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.
鰻の蒲焼きを食べた。
I ate kabayaki eel.
蒲焼きのたれは醤油とみりんで作る。
Kabayaki sauce is made from soy sauce and mirin.
土用の丑の日に鰻の蒲焼きを食べる習慣がある。
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:
- 鰻の蒲焼き: eel kabayaki (the most iconic form)
- 蒲焼きのたれ: kabayaki glaze/sauce
- 鰻丼: eel rice bowl topped with kabayaki eel
- 鰻重: kabayaki eel served over rice in a lacquered box
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 塩焼き: salt-grilled fish — simpler preparation with no sweet sauce
- 照り焼き: teriyaki — similar glaze technique, applied to various meats and fish