Eel Sauce

Transform your favorite dishes with this savory, sweet, and umami-packed eel sauce! Perfect for drizzling over sushi, rice bowls, or roasted vegetables, this plant-based alternative delivers all the flavor without any animal products. Made with just a few simple ingredients, it’s an easy way to elevate your meals.

What is traditional eel sauce?

Traditional eel sauce, also known as unagi no tare in Japanese cuisine, is a thick, sweet, and savory glaze often used on grilled eel (unagi) or freshwater eel (anago).

It’s made from a blend of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin (a sweet rice wine), and sometimes includes sake for added depth.

The sauce is typically brushed over the eel during grilling or drizzled onto dishes like sushi or rice bowls, enhancing their rich, umami flavors.

What ingredients go into this eel sauce recipe?

In a vegan eel sauce recipe, these ingredients play vital roles in creating the traditional sweet-savory flavor profile:

Soy Sauce forms the base of the sauce, providing a deep, salty umami flavor that mimics the savory richness found in traditional eel sauce. Its balance of saltiness enhances the other sweet and tangy components.

Sugar adds the characteristic sweetness to the sauce, countering the saltiness of the soy sauce and helping to create the sticky, glossy texture as it caramelizes when cooked.

Mirin or Rice Vinegar: Mirin contributes a gentle sweetness and a subtle, tangy depth, elevating the flavor complexity. If rice vinegar is used as a substitute, it offers a sharper tang, which can be balanced with slightly more sugar to achieve a similar effect. Both also help to create a smooth, glaze-like consistency.

How to make Eel Sauce?

Give all the ingredients into a small saucepan.

Mix them well, them bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium or medium-low heat and let the eel sauce simmer. Keep stirring with a wire whisk for about 15 minutes.

Now the eel sauce should be a little sticky. Perfect for serving.

Serving Suggestions

• Drizzle the sauce over vegetable sushi rolls or vegan nigiri to add a sweet-savory glaze that enhances every bite.
• Use it as a topping for rice bowls with tofu, avocado, roasted vegetables, and sesame seeds for a burst of umami flavor.
• Brush it onto grilled eggplant, zucchini, or mushrooms to mimic the smoky, caramelized finish of traditional unagi dishes.
• Toss the sauce with stir-fried udon or soba noodles, along with bok choy, snap peas, and a sprinkle of scallions for a quick, flavorful meal.

What to do with leftovers?

Leftover eel sauce can be stored and reused in several ways:

Storage: Transfer the sauce to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to one week. If the recipe has been properly cooked and cooled, it may also be frozen for up to 2–3 months.

Reuse Ideas: Reheat and use it as a glaze for roasted or grilled vegetables, a dip for dumplings or spring rolls, or as a flavorful addition to fried rice or noodle dishes.

Boost Flavors: Stir a spoonful into soups, marinades, or dressings to add a rich umami touch to your meals.

Other sauce recipes to try

• Gochujang Sauce
• Hibachi Chicken Sauce
• Tamarind Sauce
• Easy Thai Brown Sauce Recipe
• Homemade Japanese White Sauce Recipe

I hope you love this eel sauce as much as I do—it’s such a versatile and delicious addition to so many dishes!

If you give it a try, snap a photo and share it on Instagram or Facebook—I’d love to see your creations.

Don’t forget to leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out, and if you enjoyed it, please give it a star rating!