:Kabayaki

File:Restaurant Specializing in Eel LACMA M.71.100.154.jpg by Katsukawa Shuntei, 1804–1810]]

{{nihongo|Kabayaki|蒲焼}} is a preparation of fish, especially unagi eel,{{Harvnb|Heibonsha|1969}}, vol. 7,"kabayaki" by {{Nihongo|Tekishū Motoyama|:ja:本山荻舟}} describes it as being used principally or almost always for unagi (「もっぱら鰻」) where the fish is split down the back{{Harvnb|Shinmura|1976}} the Japanese dictionary says kabayaki applies to such fish as ungai, hamo, and dojō (or belly), gutted and boned, butterflied, cut into square fillets, skewered, and dipped in a sweet soy sauce-based marinade before being cooked on a grill or griddle.

Besides unagi, the same preparation is made of other long scaleless fish such as hamo (pike conger), dojō (loach), catfish, anago (conger eel), and {{Nihongo|gimpo|ギンポ}} (gunnels). One can also find canned products labeled as kabayaki-style sanma (Pacific saury).

Kabayaki eel is very popular and a rich source of vitamins A and E, and omega-3 fatty acids.{{Harvnb|Prosek|2010}}, p.144- A popular custom from the Edo period{{Harvnb|Bestor|2004}}, pp.167-8, repeats a story of an eel purveyor from Edo who asked a calligrapher to write the Ox (day) character as a sign calls for eating kabayaki during the summer to gain stamina, especially on a mid-summer day called Midsummer Ox Day ({{Nihongo|{{Interlanguage link multi|doyō-no ushi-no-hi|ja|3=土用の丑の日|vertical-align=sup}}|土用の丑の日}},) which falls between July 18 and August 8 each year.{{cite book |last=Sasaki |first=Sanmi (佐々木三味) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cEzCY5cB3icC&pg=PA372 |title=Chado the Way of Tea: A Japanese Tea Master's Almanac |last2=McCabe |first2=Shaun |last3=Iwasaki |first3=Satoko |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=9780804837163}}, p.372 describes Doyo as "about eighteen days from July 20th", though in actuality the beginning date can shift a day or two. The days cycle through the twelve animals (twelve heavenly branches) so any one or two of the dates within the eighteen-day period can fall on an Ox day.

The eel kabayaki is often served on top of a bowl (donburi) of rice, and called unadon, the fancier form of which is the unajū, placed inside a lacquered box called jūbako. It is also torn up and mixed up evenly with rice to make {{Nihongo|hitsumabushi|ひつまぶし}}, which is enjoyed especially in the Nagoya area.

Kantō vs. Kansai

File:Unagi2.jpg

File:Shirayaki_Unagi_(Unagi_cooked_directly_over_fire_without_adding_seasonings,_served_with_salt).jpg

Broadly, two schools of cooking kabayaki exist. In the Kantō region (eastern Japan), the eel is slit down its back{{Harvnb|Bestor|2004}}, p.140 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.{{cite book|author=PHP Kenkyusho|title=徹底比較江戸と上方(Tettei hikaku Edo to Kamigata)|publisher=PHP研究所(PHP Kenkyusho)|year=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QG1V16uJb7EC&pg=RA2-PA9-IA4|isbn= 9784569692791}}, p.9 In Kanto, the skewered eel is first grilled, plain, into what is known as {{Nihongo|{{Interlanguage link multi|shirayaki|ja|3=白焼き|vertical-align=sup}}|白焼き or 素焼き}}, then steamed, before being flavored and grilled again; as a result, it turns out more tender and flakier after grilling.{{cite book|last=Barber|first=Kimiko|last2=Brigdale (photos) |first2=Martin |title=The Japanese Kitchen: A Book Of Essential Ingredients With 200 Authentic Recipes|place=Tokyo|publisher=Kyle Books|year=2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1LZQAQAAIAAJ|isbn= 9781904920021}}, p.144-

In the Kansai region (western Japan), the eel is slit down the belly and directly grilled without being steamed, often still in their original length, and called {{Nihongo|nagayaki|長焼き}}. 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 called mamushi,{{Harvnb|Matsui|1984}}, p.9 just like the name of the common viper in Japan, Gloydius blomhoffii). Some speculate the name is a corruption of mabushi meaning "besprinkle", while others say it is a reference to the eel being rather similar to the viper in shape and vigor-endowing abilities when consumed.

Etymology

Several hypothesized origins for the name kabayaki are given. The name came to be generally written using the kanji 蒲焼 meaning cattail-grilled. Resemblance to the brown plush flower spikes of the cattail plant has been suggested as etymological origin in several old writings ({{Nihongo|Zokugo kō|『俗語考』|"Considerations on colloquial words"}}; the writings of {{Interlanguage link multi|Mankō Morisada|ja|3=守貞漫稿|vertical-align=sup}}; {{Nihongo|Kinsei jibutsu kō|『近世事物考』|"Considerations on near modern age items"}}{{cite book|author=Nihon Dai Jiten Kankōkai|title=日本国語大辞典(Nihon kokugo dai jiten)|place=Tokyo|publisher=Nihon Dai Jiten Kankōkai|year=1972|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lB5bAAAAMAAJ}}, p.67). Food historian {{Nihongo|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.{{cite book|last=Motoyama|first=Tekishū(本山荻舟)|title=飲食事典 (Inshoku jiten)|publisher=Heibonsha|year=1958|page=58}} This is incidentally the same as one hypothesized etymology for kamaboko.

Another touted theory explains the name as due to resemblance of the charred skin side to the {{Nihongo|kaba-kawa|樺皮||i.e. "beech-bark"}} ({{Nihongo|Yōshū fushi|『雍州府志』|"Record of Yamashiro province"}}, {{Nihongo|Honchō Seji Danki|『本朝世事談綺』|"Record of Yamashiro province"}}. Motoyama also notes a proposed etymology from {{Nihongo|kōbashī|香ばしい||"fragrant (esp. of toasted or roasted items)"}}.

:Kabayaki

Kantō vs. Kansai

Etymology

References

Further reading