Easy Eel Sauce Recipe with 3 Ingredients
Eel sauce has no eel in it at all. It is a sweet, glossy reduction of soy sauce, sugar and mirin, the Japanese sweet rice wine, and it is the dark drizzle you often see over sushi rolls. Making it at home takes three ingredients and one small saucepan.
How to get it right
Stir the soy sauce, sugar and mirin together over medium heat until the sugar starts to dissolve, then keep it at a gentle simmer. If it begins to boil hard, turn the heat down, since a vigorous boil can scorch the sugar and make the sauce bitter. Stir now and then so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.
- Let it reduce to about 3/4 cup. That is your sign it is ready.
- It will look thinner than you expect while hot, and it thickens as it cools.
- Use a small saucepan so you can watch the level drop and it does not reduce too fast.
Once it has cooled, pour it into an airtight jar and keep it in the refrigerator. I drizzle it over rice bowls, grilled fish and homemade sushi, and a little goes a long way because the flavor is concentrated. Taste it before adding it to anything salty, since soy sauce is the base.
I keep this recipe filed in the side dishes and salads page, alongside the ones it pairs with.
PrintEasy Eel Sauce Recipe with 3 Ingredients
A sweet and savory Japanese-style sauce made by simmering soy sauce, sugar and mirin until reduced and syrupy. Drizzle it over sushi, rice bowls or grilled fish.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
- 1/2 White Sugar
- 1/2 Mirin (Japanese sweet wine)
Instructions
- Gather Ingredients: Ensure you have soy sauce, sugar, and mirin on hand.
- Preparation: Measure out the required quantities of each ingredient.
- Heat the Saucepan: Place a small saucepan on the stove and set it to medium heat.
- Combine Ingredients: Pour the soy sauce, sugar, and mirin into the saucepan.
- Stir: Using a whisk or a spatula, stir the mixture to ensure the sugar starts dissolving.
- Monitor Heat: As the mixture heats up, ensure it doesn't boil vigorously. If it starts to, reduce the heat slightly.
- Continue Cooking: Keep stirring occasionally, ensuring the mixture doesn't stick or burn at the bottom.
- Check Consistency: As the sauce simmers, it will reduce and thicken. Cook until it reduces to about 3/4 cup.
- Cooling: Once done, remove the saucepan from heat. Let the sauce cool; it will thicken more as it cools down.
- Storage: Transfer the cooled sauce to an airtight container or jar and store it in the refrigerator if not used immediately.
Get our 10 best recipes - free
Join the Receipster newsletter and we’ll send you Dorothy’s 10 most-loved recipes as a free PDF.
Free PDF + new recipes every week. Unsubscribe anytime.
