Vegan Eggplant “Unagi” Bowl (Nasu no Kabayaki)
Nozomi & Mirai | Plant-Based Sisters 👭🇯🇵 cooked this in an Instagram reel. SeeMeCook wrote it up from the reel as a full recipe and added ingredient weights and nutrition.
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A plant-based alternative to Japanese grilled eel (unagi) using steamed and pan-seared eggplant glazed in a sweet and savory sauce. Known in Japan as nasu no kabayaki, it offers a tender, satisfying texture that mimics the classic seafood dish.
- Time
- 25 minutes
- Equipment
- Stovetop
- Good for
- Lunch or dinner
- Cuisine
- East Asian
- Contains
- Gluten, sesame, soy, fish, and alcohol
- Diet
- Pescatarian
Diet and allergen details are read from the ingredient names and are not certified.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 250 g
- 400 g
- 15 g
- 30 g
- 2 g
- 5 g
Sauce
- 35 g
- 35 g
- 12 g
- 15 g
- 3 g
Weights are estimates. Together, the ingredients weigh about 770 g before cooking, which is about 385 g per serving.
Steps
Peel the eggplant completely to remove all skin.
Steam the peeled eggplant until it is soft and tender.
Cut the surface of the steamed eggplant flat to ensure even browning during the searing process.
Lightly coat one side of the eggplant with flour.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium heat.
Pan-sear the eggplant on both sides until golden brown and slightly crispy.
Remove the eggplant from the pan and wipe away any excess oil with a paper towel.
In the same pan, combine the soy sauce, mirin, sugar, water, and dashi powder (if using).
Simmer the sauce on low heat until it has slightly thickened into a glaze.
Return the eggplant to the pan and coat it thoroughly with the thickened sauce.
Serve the glazed eggplant over bowls of warm cooked rice.
Top with toasted sesame seeds and chopped green onions as desired.
Notes
Adding sansho pepper (Japanese pepper) to the finished dish makes the flavor even closer to traditional unagi. The sauce also works well for tofu stir-fries.
Nutrition
These are estimates per serving, worked out from the ingredients.
- Calories
- 526
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 84 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fiber
- 5 g
Where the calories come from
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