noun
kabayaki; broiled eel or loach in soy-based sauce
A classic Japanese preparation: fish (typically eel or loach) is split, deboned, dipped in a sweet soy-based sauce, and broiled. Often served over rice as unadon or unajū.
夕食に蒲焼を食べた。
I had kabayaki for dinner.
この店の蒲焼はタレが絶品だ。
The sauce on the kabayaki at this restaurant is exquisite.
The origin of the word is uncertain. One theory suggests it comes from the shape of the split fish resembling a cattail (蒲, gama) when skewered, combined with 焼き (yaki, 'broiled').