Eel is a famous food of Japan.
In Japan, eel is usually called as unagi.
This is generally used as a side dish to serve with rice or served as sushi.
In Japan, you can find unagi in almost every restaurant.
It is also sold in plastic package.
You do not need to be doubt about its taste because this food has usually been flavored with a kind of ketchup, so its taste is delicious.
Indeed, this unagi contains high fat and protein, so its taste is deliciously oily and salty.
Because of the popularity of this food and Japanese who cares so much about food quality, the difference of one unagi and others is from the cookery of its chef to cook it.
To taste the delicacy of this food, you can visit one of restaurants in Nagoya, Japan.
You can choose any unagi you want.
If you want have a lunch with hitsumabushi or roasted unagi, you can visit a special restaurant that serves it in Shirako Sakae Shop, Nagoya Shi Nakanu, 3-15-33, Nagoya.
If you want to find other restaurants, it is also possible for you.
It is not that difficult to find the restaurant that serves this food.
Just see at the display window of restaurant.
You can see the imitation of this food there.
Like other typical foods, its price in a small size bowl is 1.
600 yen, in average size bowl is 2.
250 yen, and in big size bowl is 3.
500 yen.
The expensive price is because of its chosen eel, and it is cooked on the spot.
In addition, the owner of restaurant sometimes gets special eels into Nagoya from Shizuoka.
The age of eels is also limited about two years because if their age is more than two years, their meat is tough, and if their meat is too small, it is not delicious to eat.
To make hitsumabushi, unagi that is cleaned is roasted.
Its cooking spices are simple.
Just flavor it with Japanese ketchup, mirin, sugar, and sake.
In this case, sake is the key for this food because it adds aroma of this food and omits putrid taste.
In cooking hitsumabushi, unagi is roasted fast because its meat will be tough if it is too long to roast.
When the skin of eel starts to be crispy, spread the spices on it, and so on until its meat would be ripe.
Then, you can cut and serve it with its complements.
This food is usually eaten with kimo soup, completed with the slice of onion leaves, wasabi, seaweed crackers, salty ketchup, and warm and smooth rice.
It is also completed with green tea, the special drink from Japan.
Kimo soup itself is made from the eel liver.
The liver is separated from the eel when its bowels are cleaned.
The size of its liver is very small, but it does influence the taste of this food.
You do not need to worry about the taste of its liver because it is not bitter, but delicious and very smooth in your tongue.
Its texture is almost same as the texture of chicken liver.
Its putrid taste is even nothing.
You just feel the warmth of soup.
Remember that there is a certain way to have a meal with this food.
In this case, there are three ways that give you three different sensations.
Firstly, you can have a meal with rice mixed with unagi directly.
By this way, you can maintain the origin taste of this food.
Secondly, you can add eel in one of available spices like onion leaf, seaweed, or wasabi.
By this way, you can taste it differently because the aroma and hot wasabi taste add the sensation of its taste.
Thirdly, you can mix all available spices in a bowl of unagi mixed with rice.
The taste is so rich because its smooth and delicious eel is mixed with hot spices and crispy seaweed.
This food is usually served with all complement spices in a tray, completed with unagi and kimo soup.
By this way, you can choose by yourself the way you want to have a meal with this food.
However, most customers generally like the third way.
In conclusion, with different ways to cook, eel can be a delicious food, especially for you who are food lovers.