Shizuoka Specialty: What is Unagi Pie?

Unagi is a freshwater eel that can be seen in Japanese cooking. The sliced, grilled meat is used as a sushi topping and expensive compared to Anago, a saltwater eel that can also be seen in sushi in a sliced, grilled form. The best Japanese dish using Unagi is arguably “Unagi no Kabayaki (うなぎの蒲焼)“.

The char-grilled eel, Unagi no Kabayaki is one of the exquisite dishes that Japan can boast to the world, but what comes to your mind when you think of Japanese sweets using Unagi eel?

Unagi Pie (うなぎパイ)

As for me, the answer in my mind is the “Unagi Pie (うなぎパイ)” pictured above, which, in fact, is probably the most famous Japanese confection associated with Unagi. 

Unagi Pie actually uses a wee bit of Unagi, only a little bit of the powdered extract, but neither contains the actual eel meat nor tastes of Unagi.

In the making, the eel extract is kneaded into the flour dough, and after the dough is baked, it is brushed with a Tare sauce.

The resulting treat is a crispy, sweet-savory pie pastry, which is produced and sold by “Shunkado (春華堂)”, a confectionery maker whose head office is in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture.

The city, Hamamatsu is situated near Lake Hamana where the cultivation of Unagi eels was once prosperous.

So the confection, Unagi Pie is said to have been created after the fact, emulating “Palmier” french cookies, and began to be sold in 1961.

Ingredients and Calories

Specifically, according to the official website of Shunkado, their Unagi Pie is made mainly with wheat flour, sugar, dairy product, eel powder, starch syrup, fructooligosaccharides syrup, Unagi flavoring, and garlic.

By the way, the calories per piece are about 79 kcal.

Where to Buy 

Shunkado Unagi Pie is on sale throughout the year and can be bought at expressway rest areas, airport souvenir shops, or the like, in and outside of Shizuoka.

(Reference Page: Wikipedia うなぎパイ )