Vegan Unagi Don (うなぎもどき丼 - Unagi Modoki Don)
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 28 июл 2024
- Due to a 1200 year ban on eating meat, Japan has a rich history of mock meats and seafood. Unagi is no exception, and this Vegan Unagi Don (うなぎもどき丼) glazed in savory-sweet unagi sauce is an easy fix that will satisfy vegans, vegetarians, and seafood lovers alike. I also include a recipe for high-protein tofu and sesame rice that pairs beautifully with this glazed eggplant.
HELP ME OUT ▶ norecipes.com/help/
SUBSCRIBE TO MY SECRET RECIPE STASH ▶ marcsrecipes.com/
Your membership supports my channel, and you get exclusive recipes weekly.
SUBSCRIBE TOO MY CHANNEL ▶ bit.ly/Sub2NRYT
VEGAN UNAGI DON RECIPE ▶ norecipes.com/vegan-unagi-don/
INGREDIENTS FOR RICE
150 grams firm tofu
155 grams short-grain rice (1 rice cooker cup)
13 grams sesame seeds (2 tablespoons)
INGREDIENTS FOR VEGAN UNAGI
375 grams eggplant (~2 Japanese eggplants)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup sake
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
✚ FEATURED TABLEWARE ✚
Donburi
musubikiln.com/products/baiza...
Condiment Plate
musubikiln.com/collections/pl...
Gold Leaf Chopstick Rest
musubikiln.com/collections/ch...
✚ FOLLOW NO RECIPES ✚
Instagram: / norecipes
Pinterest: / norecipes
Facebook: / norecipessite
Twitter: / norecipes
✚ SHOPPING ✚
JAPANESE TABLEWARE (5% off with “NORECIPES")
musubikiln.com/collections/ma...
INGREDIENTS (10% off first order with “NORECIPES”)
kokorocares.com/marc-matsumot...
KITCHEN TOOLS (10% off with "NORECIPES")
en.bentoandco.com/collections...
✚ GEAR ✚
You can find most of the kitchen and camera gear I used to make this video in my Amazon shop. Buying things from my shop (even stuff you search for that’s not listed on the page) doesn't cost you anything extra and it helps to support this channel.
www.amazon.com/shop/norecipes
✚ MUSIC ✚
soundstripe.com?fpr=norecipes
www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
INDEX:
0:00 Intro
0:47 Ingredients
1:24 Prep Rice
2:49 Prep Mock Unagi
3:35 Pan-fry Vegan Unagi
6:16 Torch “Unagi”
7:35 Taste Test 
Хобби
As someone who's been vegetarian their whole life, I've been sad missing out on Japanese dishes involving fish or meat. Absolutely love this alternative; I can't wait to try it!
I'm glad to hear I could help. I'm not vegetarian, but as a chef it's fun challenge to figure out plant-based alternatives that rival the original dishes they're based on. I have a playlist of plant-based recipes here ruclips.net/p/PLP3Ew88wjvg9MBWLxiBvJGnxK-QCc3qXf as well as a vegetarian category on my website that has over 300 recipe: norecipes.com/diet/vegetarian/
Arigatō gozaimasu for sharing your vegetarian recipes ♥️🌱
Yay, alternative way to enjoy japanese cuisine 🇯🇵🍜 !!!
I feel bad for you. You'll never know the absolute pleasure of a REAL unagi don. Stop imitating real food and eat real food already.
I'm a big fan of eggplant and Tofu I'm excited to try this recipe thank you.
I hope you enjoy it! I've eaten it way too much over the past few weeks testing different variations, but it will definitely be going on regular rotation over here.
This is amazing 🤩 Thank you very much :)
Like so many others, I’m very appreciative that you’ve created plant-based versions of popular Japanese dishes. I’m not vegan, but I care about where my food comes from and what nutritional value it holds. This looks amazing, and since I’m a huge fan of unagi, I cannot wait to try this. I have 3 small fairy tale eggplants growing in my container garden, so I will be turning them into unagi very soon. It really looks just like real eel.
