Dine & Cook | Alternative food journalism

It’s a Japanese tradition that dates back centuries, eating grilled eel.

Every year on the “day of the ox” the Japanese flock to local stands to eat the delicacy.  This year the “day of the ox” falls on Monday and true to tradition, thousands gathered at their favorite eateries to consume the elongated fishes.

The Japanese eat eel on this day because they believe it will build up stamina for the summer, which is important considering the "day of the ox" is symbolically believed to be the hottest day of the year.

It's not known when exactly the tradition began and why eel is consumed.  One train of thought is that the owner of an eel store in the 1700s came up with the custom as part of a marketing gimmick to boost sagging summer sales.  Other historians believe that the custom dates back even further to the belief that eating anything on ox day that contains the sound “u” is a good way to stay cool.  This might have developed due to the fact that the Japanese word for eel is “unagi” and day of the ox is pronounced "ushi no hi."

A typical whole eel can cost anywhere from $16 to $35 dollars each and there are fears that the traditional fish may be disappearing.  The vast majority of Japanese are now opting for farm raised eel instead of wild due to overfishing.  According to government statistics, only 0.6 percent of the eel consumed in Japan is wild caught.  Most of the eel eaten in Japan is imported from China, Taiwan and Malaysia.

It’s estimated that the annual eel consumption in Japan is around 125,000 tons, which calculates to a per capita consumption of five eel a year.  The most popular way to serve eel is to cook filets of the fish over a charcoal-grill.  The cooked filets are then topped with a sweet soy sauce.  Rice is almost always served.