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Home ► Recipes ► Japanese (Traditional)

Unagi Kamameshi

Updated: 06.06.25 | Marc Matsumoto | 31 Comments

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Recipe

Kamameshi is rice cooked in a cast iron pot along with a flavored broth and some other goodies. It's similar to takenoko gohan and takikomi gohan, except the pot it's cooked in encourages the bottom layer of rice to lightly burn (known as "okoge" in Japanese), giving it a nice flavor reminiscent of rice crackers.

Unfortunately, I don't have a kama (iron pot) and I imagine most of my readers don't either, so I made this using a small Le Creuset (enameled cast iron pot). You could probably use any heavy bottomed pot with a lid you have as long as it's not teflon.

The rice cooks with a sweet soy sauce flavored broth and is topped with a layer of mitsuba (which I talk about more in this post) and unagi while it steams. After it's all done, I mix it all together before serving which helps integrate all the flavors.

📖 Recipe

Unagi Kamameshi

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Ingredients 

  • 2 cups rice cooker short grain Japanese rice (360 ml or about 1.5 US cups)
  • ⅓ Cup bamboo chopped Japanese (takenoko)
  • 1 ⅔ Cups dashi stock
  • 1 tablespoon mirin
  • 1 tablespoon evaporated cane sugar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • ¼ Cup mitsuba roughly chopped
  • 1 package unagi grilled (eel)

Instructions

  • Rinse the rice by filling the bowl containing the rice with cold water then draining and repeat until the water is almost clear. Drain the water using a colander.
  • In a heavy iron pot with a lid, bring the dashi, sugar, mirin and soy sauce to a boil.
  • Add the bamboo and rice and let it return to a boil. Cover and turn the heat down to low, cooking until you don't see any more steam escaping, about 15 minutes.
  • Add the mitsuba and unagi on top of the rice, turn off the heat, cover and allow it to steam for 10 minutes.
  • Break up the unagi and fold it into the rice then serve immediately with some Japanese pickles.
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  1. Sodamoeba says

    September 28, 2016 at 11:46 am

    Hmm, this one's showing up in Vegan, too. Sorry to spam the comments section with this.

    Reply
  2. Tartlette says

    May 18, 2008 at 6:40 am

    My aut's specialty was eel and watercress soup all creamy all good..:)
    I just can't find eel here except in sushi....living vicariously through you Marc!

    Reply
  3. Tartlette says

    May 17, 2008 at 11:40 pm

    My aut's specialty was eel and watercress soup all creamy all good..:)
    I just can't find eel here except in sushi....living vicariously through you Marc!

    Reply
  4. Coffee and Vanilla says

    May 15, 2008 at 10:36 am

    Hi Marc,

    Thank you for your visiting my site and your comment on Physalis, I replied here:
    https://www.coffeeandvanilla.com/?p=2280

    Wonderful site! I'm glad to discover it 🙂

    Margot

    Reply
  5. Marc Matsumoto says

    May 15, 2008 at 4:15 am

    Thanks Heather!

    Sharon, the grilled unagi I used actually has the "yummy unagi sauce" on it.

    Manggy, I'm not sure what part of the world you're in, but here in NYC you can get a whole grilled unagi for about $6.

    Thanks Diva, I love my Le Creuset, I use it for everything! It even makes a great weight when I'm curing fish or making pickles.

    Jeff, hope you were able to find some eel.

    Thanks Noble Pig and Veron

    Joyce, I'm glad I could help:-) Any other mystery dishes you've been trying to figure out?

    Laura, you do eat the bamboo. Bamboo shoots are tender and edible when they are young.

    Scott, eel's great. It's not fishy at all, but people who don't like it usually complain about 2 things. First, it's got a ton of little bones that are edible, but some people have issues with this. Also it's very oily, so some people don't dig that. If you're cool with either of those things, give it a go.

    Kevin, you're in Toronto right? Based on a quick Google search it looks like there's a Japanese market called Sanko in downtown Toronto. Otherwise, other asian markets might have it in their frozen food section (they usually come in flat vacuum sealed packs.

    cakewardrobe, it's the best part isn't it?

    Reply
  6. Coffee and Vanilla says

    May 15, 2008 at 3:36 am

    Hi Marc,

    Thank you for your visiting my site and your comment on Physalis, I replied here:
    https://www.coffeeandvanilla.com/?p=2280

    Wonderful site! I'm glad to discover it 🙂

    Margot

    Reply
  7. Marc Matsumoto says

    May 14, 2008 at 9:15 pm

    Thanks Heather!

    Sharon, the grilled unagi I used actually has the "yummy unagi sauce" on it.

    Manggy, I'm not sure what part of the world you're in, but here in NYC you can get a whole grilled unagi for about $6.

    Thanks Diva, I love my Le Creuset, I use it for everything! It even makes a great weight when I'm curing fish or making pickles.

    Jeff, hope you were able to find some eel.

    Thanks Noble Pig and Veron

    Joyce, I'm glad I could help:-) Any other mystery dishes you've been trying to figure out?

    Laura, you do eat the bamboo. Bamboo shoots are tender and edible when they are young.

    Scott, eel's great. It's not fishy at all, but people who don't like it usually complain about 2 things. First, it's got a ton of little bones that are edible, but some people have issues with this. Also it's very oily, so some people don't dig that. If you're cool with either of those things, give it a go.

