Anago-meshi
Photo: ノボホショコロトソ · CC BY 4.0

History

Anago-meshi began as a station bento at Miyajimaguchi, the mainland ferry landing for Itsukushima. Anagomeshi Ueno, founded in 1901, is credited as the originator and still grills eel to a house sauce over rice cooked in a seasoned broth. Conger eel is leaner and lighter than the freshwater unagi used elsewhere in Japan, and the Seto Inland Sea has supplied it in quantity for centuries. The bento version is one of Japan's best-known ekiben, and the queue at the counter still forms before opening.

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Common allergens: Fish, Soy, Gluten

Make it at home

Yield Serves 2Hands-on 25 minTotal 50 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 2 prepared conger eel fillets, about 150g each
  • 300g Japanese short-grain rice
  • 400ml dashi
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp sake
  • Sansho pepper to finish

Method

  1. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear and drain it for 15 minutes.
  2. Cook the rice in the dashi with 1 tbsp of the soy sauce and 1 tbsp of the mirin.
  3. Simmer the remaining soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake for 5 minutes until slightly syrupy.
  4. Grill the eel fillets skin side up under a high heat for 4 minutes, then turn.
  5. Brush with the sauce and grill for 2 minutes. Repeat the brushing and grilling twice more.
  6. Slice the fillets across into 2cm strips, lay them over the rice and spoon the last of the sauce on top.
  7. Finish with a light dusting of sansho pepper.

Tip from the editors. Conger eel dries out faster than freshwater eel, so brush and glaze in short passes rather than leaving it under heat.

Where to eat anago-meshi

Anago-meshi in Hiroshima

Featured by TableJourney as a signature dish of Hiroshima. See where to eat Anago-meshi in Hiroshima or the Hiroshima signature dishes guide.

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