- Once you are done rolling the roll, place the roll on the dish, seam side down. Repeat until all rolls are assembled.
- When ready to serve the roll, wet your knife with water and slice the roll in sawing motion. Wetting your knife prevents sushi rice to stick to the knife. You can serve the rolls with wasabi and soy sauce.
Notes
- You can buy the frozen vacuumed seasoned unagi at an Asian grocery store. They are usually in the freezer section of the store.
- Broiling unagi yield better texture and flavor.
- When seasoning your rice, use half of the seasoning mixture first and adjust to your liking. You maybe not use all the seasoning.
- Wetting your knife with water before slicing the roll prevents rice to stick to the knife.
Keywords: unagi sushi roll, eel sushi roll, sushi roll
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