• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • meet the team
  • blogger resources
  • Contact Me
My Account
Member Dashboard
40 Aprons Premium (Ad Free!)

40 Aprons

Delicious, Healthy-ish Meals for the Whole Family

  • All Recipes
  • Most Popular
    • Cheryl’s Favorites
    • 30-Minute Recipes
    • Creamy Soups
    • Copycat Recipes
    • Casseroles
    • One-Dish Wonders
  • Method
    • Air Fryer
    • Baking
    • Crockpot
    • Grilling
    • Instant Pot
    • Sous Vide
  • Course
    • Appetizers
    • Cooking Basics
    • Breakfast
    • Condiments
    • Dessert
    • Main Course
    • Meal Prep
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
  • Cuisine
    • American
    • Asian
    • Indian
    • Italian
    • Mediterranean
    • Mexican & Latin
    • Southern
Home Blog Course Condiments & Sauces

Eel Sauce

Cheryl Malik
Cheryl Malik Posted: 07/16/21 Updated: 02/03/23
Leave a Comment
Jump to Recipe
DF Dairy Free LC Low Carb VG Vegetarian

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Pin graphic for eel sauce
Pin graphic for eel sauce
Pin graphic for eel sauce
Pin graphic for eel sauce
Pin graphic for eel sauce
Pin graphic for eel sauce
Pin graphic for eel sauce
Pin graphic for eel sauce
Pin graphic for eel sauce
Pin graphic for eel sauce

Eel sauce is a sweet and salty Japanese sauce that’s commonly served on sushi and is just delicious on chicken or fish. It’s SO easy to make (and there’s no eel involved!) and takes your homemade Japanese food to the next level.

Eel sauce drizzled over pieces of sushi on a white plate

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Eel sauce is one of my favorite condiments. There’s just so much flavor! It’s a little sweet and a little smokey with this beautiful umami that I just can’t get enough of.
  • This is such a simple recipe – you only need 4 ingredients! And none of them are eel, so if you’re squeamish, don’t worry. You’ll love this sauce.
  • It’s perfect on sushi or fried rice, but I also like to use it on chicken, tofu, and fish. It’s really versatile and complements each protein nicely. You can even use it on grilled or steamed green veggies!
  • Leftover eel sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 weeks, so this is a great condiment to have on hand or make in advance! You can easily double the quantities to make a larger amount of eel sauce, too.

Key Ingredients

Soy Sauce – The base of eel sauce, soy sauce gives it that delicious, salty taste. The levels of saltiness vary from one brand of soy sauce to another, so keep that in mind when you’re shopping and cooking. You can use a low-sodium soy sauce if you’re concerned about it being too much. You can also use a gluten-free soy sauce to make gluten-free eel sauce!

Sake – I love the depth you get from sake! The alcohol cooks out and you’re left with this rich umami that’s just unbeatable. If you’re trying to avoid sake, there’s not really a good substitute here. You can use water to thin the other ingredients like sake would, but it won’t have the rich umami or the sweetness that sake has.

Mirin – If you aren’t able to find mirin, you can use a little extra sugar and a little extra sake (or water) in its place. It won’t have the exact same flavor, but it should work.

Chef’s Tips

  • The end consistency should be thick and rich, like a syrup. Make sure you lower the heat on the stove so it just simmers – overcooking will affect the consistency. If your heat is too high, the eel sauce can burn.
  • If the sauce thickens too much, you can stir in a little water or a little more sake to thin it back out.
  • To freeze the eel sauce, let it cool completely then transfer it to a freezer-safe, airtight container. It can be frozen up to 6 months. Just reheat it on the stove over low heat when you’re ready to eat it! You may need to add a little liquid to thin it out, but the heat should take care of it for the most part.
Eel sauce in a jar

Try These Other Sauces, Too!

  • Miso Dressing
  • Asian Salad Dressing
  • Japanese Salad Dressing
  • Avocado Dressing
  • Lemon Butter Sauce
  • Creamy Dill Sauce for Salmon
  • Hot Bacon Dressing
  • Smoky Chipotle Mayo

Hey – you’ve made it this far, so now we’re basically best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a quick review & star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook, too!

Eel sauce in a jar

Eel Sauce

Prep:10 minutes
Cook:20 minutes
Total:30 minutes
Eel sauce is a sweet and salty Japanese sauce that's commonly served on sushi and is just delicious on chicken or fish. It's SO easy to make (and there's no eel involved!) and takes your homemade Japanese food to the next level.
Print Save Saved! Click Here to Remove Ads
12

Ingredients

  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • 4 tablespoons white sugar see Notes
  • ½ cup mirin (Japanese sweet wine)
  • 2 tablespoons sake

Equipment

  • Small saucepan

Instructions 

  • Combine all ingredients in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring liquid to boil, then lower heat to medium-low. Cook roughly 15-20 minutes, stirring regularly, until liquid is reduced to approximately ¾ cup.
    Eel sauce in a small white saucepan
  • Remove from heat and transfer to container with lid. Sauce will thicken as it cools. When completely cool, serve or refrigerate until later.

Notes

  • White Sugar: To reduce the sugar content, use granular Swerve in place of the white sugar. Mirin is sweetened, so this recipe won’t be completely sugar free.
  • Make it Gluten Free: Use a gluten free soy sauce.
 
Recipe yields approximately 12 1-tablespoon servings. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving out of 12 using the ingredients listed. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by 12. Result will be the weight of one serving.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1tablespoon, Calories: 39kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 615mg, Potassium: 21mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 6g, Calcium: 2mg, Iron: 1mg, Net Carbs: 8g

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

 

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

 

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

© Author: Cheryl Malik

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @40aprons on social and be sure to leave a review on the blog post!

Rate Recipe Tag Me on Instagram
Cheryl Malik

Meet Cheryl Malik

Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She's been a blogger for 10+ years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of three who lives in Memphis, TN.

Read more...

You may also like...

  • 4 fish tacos lined up on a platter next to a glass jar of fish taco sauce
    Fish Taco Sauce
  • A small bowl of keto bbq sauce surrounded by pulled pork
    Keto BBQ Sauce
  • 5 Minute Paleo Caramel Sauce (Vegan)
    5-Minute Paleo Caramel Sauce (Vegan)

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Have a question? Submit your question or comment below.

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

What’s Popular?

Reusable meal prep trays with sweet potato, scrambled eggs, and sausage for a whole30 breakfast

Whole30 Breakfast Meal Prep

Crispy, golden air fryer tater tots in a large white serving bowl next to a small ramekin of bright red ketchup.

Air Fryer Tater Tots

Overhead view of marry me chicken in a cast iron skillet

Marry Me Chicken (Chicken in a Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce)

Instant pot chicken and rice in a bowl

Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice

In Season

Whole30 In-n-Out burgers close up

Whole30 Burgers – Burger Joint Style (Paleo, Low Carb)

Overhead photo of keto chicken tortilla soup in a rustic bowl

Keto Chicken Tortilla Soup (Low Carb, Gluten Free)

Air fryer chicken wings on a platter with sauce

Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings in Buffalo Sauce

Instant pot frozen chicken breast - easy chicken recipes for dinners with few ingredients

Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Breast

As seen on:

More Goodies + NO Ads!

Become a 40 Aprons Premium Member!

All the 40 Aprons content you love - now even better.

  • Member-Exclusive Recipes
  • Meal Plans & Grocery Lists
  • eBooks
  • NO ADS!
Join now

Privacy Policy

Accessibility

Disclaimers

Contact

© 2023 40 Aprons
Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled
Back to Top
58 shares