Have you had eel today? A must-try summer energy dish on Doyo no Ushi no Hi

▲Unagi don (grilled eel rice bowl) is a dish many Japanese people eat on Doyo no Ushi no Hi. (Photo / from Wikipedia)

Reporter Chen Ruizhong / Comprehensive report

“Have you had eel today?” If you opened Facebook today, you might have seen many friends posting photos of their meals at Japanese restaurants or unagi specialty shops. That’s because today (July 29) is Doyo no Ushi no Hi in Japan — the day when Japanese people traditionally eat eel.

According to Japanese folklore, Doyo no Ushi no Hi refers to one specific day during the hot summer season. Because the hot weather can easily drain one’s energy, and for the Japanese, unagi don is considered an effective dish to replenish stamina, so since the Edo period (around the early 19th century), Japanese people have eaten eel on this day to boost their energy, creating a unique tradition.

▲To enjoy unagi don, Taipei’s Hizenya restaurant saw a long queue of diners at lunchtime today. (Photo / provided by reader Strawberry Sister)

According to reader Strawberry Sister, she went specifically to a Japanese restaurant at noon today to queue up for unagi don, only to find a huge line, but in order to try the dish, she joined the crowd. However, some readers also revealed that the tradition actually started as a marketing strategy by Edo-period eel merchants — back then, eel didn’t sell well in the summer, so they came up with the idea of promoting “eating eel on Doyo no Ushi no Hi”!

Although lunchtime has passed, if you love unagi don or want to experience the tradition of eating eel on Doyo no Ushi no Hi, why not grab the chance at dinner or even a late-night meal and enjoy a serving of thick, tender grilled eel over rice?