About food in Japan: Unagi(うなぎ、鰻） eel

20 July 2008

Unagi(うなぎ、鰻） eel - Matsukawa

The rainy season was ended in Japan and now hot summer has arrived!

It is very important to take care of what we eat and drink during summer in order to keep the best health condition through this hard season, because the heat and humidity of Japanese summer are likely to make us have littele appetite.

Unagi(eel, うなぎ、鰻）is traditionally known to be one of the foods that make people more energetic by taking.
"Doyo no ushinohi" is set on the last half of July according to Japanese old almanac and the date has been recognized for hundreds years in Japan on which people take Unagi menu to be ready for comming hot summer. In 2008, it is the 24th of July.

I enjoyed the menu a little bit earlier than the tradition at a restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Unajyu(うな重）is a typical and traditional menu of Unagi. A few pieces of grilled eel dipped in special sweet sauce are on rice and they are neatly put on a square box.

Not only the quality of eel(some are from Japanese ports and others are from Chinese or farm-raised), but also the special sauce are keys to be a good plate(or box?) or not. Traditional Unagi restaurants have each own receipe for the sauce inheritated generation by generation.

A clear soup with a small piece of eel liver is likely to be served with Unajyu.

Unagi restaurant Matsukawa is located very closed to Shibuya station. It is even surprising that we can find such a traditional dinning just a few seconds after going through the most busiest and noiziest intersection in the world(I guess), Shibuya Hachiko Crossing.