蒲焼(かばや)き

かばやき
noun
kabayaki; sweet soy-glazed grilled fish
foodcooking
1. kabayaki; sweet soy-glazed grilled fish
A cooking method and dish in which fish (especially eel) is split, skewered, and grilled while being basted with a sweet soy-based sauce. Most famously applied to eel (unagi), though also used for other fish.
鰻(うなぎ)の蒲焼(かばや)きを食(た)べた。
I ate kabayaki eel.
蒲焼(かばや)きのたれは醤油(しょうゆ)とみりんで作(つく)る。
Kabayaki sauce is made from soy sauce and mirin.
土用(どよう)の丑(うし)の日(ひ)に鰻(うなぎ)の蒲焼(かばや)きを食(た)べる習慣(しゅうかん)がある。
There is a custom of eating kabayaki eel on the Midsummer Day of the Ox.

The defining feature is the tare (蒲焼(かばや)きのたれ) — a sweet, salty sauce of soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar that caramelizes on the fish during grilling.

Common collocations

  • 鰻(うなぎ)の蒲焼(かばや)き: eel kabayaki (the most iconic form)
  • 蒲焼(かばや)きのたれ: kabayaki glaze/sauce
  • 鰻丼(うなどん): eel rice bowl topped with kabayaki eel
  • 鰻重(うなじゅう): kabayaki eel served over rice in a lacquered box

Similar words

Related Words

Compare: 塩焼(しおや)き (salt-grilled fish)
Compare: 照(て)り焼(や)き (teriyaki)
Related: うな丼(どん) (grilled eel on a bowl of rice)
Compare: 白焼(しらや)き (plain-grilled fish (esp. eel))
general
Added 2026.6.14 6:22 · Revised 2026.10.4 21:49
29000/29221_kabayaki