I'm so happy to hear it 😄 I'm not an adherent to any specific diet either and tend to favor balance(nutritionally, environmentally and spiritually) and variety over most other considerations. Freshwater eel has been overfished to the point that the prices have skyrocketed over the past few years so I've been avoiding it. Fairytale eggplants should work great for this, but you may need to adjust the cooking times a bit as I think they are quite a bit smaller than the eggplants I used. I hope you enjoy it!
Ah yes, more vegan recipes! Thank you so much!
You're welcome Brianna, I have a plant-based playlist here: ruclips.net/p/PLP3Ew88wjvg9MBWLxiBvJGnxK-QCc3qXf and over a 100 vegan-friendly recipes on my website: norecipes.com/diet/vegan/
My new favorite recipe. Thank you so much!
Wow thanks Jess, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it so much!
This is amazing! Really enjoyed watching your video and the creativity. I’m going to try this soon ! Thanks for sharing
Thank you, I hope you enjoy it!
Thank a lot, I was about to go to make dinner, got the perfect dinner recipe just in time 😳 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Good timing! I hope you enjoyed it😄
Delicious sharing. God bless you and Have a wonderful day .
Thank you! I hope you have a chance to try it out😀
made this today, it was so delicious!
Hi Millie, I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it!
I've made this twice now. It's delicious every time!
So happy to hear you've been enjoying it!
Thank u for explaining umami!
You're welcome Jenny!
Can't state this enough, I love your channel 😍😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰🥰
Thank you 😊 Your comment made my morning!
I'm not even a vegan but I watch these regularly because they're delicious. Thank you!
You're welcome! I'm not vegan either, but I enjoy making good food with veggies😀
Nice! Thank u!
You're welcome!
Waaa looks good ! I know what I’m going to make for tomorrow’s dinner !!
Thanks Aynaed, I hope you enjoy this!
Wow look awesome and yummy, i will try making it
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it!
Sehr gute Rezepte, danke ❤️, Glückwunsch zu genau 120.000 Abonennten! Liebe Grüße aus Österreich
You're welcome, thank you!
Awesome 👍 so hard to find tasty & filling plantbased versions of Japanese dishes 😃 thanks 👍
Thanks! Yea, that's the crazy thing about Japanese food, it's often 90+% plant based, but there's always something that makes it not.
@@NoRecipes thanks Marc- so true, that little bit of fish dashi! BTW I also loved listening to your talk with Ollie and Bobby of Japan By River Cruise & would love to talk with you on my show Seeking Sustainability in Japan talkshow-podcast to promote the awesome plantbased Japanese food recipes you have - we need to encourage restaurant owners to make this more sustainable change!
@@seeksustainablejapan Sorry I missed this! Thanks for listening to my chat with Ollie and Bobby. Things are a little crazy for me through the rest of this year, but perhaps we can do something early next year? Please send me an email through the site and we schedule a time to chat.
Thank you for this recipe. I have many eggplants growing in my garden and I have been running out of ways to cook them. I will try this method. It looks very tasty! Oh, and I have many Shishito peppers growing, also. I have used your dry grilling recipe for them.
You're welcome! Make sure the pick the eggplants on the younger side so their seeds aren't too big. I hope you enjoy it!
Oh! Thank you for vegan foods it looks amazing, I missed unagi don. I’m coming back for vegan. I watched your video long time ago make curry from scratch, you still look young haven’t change much 👍, thank you for sharing.
Hi Maryduc, thank you for coming back to the channel! It's funny that you mention the curry video as I've just released a vegan Japanese curry video this week. ruclips.net/video/uLw1uecKM08/видео.html
I definitely want to try this vegan version (the rice looks like it'd be tasty on its own!), but this did remind me I have some unagi in my freezer that I haven't used. Maybe I'll use what I have and round back to this!
😄Sounds like a plan!
oh man, I can almost taste it!
Maybe for your next dinner party?😉
Just perfect Marc. I love Unagi, but I try to eat mostly vegan/plant-based. Can not wait to make this, and great idea to add tofu and toasted sesame seeds to the rice.
