Kabayaki (蒲焼) is a preparation of fish, especiallyunagi eel,^[1] where the fish is split down the back^[2] (or belly), gutted and boned, butterflied, cut into squarefillets,skewered, and dipped in a sweetsoy sauce-based marinade before being cooked on agrill or griddle.

Besidesunagi, the same preparation is made of other long scaleless fish such ashamo (pike conger),^[2]dojō (loach),^[1][2] catfish,^[1]anago (conger eel),^[1] andgimpo (ギンポ) (gunnels).^[1] One can also find canned products labeled as kabayaki-stylesanma (Pacific saury).

Kabayaki eel is very popular and a rich source of vitamins A and E, and omega-3 fatty acids.^[3] A popular custom from theEdo period^[4] calls for eatingkabayaki during the summer to gain stamina,^[4] especially on a mid-summer day calledMidsummer Ox Day (doyō-no ushi-no-hi ^[ja] (土用の丑の日),^[3][4]) which falls between July 18 and August 8 each year.^[5]

The eelkabayaki is often served on top of a bowl (donburi) of rice, and calledunadon, the fancier form of which is theunajū, placed inside a lacquered box calledjūbako. It is also torn up and mixed up evenly with rice to makehitsumabushi (ひつまぶし), which is enjoyed especially in theNagoya area.

Broadly, two schools of cooking kabayaki exist. In theKantō region (eastern Japan), the eel is slit down its back^[6] and butterflied, so a lighter-colored stripe of the belly runs down the middle of each fillet on the skin side. The long eel is cut into shorter, squarer fillets and skewered.^[7] In Kanto, the skewered eel is first grilled, plain, into what is known asshirayaki ^[ja] (白焼き or 素焼き),^[1][7] then steamed, before being flavored and grilled again; as a result, it turns out more tender and flakier after grilling.^[8]

In theKansai region (western Japan), the eel is slit down the belly^[6] and directly grilled without being steamed, often still in their original length, and callednagayaki (長焼き).^[7] The outer skin can be tough and chewy, so eel cooked in Kansai style may be placed between layers of hot rice, for the steam to help tenderize it.

In the Kansai area, the eel is often calledmamushi,^[7][9] just like the name of the common viper in Japan,Gloydius blomhoffii). Some speculate the name is a corruption ofmabushi meaning "besprinkle",^[7] while others say it is a reference to the eel being rather similar to the viper in shape and vigor-endowing abilities when consumed.^[7]

Several hypothesized origins for the namekabayaki are given. The name came to be generally written using the kanji 蒲焼 meaningcattail-grilled. Resemblance to the brown plush flower spikes of the cattail plant has been suggested as etymological origin in several old writings (Zokugo kō (『俗語考』,"Considerations on colloquial words"); the writings ofMankō Morisada ^[ja];Kinsei jibutsu kō (『近世事物考』,"Considerations on near modern age items")^[10]). Food historian Tekishū Motoyama (ja:本山荻舟)(1881–1958) has argued that originally the whole eel was skewered vertically and cooked that way, giving rise to the name on the resemblance to the cattail both in form and color.^[1][11] This is incidentally the same as one hypothesized etymology forkamaboko.

Another touted theory explains the name as due to resemblance of the charred skin side to thekaba-kawa (樺皮; i.e. "beech-bark")^[1] (Yōshū fushi (『雍州府志』,"Record of Yamashiro province"),Honchō Seji Danki (『本朝世事談綺』,"Record of Yamashiro province").^[10] Motoyama also notes a proposed etymology fromkōbashī (香ばしい; "fragrant (esp. of toasted or roasted items)").^[1]

• Japanese cuisine
• Japanese seafood

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