Wild In The Kitchen: Eel Sauce

Eel Sauce

One of my favorite restaurants has a dish I can’t resist, an Asian-inspired fried shrimp that is amped up with eel sauce and sweet chili sauce.  Eel sauce is a sweet and salty sauce that is traditionally used in Japanese cuisine

In my ignorance, I asked the chef where he got eels to make the sauce. He chuckled at my redneckness. Much to my surprise, he sat down at my table and explained some things. First, eel sauce does not contain eels. It is a common sauce in Japan easily made with five ingredients, one of which is water.

One of the ingredients is mirin which he described as a sweet cooking seasoning. I asked him where he finds that. I was shocked when he said mirin, and all the other ingredients, are available at Walmart. He said you can even get the sweet chili sauce there.

I now make my own eel sauce and keep it in a glass jar in my refrigerator. I eat it on fried shrimp, blackened and boiled shrimp, fried and grilled fish, and even grilled ribs on occasion. Here’s the simple recipe. It will take your kitchen skills to a new level!

1 cup mirin
1 cup sugar
1 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water

Start by putting a sauce pan on medium heat. Add 1 cup of mirin. Add one cup of sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil. Add 1 cup soy sauce. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes. Bring to a rolling boil once again. Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water. Stir in slurry. Stir for 5 minutes until the mixture thickens to a molasses consistency. Allow to cool. You can use it immediately, or you may pour it in a sealable glass jar and keep it in your refrigerator.