Homemade Eel Sauce (Unagi Sauce) ウナギのたれ (2024)

Sweet, savory, and full of flavor, this delicious Homemade Eel Sauce recipe is the dream sauce for Japanese broiled eel fillets and BBQ dishes. You only need four ingredients!

Eel sauce, or unagi no tare (うなぎのたれ), is a thick and sweetened soy sauce. Traditionally, it is used on grilled eel or dishes that feature grilled eel, such as unagi don or unagi sushi, and doesn’t contain eel.

What Is Eel Sauce

What is that caramelized brown sauce with a syrup-like consistency that goes with unagi? Well, the irresistible glossy sauce is Eel Sauce or Unagi Sauce.

Although many commercial sauce brands are available, the best eel sauce is the homemade version.

What Does It Taste Like

It tastes savory-sweet from the sake, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Since the ingredients are the same as teriyaki sauce, you might wonder if eel sauce is the same. Yes, both sauces are similar, but you’ll notice the slight differences in the richness and sweetness.

If you want authentic Japanese teriyaki sauce, get my recipe here.

How to Make Eel Sauce

Making homemade unagi sauce is as simple. You only need four ingredients to create a rich, umami-packed sauce.

The Ingredients You’ll Need

• Sake (Japanese Rice Wine) – Adds umamito the sauce (the alcohol will burn off during cooking, so it’s suitable for all ages).
• Mirin (Sweet Rice Wine) – Adds a mild sweetnessand luster to the sauce.
• Soy sauce – Use Japanese soy sauce as it tastes different from Chinese, Korean, or Thai. Use Gluten-Free Soy Sauce or Tamari to make a gluten-free sauce.
• Sugar – Besides sweetness, sugar is a thickener, so it’s easy to pour.

Sake, mirin, and soy sauce are essential staples for Japanese cooking, so it’s worth stocking up if you’re thinking of cooking your favorite Japanese recipes.

Note: Authentic unagi sauce does not use rice vinegar as it adds an acidic tang and does not contribute to the integrity of the sauce. Also, don’t add garlic, ginger, or cornstarch to the sauce. It wouldn’t be unagi sauce with all these additions or it’ll overwhelm the unagi.

The Cooking Step

1. Combine the mixture in a small saucepan and simmer on medium heat until the sauce caramelizes and thickens to your desired richness.

The great thing about making the sauce instead of buying the bottled variety is you can decide on the balance of sweet and salty. Plus, there are no additives or preservatives.

How To Use Eel Sauce

Aside from unagi dishes, unagi sauce is finger-licking delicious on BBQ. Think grilled fish, pan-fried chicken, tofu, mushrooms, and onigiri rice balls. All you need is a light brush or a drizzle of this sweet-savory sauce to heighten the flavor. In addition, you can use it as a marinade for meats or as a dressing for noodles.

Recipes for Eel Sauce

Unadon (Grilled Eel Rice Bowl)

Yaki Onigiri (Grilled Rice Balls)

Eggplant Unagi Donburi

Dragon Roll

Where To Buy Eel Sauce

You can purchase the bottled variety in the condiment section of Japanese grocery stores and well-stocked Asian supermarkets. If that’s not an option, find it on Amazon.

How To Store

Store leftovers in an airtight container or jar in the fridge or freezer for 2-3 months.

More Authentic Japanese Sauces to Make at Home

• Teriyaki Sauce – the way we make it in Japan!
• Tonkatsu Sauce
• Ponzu Sauce
• How to Make Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise

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Editor’s Note: The post is originally published on May 6, 2013. The new images have been added to the post in May 2019.