1. Eels are fresh and fat.
The orthodox eel rice uses Japanese eel, and reliable stores will keep the eel in the store for two days to remove the earthy smell and beat it to death. On the premise of ensuring variety and freshness, the quality of eels is also affected by factors such as eel age, body shape, season, wild or cultured.
Eel age: using new eels. Eels that are more than two years old will have a heavier smell, thicker gum and a greatly reduced taste. Body shape: The bigger the better, the Japanese prefer smaller eels, which are tender and smooth in taste and melt in the mouth. Season: Eels are fattest in autumn and winter, and thinner in summer. You can choose the time to eat eel according to your own preferences. For eel control, it is good all year round. Wild or farmed: Of course, wild eels are the most admired, but they are extremely rare. At present, the eel rice that can be eaten in China is the eel cultivated in Guangdong or Fujian. Even in Japan, you can only try your luck at several old eel shops in certain seasons.
Cook your own sauce
The homemade sauce is bright in color and refreshing in taste. Industrial eel sauce is usually sticky and tastes either too salty or too sweet.
The ingredients for making sauce are soy sauce, Lin Wei, sugar, kelp, eel bone and so on. Every famous eel shop has its own secret recipe, filtering impurities and adding new materials every day, and cooking takes several hours. When roasting eels, oil will drip into the sauce, and the flavor of the sauce will get stronger and stronger with the years. Sauce is the treasure of eel shop. "The God of Eel Rice" Jiro Kimoto was commanded by his father since childhood. The sauce handed down from generation to generation is second only to life, no matter what he gives up, he must guard it.
3. The master is skilled.
Roasting eel has to go through three steps: killing fish, labeling and barbecue, and each step is quite particular. Every eel master needs years of experience to master the technology. There is a saying in Japan called "three years to wear a sign, eight years to plan the back, and lifelong barbecue."
Influenced by culture and region, different schools of eel roasting methods have been formed.
Guandong Boiling: Cut it from the back, put it on with a bamboo stick, bake it white first, then steam it, and finally bake it with dipping sauce. Roasted eel has less fat and softer taste. Because the oil will be forced out when steaming, you can choose a slightly larger eel. Kansai Stream: Cut it open from the abdomen, pass it through with iron bars, dip it in sauce and bake it directly on charcoal fire. Roasted eel has the burnt smell of charcoal, and its skin is more crisp. There is a thin layer of oil under the skin, and the taste is more elastic.
Eel restaurants usually kill and roast now, or steam/roast a batch of semi-finished products before meals, and then dip them in the sauce after the guests order. Ordinary Japanese food stores will directly purchase roasted eels, which can be heated after the guests order, and the taste is very different.
4. The rice is cooked accurately.
Cooked rice should have clear lines, moderate hardness, water absorption and willfulness, and it will not become soft and rotten when poured with sauce. The simple sweetness of rice can not only set off the umami taste of eels, but also balance greasy fat.
In short, as long as the eel is fresh, the variety is excellent, the sauce is cooked at home, the eel baking process is proper, and the rice is moderately soft and hard, it is basically a satisfactory eel rice. If the utensils are exquisite and the dining environment is good, it is a wonderful meal.