Kabayaki

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Kabayaki (蒲焼, Kabayaki^?) is a generic Japanese term for a dish of seafood which is filleted, boned and dipped in a sweet soy sauce-base sauce before broiled on a grill. In general, kabayaki refers to the dish made with unagi. Kabayaki eel is very popular as a nutritious, stamina-generating food. Many people still follow customs from the Edo period to eat kabayaki during the summer, especially on the particular day called "doyo-no ushi-no-hi", which is in the mid summer when people's fatigue from heat is about to start accumulating. In the Kantō region (eastern Japan), an eel is filleted from its back and is steamed before grilling, while in the Kansai region (western Japan) it is opened from its belly side and directly grilled without being steamed. While kabayaki is often served by itself, they are also served with rice and called unadon　when it is in a large bowl and unaju when in a tiered food box. Sichuan Pepper may be added before eating. A related dish is mamushi (which is not related to the snake of the same name).