A couple of years ago, a regular at the restaurant where I work was going through the menu with her teenage son. He was eyeing the unagi nigiri — one of our bestsellers — until she leaned over and whispered, "That's eel." He pushed the menu away immediately.

She ordered it anyway, took a piece, and slid it toward him without saying a word. He ate it. Paused. Then asked if he could have another.

That happens more often than you'd think. The word "eel" carries a lot of mental baggage — people picture something slimy, snake-like, and intensely fishy. What actually arrives on the plate is one of the richest, most approachable things on a sushi menu. The gap between expectation and reality is almost always the same.

The Short Answer

Unagi is freshwater eel, and it is one of the most popular cooked toppings in Japanese cuisine.

  • Unagi is never served raw — it is always cooked before eating.
  • It is most commonly prepared in kabayaki style: filleted, grilled, and brushed repeatedly with a sweet-savory tare sauce.
  • The flavor is rich, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth, and mildly smoky — far less fishy than most people expect.
  • When you order eel sushi or eel rolls in a North American restaurant, you are almost always eating unagi.
  • The tare glaze is what gives unagi its distinctive sweet, caramelized coating — and despite the name, unagi sauce typically contains no eel.

Understanding what unagi actually is — and what it actually tastes like — makes it much easier to appreciate why it has stayed on Japanese menus for generations.

What Exactly Is Unagi?

Unagi refers to Japanese freshwater eel. It lives in rivers and lakes before being harvested and, in most cases, farmed for commercial use. In Japan, unagi has been a prized ingredient for centuries, particularly during summer months when it was traditionally eaten for stamina.

Japanese unagi kabayaki glazed with sweet-savory tare sauce before serving

Properly prepared unagi kabayaki is grilled with repeated layers of tare sauce, creating the tender texture and glossy caramelized finish that define authentic Japanese eel.

In North American sushi restaurants, unagi is almost always sold pre-prepared as kabayaki — meaning it has already been filleted, steamed or grilled, and glazed with sauce. Most restaurants do not prepare unagi from scratch in-house. They purchase vacuum-sealed kabayaki portions that are warmed to order, glazed again if needed, and plated.

When a North American menu lists "eel sushi," "eel roll," or "BBQ eel," it is referring to unagi prepared this way. It is one of the rare sushi ingredients that is always cooked, which also makes it a practical entry point for people who are nervous about eating raw fish.

What Does Unagi Taste Like?

This is the question that matters most, because the answer surprises almost everyone.

Unagi is rich, buttery, and faintly smoky. The flesh is tender and dense — it pulls apart easily without being mushy. The glaze adds a sweet-savory layer that caramelizes slightly on the surface, giving the exterior a faint char while the inside stays moist. One reason many first-time diners enjoy unagi is that it tastes far less fishy than most seafood people associate with sushi.

It does not taste like fish in the way most people imagine. There is no strong oceanic smell, no sharp brininess, and no "fishy" aftertaste. Some people compare it to dark chicken meat with more fat. Others describe it as having the richness of a slow-braised short rib or the smokiness of barbecue. "Bacon of the sea" is a phrase that comes up, though unagi has more depth than that comparison suggests.

The tare glaze — a reduction of sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar — plays a significant role in the overall experience. It adds sweetness that balances the natural richness of the eel and creates the sticky, lacquered coating you see on well-prepared unagi. The eel and the sauce work together. Neither would be as satisfying on its own.

The texture is also worth noting. Properly prepared unagi is soft enough to eat cleanly in one bite but substantial enough to feel satisfying. It does not flake apart like white fish. It holds together, which is part of why it works so well as a nigiri topping or inside a roll.

Why People Are Often Nervous to Try It

The hesitation is almost always about the word "eel" itself rather than any actual experience with the ingredient.

People picture something alive and writhing. They associate eel with the wet, elongated creatures they've seen in nature documentaries or aquariums. The idea of eating something snake-like triggers a reaction that has nothing to do with flavor.

There is also a general assumption that anything from the sea described as "rich" must be overpoweringly fishy. For someone who has had a bad experience with strong-smelling fish, the word "eel" sounds like a risk they'd rather not take.

What those people don't know — until they actually try it — is that unagi tastes nothing like the image in their head. The preparation method eliminates any slippery texture. The cooking removes any raw seafood smell. What remains is something closer to savory, tender meat than to what most people imagine when they hear "eel sushi."

Why Unagi Is Always Cooked

Unagi is never eaten raw, and this is not a stylistic preference — it is a food safety requirement.

Eel blood contains a natural protein that is toxic when consumed in sufficient quantities. Cooking destroys this toxin completely, which is why eel has always been prepared through grilling, steaming, or a combination of both. There is no version of sushi-grade raw unagi. If you see something labeled as raw eel, that would be a serious red flag.

For home cooks who are careful about sushi-grade fish and raw ingredient safety, this is actually reassuring. Unagi is one ingredient where the question of raw preparation simply doesn't apply.

How Unagi Is Prepared: Kabayaki

The standard method for preparing unagi is called kabayaki. The process involves filleting the eel, removing the bones, and then cooking it through a combination of steaming and grilling while repeatedly brushing the surface with tare sauce.

The tare sauce is applied in layers. Each pass over the grill caramelizes the glaze slightly before the next coat is added. This builds up a lacquered surface that is sweet, savory, and faintly smoky from the grill char. The repeated glazing is what creates the distinctive flavor that people recognize as unagi — the eel itself provides the richness and texture, while the tare creates the coating.