    Kevin, you're in Toronto right? Based on a quick Google search it looks like there's a Japanese market called Sanko in downtown Toronto. Otherwise, other asian markets might have it in their frozen food section (they usually come in flat vacuum sealed packs.

    cakewardrobe, it's the best part isn't it?

    Reply
  8. cakewardrobe says

    May 14, 2008 at 2:56 am

    I usually push all my rice to the side so that all of it is crispy! I love it!!!

    Reply
  9. Kevin (Closet Cooking) says

    May 14, 2008 at 12:43 am

    That looks really good. I have been wanting to try cooking unagi at home but I have been unable to find it so far.

    Reply
  10. Scott at Realepicurean says

    May 13, 2008 at 10:09 pm

    For some reason I've never had eel but would love to try it. Your recipe looks delicious, by the way.

    Reply
  11. Laura @ Hungry and Frozen says

    May 13, 2008 at 9:05 pm

    That looks so delicious. Love the cooking method. Glad you had fun in Texas! I'm guessing you don't eat the bamboo? 😉

    Reply
  12. cakewardrobe says

    May 13, 2008 at 7:56 pm

    I usually push all my rice to the side so that all of it is crispy! I love it!!!

    Reply
  13. Kevin (Closet Cooking) says

    May 13, 2008 at 5:43 pm

    That looks really good. I have been wanting to try cooking unagi at home but I have been unable to find it so far.

    Reply
  14. joyce says

    May 13, 2008 at 3:14 pm

    This is exactly what I am looking for. I ate this in the restaurant once and it was SO good, now I can make it at home..THANK YOU SOO SOO MUCH!!!! YOU ARE WONDERFUL!!!

    Reply
  15. Scott at Realepicurean says

    May 13, 2008 at 3:09 pm

    For some reason I've never had eel but would love to try it. Your recipe looks delicious, by the way.

    Reply
  16. veron says

    May 13, 2008 at 2:23 pm

    I love unagi. It's my favorite dish to order in a japanese restaurant. So you can just imagine how much I'm drooling over this!

    Reply
  17. Laura @ Hungry and Frozen says

    May 13, 2008 at 2:05 pm

    That looks so delicious. Love the cooking method. Glad you had fun in Texas! I'm guessing you don't eat the bamboo? 😉

    Reply
  18. noble pig says

    May 13, 2008 at 1:46 pm

    Holey moley, I'm in a trance...just beautiful!

    Reply
  19. Jeff says

    May 13, 2008 at 12:47 pm

    drool.....eel.

    Looks awesome and I just checked Mr. Magic 8-ball and he says a trip to the Asian market (the joy of a smaller town we have a Asian market) is in my immediate future.

    Reply
  20. diva says

    May 13, 2008 at 8:37 am

    firstly, le creuset rules. secondly, that broth sounds fantastic! imagine it gives the rice so much flavour. lastly, unagi is delicious. although we usually just have it with plain white rice. oh well....;)

    Reply
  21. joyce says

    May 13, 2008 at 8:14 am

    This is exactly what I am looking for. I ate this in the restaurant once and it was SO good, now I can make it at home..THANK YOU SOO SOO MUCH!!!! YOU ARE WONDERFUL!!!

    Reply
  22. veron says

    May 13, 2008 at 7:23 am

    I love unagi. It's my favorite dish to order in a japanese restaurant. So you can just imagine how much I'm drooling over this!

    Reply
  23. manggy says

    May 13, 2008 at 7:17 am

    Oboy, this is a painfully delicious reminder of how long it's been since I've had kamameshi... :P`````
    I love eel! I just wish it weren't so expensive :/

    Reply
  24. noble pig says

    May 13, 2008 at 6:46 am

    Holey moley, I'm in a trance...just beautiful!

    Reply
  25. Jeff says

    May 13, 2008 at 5:47 am

    drool.....eel.

    Looks awesome and I just checked Mr. Magic 8-ball and he says a trip to the Asian market (the joy of a smaller town we have a Asian market) is in my immediate future.

    Reply
  26. sharon says

    May 13, 2008 at 5:01 am

    Wow, that looks amazing. I'm embarrassed to admit that I've never had eel that's not draped in that yummy eel sauce. I'd love to try this!

    Reply
  27. Heather says

    May 13, 2008 at 4:55 am

    Oishi! Gah, why have I not found your blog until now? It's a good one, and one I'll hafta keep an eye on.

    Reply
  28. diva says

    May 13, 2008 at 1:37 am

    firstly, le creuset rules. secondly, that broth sounds fantastic! imagine it gives the rice so much flavour. lastly, unagi is delicious. although we usually just have it with plain white rice. oh well....;)

    Reply
  29. manggy says

    May 13, 2008 at 12:17 am

    Oboy, this is a painfully delicious reminder of how long it's been since I've had kamameshi... :P`````
    I love eel! I just wish it weren't so expensive :/

    Reply
  30. sharon says

    May 12, 2008 at 10:01 pm

    Wow, that looks amazing. I'm embarrassed to admit that I've never had eel that's not draped in that yummy eel sauce. I'd love to try this!

    Reply
  31. Heather says

    May 12, 2008 at 9:55 pm

    Oishi! Gah, why have I not found your blog until now? It's a good one, and one I'll hafta keep an eye on.

    Reply
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