Thanks Kent, I hope you enjoy it!
@@NoRecipes I'm making it again for the 5th time tonight! Thanks again for these delicious plant-based recipes.
@@kentwilliamalbin9236 Wow, at this point I think you've made this more than me 😄 Glad to hear you've been enjoying it so much!
great recipie ^^
Thank you!
Ohhhhhhhhhh 🤤❤️❤️❤️❤️ ty
You're welcome!
looks so beautiful〜‼️ Unagi👍 Unagi🤩 eggplant 🍆 I wanna try today😁
Thank you for sharing🙏
Thank you! I hope you get a chance to try it😉
Senseiiiiiii!!! You've done it again! You've answered a question that had been absolutely driving me nuts for 20 years! We can't get Japanese-raised unagi here in Canada (as far as I know, anyway) and I don't want to eat unagi from the country we do import them from, so I haven't had this dish in a long, loooooooong time. I had been wracking my brain, trying to come up with an alternative. Thank you!!
Even in Japan it's hard to find 国産 raised unagi because they're been over fished. 1/4 of an unagi will set you back $20-30. Kindai supposedly came up with a way to farm raise unagi from eggs, but it's been years since I first heard about it and I haven't seen any in stores, so I'm guessing it's still not commercially viable. This has proven to be a pretty good substitute, especially if you sprinkle some sansho on top.
@@NoRecipes That makes me sad to hear about Japanese unagi. =(
When I lived there, they were still cheap and plentiful. *sigh*
In Toronto Canada we can buy farm raised Japanese unagi in Korean grocery stores. It's roasted in sauce and frozen, and while not cheap, it's not outrageously expensive. IIRC, they catch the tiny eels as they come in from the sea to rivers, and then raise them in ponds or tanks. No one knows yet where the Pacific eels breed. The Atlantic eels breed in the Sargasso Sea.
@@kathcares I have been in top-secret talks with Marc on this...on how to get it even closer to the real thing. I have been bouncing some TRULY unusual ideas off of him, and he has been giving me his opinion on whether or not they will work. You will see my, "unagi," video...one of these days. =)
@@kathcares lmaoooooo
U rock!!
😊 thanks
I would love to try this recipe looks delicious I love eggplant dishes and a must in my menu.
Marc if I can’t find sake can I substitute with mirin vinegar kindly advise xx
Mirin is much sweeter than sake so if you use it as a substitute you will need to reduce the amount of sugar in the sauce. You'll also want to make sure the mirin doesn't have any added salt or it will be too salty. As for rice vinegar, I do not recommend it. Sake is not sour and adding vinegar will make the dish taste off. Also, the reason for adding sake is for the amino acid content (which creates the taste of umami), rice vinegar has very little amino acid content so you won't be getting the benefit of adding sake.
Hi amigo looks really yummy ur recipe thanks.
Thanks Xiomara! I hope you had a good weekend!
@@NoRecipes I did, u too thanks, every Sunday is a church day have a wonderful week.
スゴイ!
Thanks!
This looks amazing!
Any tips for those that don't have a rice cooker? Can I still just do it in a pot as usual?
Thanks! Yes if you have a method you already use for your setup that works, just reduce the amount of water by about 2 tablespoons and you should be good. Otherwise you can use the method shown in my sushi rice video (which already has the water reduced).
Would this recipe work if I wanted to make hitsumabushi? I love the idea of using eggplant!
Hi Stephanie! It's an interesting idea, but I don't think this will work too well in the last step of hitsumabushi where you eat it as ochazuke. I think the eggplant will get soggy. It would definitely be good with other condiments though!
Hi Marc! Just discovered this recipe - I haven't had unagi like that in more than 10 years! I can't really find eel where I live and I've been craving this for years! Only question though... What substitute is good for sake and mirin? I don't consume alcohol... I know I could find the answer online but I rather trust you for that! I can't wait to do this!
Hi Ya-chan, sake is added to the sauce for umami and flavor. You can use MSG as a substitute for the umami, but there is no suitable substitute for the flavor. If you're concerned about the alcohol, it burns off when you cook it. You can watch this to learn more about why sake is so important in Japanese food: ruclips.net/video/C2p6MN4EVeA/видео.html
I love eggplant.
