Rice Meals · Japan

How Many Calories in Unagi Don?

Also known as うな丼, 鰻丼, うなぎ丼, Unadon, Unaju, Eel Rice Bowl, Kabayaki Eel Bowl.

Grilled eel glazed with a sweet soy tare and laid over rice, dusted with sansho pepper. Unadon comes in a bowl, unaju in a lacquer box with more eel. The midsummer 'Doyo no Ushi' tradition.

671kcal / 1 bowl
A regular unagi don at Sukiya is 671 calories, per Sukiya's published data, with about 80g of kabayaki eel on 260g of rice. A full unaju at an eel specialist is about 879 calories per calorie.slism.jp, because the box holds nearly double the eel.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 bowl (380g)AmountPer 100g
Calories671 kcal177 kcal
Protein30 g8 g
Carbs88 g23 g
Fat22 g6 g

Where the calories come from

White rice260g
405 kcal
Kabayaki eel80g
234 kcal
Tare glaze15g
30 kcal
Sansho pepper1g
0 kcal

The real talk

Unagi don is 671 calories at Sukiya for around 1,000 yen, which is the cheap end. The eel itself is fatty, about 293 calories per 100g as kabayaki, so an 80g piece is 234. The rice is 260g and about 405. The tare is sugar and soy, around 30 calories for the drizzle. Compared with a gyudon, you pay double and get about 40 more calories and 10g more protein, but the eel has omega-3 fat rather than beef tallow.

The specialist unaju is a different portion. A proper eel shop lays a whole 150g fillet across the box, and calorie.slism.jp puts that at 879 calories with 42g of protein. Those meals cost 3,500 to 5,000 yen, so people eat them once a year in July. The calories are high but the protein is real, and the fat in eel is largely unsaturated. As a once-a-year meal it is one of the more honest 900 calories in Japanese food.

The extras are small here. Kimosui, the clear soup with eel liver, is about 20 calories. Pickles are 5. Sansho pepper is nothing. So the number you order is the number you eat, unless you go 'omori' rice at Sukiya, which takes the bowl to 817 published. The eel does not change; only the rice does.

How the portions compare

560 kcal
Small bowl
671 kcal
Regular bowl
879 kcal
Unaju (full box)

Unagi Don variants, ranked by calories

VariantCaloriesNotes
Sukiya unadon regular671 kcalSukiya published
Sukiya unadon omori rice817 kcalSukiya published
Unaju at eel specialist879 kcalcalorie.slism.jp, 433g
Hitsumabushi950 kcalNagoya style, chopped eel with extra rice and broth

How to eat it lighter

Common questions

How many calories is unaju?
About 879 calories for a standard box per calorie.slism.jp, with 42g of protein and 32g of fat. The cheaper unadon at chains is about 671.
Is eel high in fat?
Yes, kabayaki eel is about 293 calories per 100g with around 21g of fat, but much of that is unsaturated and includes omega-3. It also has 23g of protein per 100g.
How many calories in Sukiya unagi don?
Regular is 671 calories and the large rice version is 817, both published by Sukiya.

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See all Rice Meals calories, ranked ›

Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical restaurant, ramen shop or konbini serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

Calorie figure based on Sukiya published unadon 並盛 671 kcal; calorie.slism.jp うな重 879 kcal for unaju variant. Macros estimated from the ingredients.

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