Why is Japanese eel as expensive as gold? 8 years of learning to operate, 3 years of learning to string and a lifetime of learning to bake!

The chefs have raised the level of cooking Japanese eel to the level of art, requiring learners to take a lifetime to perfect the skill.
Eel (Unagi) is one of the most popular dishes in Japan, it is a delicious and nutritious traditional dish often served with hot rice and a little dried seaweed. However, the price of this dish is not cheap.

The price of small eel seed alone has reached $35,000/kg in January 2018 (about more than VND800 million/kg) – as expensive as gold at the same time. Not only that, the price of eel increases 2 or 3 times every year. In the previous article, we found out why Japanese eel is so expensive (See ). This article will delve into the cooking method of Japanese grilled eel (Kabayaki) – one of the reasons why the value of eel is greatly increased. Grilling eel seems to be an easy job, but for Japanese chefs, it takes years of practice. First, the fresh eels will be put on the cutting board by the chef, who will pin the eel’s head in place with a removable metal pin. Eel pecking is a skill that takes 8 years to learn. Photo: Tofugu Then the eel will be dissected in the Kansai style (cut open the belly but not cut off the head, leave the slices and then grilled) or the Kanto style (cut open the abdomen but cut the head, divide it into small pieces, and then put it back together to bake). The backbone of the eel will also be removed in this step, just learning to peck the eel in these two styles alone will take up to 8 years of apprenticeship! Next is to thread the eel before it is grilled (it takes another 3 years to learn), the cook will have to use metal sharp sticks to pierce the very thin slices of eel meat. This requires dexterity and finesse of the hands. Eel threading is also a skill that takes up to 3 years of apprenticeship. Photo: The Japan Times Finally, bring the eel to the grill, according to long-time chefs, after 11 years of learning to cut the eel and string it together before grilling, it will take… a lifetime to master the skill. this. The griller will have to grill the soft, golden and shiny pieces of eel with the crispy texture that has made the name and attraction in the cuisine of the Kansai region (Osaka) – Japan. To do this, the cook will spread the eel pieces with a little mirin (a rice wine similar to sake, but with a lower alcohol content and higher sugar content). When the grilled eels are done, they are dipped in tare sauce. Grilling eel is a skill that takes a lifetime to perfect. Photo: WAttention.com This is a sweet apple-flavored barbecue sauce, used to marinate grilled dishes, make a dipping sauce or stir-fry vegetables, noodles… Tare sauce will be infused with sweetness inside the eel through grilling the eel once. short time again. Finally, the grilled eel is done, the chef will cut them into small slices to put on the rice with some seaweed, Japanese people often eat eel rice during the day to provide more energy and strength. for the rest of the year. Watch animal video clips: