3 New Ways To Enjoy Hitsumabushi at UnaUna

If you want to enjoy quality unagi at an affordable price in Singapore, UnaUna is probably your best bet. Their signature dish is hitsumabushi, one of the most famous dishes from Nagoya, Japan. They’ve recently come up with a Premium Hitsumabushi Set that puts a spin on tradition and introduces 3 new ways to enjoy the dish!

Premium Hitsumabushi Set, L size. Photo by UnaUna.

What is Hitsumabushi?

Hitsumabushi features a bowl of sliced grilled unagi (freshwater eel) and rice, which comes alongside an assortment of condiments. UnaUna offers the classic hitsumabushi in 4 sizes: the best-value S ($10.80), M ($16.80), L ($19.80) and the 3 to 4-person portion XL ($52.80).

There’s a specific way to eat this dish, and the first order of business is to never eat directly from the main bowl. Instead, dish out about a quarter portion into the smaller bowl given to you, and from there, there are 3 traditional steps to enjoying this dish.

Step 1: Plain

For the first method, simply enjoy the unagi and rice on its own! This lets the natural qualities of the ingredients shine through and gives you a taste of the classic unagi don flavour.

Step 2: With Condiments

Hitsumabushi with wasabi and spring onions. Photo by UnaUna.

Dish out another small portion of unagi and rice into your small bowl, and this time, add some of the provided wasabi and spring onions inside. Mix it up and enjoy—this method adds a bright and fresh flavour to the dish.

Step 3: With Condiments and Dashi

Hitsumabushi with wasabi, spring onions and dashi. Photo by UnaUna.

Scoop out a third portion and add wasabi and spring onions again, but this time top the bowl off with dashi (Japanese soup stock). The dashi transforms the dish into a comforting, warm bowl, adding a subtle umami note that doesn’t overpower the other flavours.

After sampling the dish with these 3 methods, you can finish up the remaining portion in whichever style you liked the most!

3 New Methods to Enjoy Hitsumabushi

UnaUna’s Premium Hitsumabushi Set ($19.90 for M, $22.90 for L) comes with extra ingredients including seaweed wraps, ikura and spicy sauce. With this, UnaUna introduces 3 new ways to enjoy hitsumabushi!

Step 4 (New): With Seaweed Wrap

Hitsumabushi on seaweed wrap. Photo by UnaUna.

Place a scoop of rice and unagi on the seaweed wrap and enjoy! The nori gives a seafood-y umami boost and adds a slight crisp texture, making it pleasantly different from the traditional variations.

Step 5 (New): With Seaweed Wrap and Ikura

Hitsumabushi on seaweed wrap with ikura. Photo by UnaUna.

The ikura makes this a decadent mouthful, adding a briny burst of flavour. If you’re an ikura lover, this is for you.

Step 6 (New): With Seaweed Wrap, Ikura and Spicy Sauce

Hitsumabushi on seaweed wrap with ikura and spicy sauce. Photo by UnaUna.

This sauce is sweet and surprisingly spicy, adding a kick to what is normally a pretty mild dish. This is a strongly flavoured bite that’s definitely a change from the regular hitsumabushi, but is delicious nonetheless!

90-min Free Flow Sake only at VivoCity

Enjoy 90 minutes of free flow Yamagata sake for only $30! The Yamagata Prefecture’s sake industry is the first in Japan to receive the Geographical Indication (GI) status, which means you can be assured of its quality and Japanese origin.

This promotion is limited to the VivoCity outlet and is available on a first-come, first serve basis.