It's such a versatile ingredient😄
Just finished eating this. AMAZING!!!🤩 I wasn't concerned with how much it would taste like unagi, which I love, and I don't know if it's going to curb anyone's craving for it, but it totally satisfied my craving for eggplant! The eggplant is creamy and light, the sauce is luscious, and the char adds that extra touch that makes this dish feel decadent and restaurant-worthy. (You finally got me to buy a kitchen torch!😁)
I made the side element to suit my low-carb regimen by using cauliflower cut into tiny florets. Sautéed it in some plain sesame oil, seasoned it with Magic Umami Seasoning, and when the cauliflower was near tender, added the crumbled tofu and ground sesame seeds. I honestly like it better than rice! The ground sesame seeds give it an amazingly satisfying flavor.
I would serve this to guests; it was that good. (I'd give you all the credit, of course!) I'm going to try it with zucchini for my Eggplant Hater. I'm sure it will be just as delicious, but in a zucchini-kinda way!😂
Hahaha, this isn't going to fool anyone into thinking it's unagi, but for me the best part of unagi is that sauce, so it sates that craving. As a kid I used to ask for unagi donburi without the unagi..... which in retrospect is kinda like a vegetarian girl I once dated who would order a big mac without the patties. 🤣
Great idea on the cauliflower as a rice substitute. I love the idea of stir-frying it with tofu and sesame seeds/oil. Gonna try that as a side as soon as cauliflower is back in season.
@@NoRecipes Thanks! It reminded me of the "tofu scramble" that my hippie veg friends were so fond of down in Santa Cruz. Much better, though. Eating Health Food with a bunch of druggies was always good for a laugh!
Glad you can find cauliflower again. it's so succulent with that Umami Salt on it! Even though I had eaten lunch, I just had to eat the leftovers; still delicious! Picked up some zucchini today to try subbing with so the hubs can enjoy it. Thanks a million!💖😍
@@NoRecipes I just made this with zucchini and it is FABULOUS! My husband adores it! I think I love both of them. The zucchini explodes with juicy flavor as you bite into it! The eggplant was so creamy and unctuous! I will have to figure out how to have both on one plate.😍
@@kathcares That sounds good! Now I wanna try it, but zucchini season is over here and they're going for a few dollars a pop.
@@NoRecipes It's the skinny eggplants that I have trouble finding. Zucchini's usually pretty reasonable here, probably because we have it coming from Mexico when it's not being grown here. I really was surprised how good it was. I hate to make substitutions for things I already think are perfect. But when you have a picky eater, you have no choice. He even picked the tomatoes out of the Lomo Saltado, but that just meant more for me!😁
I cannot wait to make this! Just got back from Japan and the eating was tough for a vegetarian, whew! I’m going to buy some sake now! What do you think about adding fresh ginger to this dish?
Sorry for the late reply! I think ginger would make a fantastic garnish! I wouldn't recommend adding it to the sauce though because it will make it cloudy. Yea, the difficulty in Japan is that most vegetable dishes are seasoned with dashi so it's a little difficult to find foods that are vegan. Things are starting to change though and I've found some fantastic vegan options in Tokyo recently. Some higher end places can make accommodations if you let them know far enough in advance.
@@NoRecipes Thank you! I added ginger and it was great. So good that my vegan son made it and also enjoyed. Aragato gosimos. 🙏
this looks good lol
Thank you!
Hello
Looks delicious
What can i use instead of sake?
Sake is added to the sauce for umami and flavor. You can use MSG as a substitute for the umami, but there is no suitable substitute for the flavor. If you're concerned about the alcohol, it burns off when you cook it. You can watch this to learn more about why sake is so important in Japanese food: ruclips.net/video/C2p6MN4EVeA/видео.html
Hi! Is there any difference with using sake over mirin? And vice versa? Thank you!
