unagi

[prasantrin]

Costco has huge packs of kabayaki--freshly cooked (I assume) and ready for eating. I'd like to bring some back to Canada with me--anyone know if they can successfully be frozen? Or will they lose texture or flavour? I have a Tilia, so I can vacuum pack them before freezing. My other option is to get some vacuum-packed kabayaki at the airport, but I'd much rather get the ones at Costco.

[SuzySushi]

Hmmmn... I've never seen kabayaki except in individual packages, which we buy then keep in the freezer. We haven't found any loss of quality through freezing.

[helenjp]

Freeze away! I think a lot of the cheaper stuff has already been frozen once, mind you...

[Hiroyuki]

Yes, you can freeze kabayaki.

To defrost it, sprinkle some sake on it, wrap it in plastic wrap, and put in the microwave.

[ulterior epicure]

This is what I do know:

1. Unagi is river eel (freshwater)

2. Anago is sea eel (aka Conger eel)

3. Unagi is, in my experience, generally more expensive than anago.

Can anyone explain the other difference between the two (e.g. taste, texture, quality, availibility, preparation, cooking methods, presentations, etc...)? Furthermore, can anyone enlighten as to what can be appreciated about each?

Thanks!

u.e.

Edited April 19, 2006 by ulterior epicure (log)

[prasantrin]

I've always thought of unagi as being fattier than anago, with a stronger flavour. In grocery stores, unagi (kabayaki/unagiyaki) is much more readily available than any kind of prepared anago (at least in my area), but I've never noticed fresh/raw unagi or anago in any of my local stores. I can't speak to cooking either.

[torakris]

I agree with Rona in terms of taste I would describe unagi as fattier and more flavorful.

By far the most common preparation of both eels is kabayaki (grilled with a soy based sauce) with shirayaki (grilled with no sauce) being a distant second. Then can also both be used in tempura but I think anago may be a little more popular with that prep.

Anago is more common in the Kanto (Tokyo) area, and though I almost never see raw eel in the supermarket, I have seen raw (butterflied and ready to cook) anago.

In terms of availability, they are both in season in the summer but since they are easily farmed and imports are high you can find them in Japan all year round. The price doesn't fluctuate much either. In general unagi is more expensive but it will also depend on farmed vs wild and domestic vs import.

I have to admit to being a fan of domestic Japanese unagi, I have eaten various imports (mostly from China) because they are almost half the price but they tend to be bland where the Japanese ones have this really fresh taste.

[torakris]

I posted quite a bit about both unagi and anago in the Daily Nihongo thread, The posts start here.

There is a lot of information on how they are prepared and other little tidbits of information including a nice article on anago fishing in Tokyo Bay.

[NickLam]

In Nov 2005, Unagi imports from China were banned in Singapore because of the high levels of carcinogens detected in the eels. Apparently, the farmers were putting lots of funny stuff into the waters to maximise yields.

Maybe the Singaporean government is a bit paranoid, but hey, better safe than sorry. At the time, I was still living in Australia and still saw unagi in the Chinese supermarkets, so not sure if any other governments banned these imports.

Such a pity.....coz they taste so goooooood

[Hiroyuki]

The big difference is that unagi is best as kabayaki or on top of rice in a donburi (una don) while anago is best as tempura. This is my personal opinion, but I'm sure many Japanese will agree.

[SheenaGreena]

which eel is inbedded in a rectangular piece of egg? I love to fry or grill it up and put some of that sweet brown sauce on it. Its very cheap and filling and I would love to buy the eel separately because it tastes so good

[torakris]

Unagi-don for dinner a couple night ago

One of the best ways to make two unagi feed 5 people