Properly prepared kabayaki should be tender all the way through, moist rather than dry, and nearly boneless. Any remaining bones should be small enough that they are not noticeable when eating. If you bite into unagi and find it dry, rubbery, or full of noticeable bones, the preparation was poor.

In Japan, the preparation method differs slightly by region. In the Kanto region around Tokyo, eel is typically steamed before grilling, which produces a softer, more pillowy result. In the Kansai region around Osaka, it is grilled directly without steaming, resulting in a firmer, slightly crispier exterior. Most of the pre-prepared kabayaki sold in North American restaurants follows the Kanto method.

What Is Unagi Sauce?

There is a common misconception worth clearing up: unagi sauce does not contain eel.

Traditional tare — the glaze used in kabayaki preparation — is made from soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar, reduced together into a thick, sweet-savory liquid. Some recipes include a small amount of the drippings collected during grilling, but the sauce itself has no eel in it. If you're curious about the glaze itself, my guide to eel sauce explains how it's made and why it contains no eel despite the name.

The name creates confusion because "unagi sauce" sounds like it should be derived from eel the way fish sauce is derived from fish. It isn't. The sauce is named for its association with the dish, not its ingredients.

This matters for people with shellfish allergies or dietary restrictions who assume that eel sauce means eel-derived sauce. Always check with the restaurant if there are specific concerns, but traditional unagi tare is a soy-based reduction, not a seafood extract.

Unagi vs. Anago: A Quick Clarification

Some sushi menus list anago alongside or instead of unagi, and customers sometimes confuse the two.

Unagi is freshwater eel. Anago is saltwater conger eel, a completely different species with a different flavor and texture profile. Anago is generally lighter, more delicate, and less fatty than unagi. It has a subtler flavor that many people describe as cleaner. Unagi is richer, fattier, and more intensely flavored — the glaze and the fat content together create a more indulgent result.

In North American sushi restaurants, unagi is significantly more common. If a menu simply says "eel," it is almost certainly unagi.

Common Quality Problems With Unagi

Not all unagi is prepared or handled equally. Here is what separates well-prepared unagi from a disappointing version:

Problem Likely Cause What Good Unagi Feels Like
Dry and tough Overcooked or reheated too aggressively Moist and tender throughout
Mushy texture Poor quality product or improper thawing Firm enough to hold together when bitten
Rubbery consistency Under-steamed before grilling Soft, with a slight resistance — not chewy
Noticeable bones Poor deboning during preparation Effectively boneless — smooth from start to finish
Bland or one-dimensional flavor Insufficient glazing or low-quality tare Sweet-savory balance with smoky undertones

The quality of the pre-prepared kabayaki matters as much as how it is reheated in-house. High-volume restaurants that reheat poorly or let product sit too long tend to produce dry, flavorless unagi regardless of the original quality.

Chef's Observation

Chef's Observation: There was a customer who came in regularly for about two years. He always ordered the same things — salmon nigiri, tuna, maybe a cucumber roll. Never touched anything else. One evening, the table next to him ordered unagi, and he watched it arrive. He asked me what it was. I told him. He said "no thanks, I don't eat eel." I didn't push it.

A few months later, he came in with a friend who ordered a spider roll that came with a side of extra unagi. The friend slid it toward him and told him to just try it. He did, reluctantly. He came back the next week and added unagi to his regular order. He still comes in, and he still gets it every time.

The thing is, he didn't change his mind about eel. He changed his mind about unagi. Those are two different things in his head now. The word "eel" still makes him hesitate — but the actual flavor memory overrides it. That's what happens with most people who try it honestly. The taste doesn't match the fear, and the taste wins.

Finding Unagi in Canada

Pre-prepared unagi kabayaki is more accessible in Canada than most people realize. T&T Supermarket carries frozen unagi portions in the seafood section, usually in vacuum-sealed packages that include the tare glaze. H-Mart is another reliable source, and Fujiya in Vancouver typically stocks it in the prepared foods section as well.

The frozen kabayaki is already fully cooked — it just needs to be thawed and warmed through, either in a pan with a little extra tare or briefly under a broiler. Serve it over well-seasoned sushi rice with a strip of nori on the side, and you have something close to unadon — a classic Japanese eel rice bowl.

A Note on Sustainability

Eel populations — particularly the species used for unagi — have declined in the wild over the past several decades. Wild eel fishing is restricted in many regions, and most commercial unagi is now farmed, though the farming process itself depends on wild-caught juvenile eels, which creates ongoing sourcing challenges.

Some consumers choose to limit how often they eat unagi as a result, while others seek out restaurants or suppliers that prioritize transparency about their sourcing. It is a fair consideration to keep in mind when making purchasing decisions, though it is ultimately a personal choice.

The discussion around eel sustainability is ongoing, and information continues to evolve. If sourcing matters to you, it is worth asking the restaurant or checking the packaging for country of origin details.

Final Thoughts

Unagi remains one of the most misunderstood ingredients on any sushi menu — not because it is complicated, but because the name gets in the way before the food has a chance to speak for itself.

The people who avoid it longest are usually the ones most surprised when they finally try it. The richness, the sweetness of the glaze, the way it melts against seasoned rice — none of it fits the mental image that comes with the word "eel." And once that gap closes, the hesitation tends to disappear permanently.

For anyone exploring Japanese cuisine at home, unagi is one of the easiest starting points. It requires no raw fish, no special knife work, no complicated seasoning decisions. Buy a packet at T&T or H-Mart, warm it properly, and put it over rice. The dish does the rest.

The biggest obstacle to enjoying unagi is usually the idea of it. The ingredient itself is far more welcoming than its reputation suggests.