Hi J Clark, although they're both alcoholic beverages made with rice, mirin and sake are made using different processes and have a very different taste. The biggest issue with substituting is that mirin is much sweeter than sake, so it will throw the sweetness of the dish off. Mirin is a fantastic ingredient if you can find a real one, but unfortunately most sold outside of Japan are fake (a mixture of corn syrup and MSG mixed with alcohol and color). Real mirin is brewed with rice, koji, water, and sometimes alcohol, but if your mirin contains any other ingredients it's probably not real. It's much easier to find real sake (as long as you're not using cooking sake) abroad which is why I generally use sake, along with some sugar in my recipes. If you want to learn more about sake and why it's so important in Japanese cuisine, check out this 4-part series I made about it: ruclips.net/video/C2p6MN4EVeA/видео.html
Can I premix the saki, water and sugar before pouring into pan?
Yes, just make sure the sugar is dissolved otherwise you'll end up with sludge on the bottom of your bowl that's hard to get out.
Omg this looks soooo scrumptious. I love unagi don so much but it is pricey in Thailand. One piece of freeze unagi is about $8- $10. Definitely will try this one!
Thanks! Unagi is expensive lately because it's been overfished and they are approaching endangered status. The problem is that even "farmed" unagi is caught in the wild as baby eel and just raised in a farm. No one has figured out a commercially viable way to raise eel from eggs. Half of an unagi fillet will cost you about $15-20 here in Japan.
what can you substitute the sake with?
Please read this: norecipes.com/what-is-sake/
If I don't have SaKe , how can I put something in there?
Sake is added to the sauce for umami and flavor. You can use MSG as a substitute for the umami, but there is no suitable substitute for the flavor. If you're concerned about the alcohol, it burns off when you cook it. You can watch this to learn more about why sake is so important in Japanese food: ruclips.net/video/C2p6MN4EVeA/видео.html
👉 unagi!!
I'm in Italy and am always perplexed when I hear "vegetable oil". Does this mean "not lard" or not olive oil, or peanut, rice or sunflower oil?
It's an umbrella term that generally refers to any oil extracted from a vegetable with a neutral flavor. Canola oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, rice bran oil, corn oil, etc fall into this category. Olive oil has a flavor so would not fall into this category. Hope that helps!
Can you substitute sake with white wine?
Hi Tay, you can, but I would not recommend it. Sake does not have very much acidity so the wine will throw that off. Also, the reason for adding sake is to add amino acids (which creates the taste of umami). Since wine is made from grapes (which don't contain much protein), wine does not contain very many amino acids, and you won't get the umami taste from it.
@@NoRecipes Thank you. :)
Hmm, oil damages the lining of the coronary veins, the endothelium. How about maybe steaming the eggplant until it is very soft?
Hi Jake, it won't be as creamy, but it will work.
Think you gotta tone down the energy a bit.
But thanks for the recipe
🤣 it’s cooking, I can’t help but get a little excited
Oishii sou!…..
Thanks!
looks good, but those eggplants goes through a lot
They do indeed, but that's what transforms them😉
So this is why you intentionally wrote "unagi". 😅
Don't habe Mirren or saki
Hi Jenny, these ingredients add umami to the sauce so they're pretty important for plant-based recipes like this as eggplant won't have as many umami producing amino acids as unagi.
damn this overexpressiveness is creepy
lmao. I noticed that too. It's like he's forcing his smile and is about to cry at any second
Creepy definitely isn't what I'm going for, so I'm sorry to hear you feel that way. I do get pretty excited when I get to teach people how to cook though. 😆
@@NoRecipes I suppose 87,000+ subscribers like you just fine. As for me, I love your personality; gets me excited to try the recipes! I can't even make this one because my husband hates eggplant, but I watched it anyway just because I get a kick out of you😍 Guess you're bound to attract some trolls🙄
@@kathcares Thanks for your support Kathy! So much negativity out there I guess some people are taken aback when something is positive for a change🤷🏽♂️
Your judgmental negativity is more creepy. If you don’t like it, why are you here?? Marc is just trying to share some delicious, creative recipes and clearly it makes him happy to do so.