Miso Cod

Miso Cod

serves 4, 15 min plus 2 to 3 days marinating

Ingredients

cod fillets        4 (about 150g each), skin on
sake               50ml
mirin              50ml
white miso         150g (shiro miso)
sugar              75g

Start this two to three days ahead. The marinade is quick, but the long cure is where the silky texture and deep savoury flavour come from.

Recipe

1. Bring the sake and mirin to the boil in a small pan over high heat. Let it bubble for 20 seconds to cook off the alcohol.

2. Turn the heat down and whisk in the miso until smooth with no lumps. Turn it back up, add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Take off the heat and cool to room temperature.

3. Pat the cod dry. Coat the fillets all over in the cooled marinade, sit them in a dish or bag, and refrigerate 2 to 3 days.

4. Heat the grill to high. Wipe most of the marinade off the fish, leaving a thin film, as the sugar catches fast. Grill about 10cm from the heat for 5 minutes a side, until the edges char and caramelise and the centre flakes.

5. Serve as is. The fish is rich and needs little alongside it.

No grill? Get the cast iron skillet screaming hot, sear the fish to char the surface, then finish it in the 200°C oven for a few minutes.

Wipe, don’t rinse. The thin film of miso left on is what chars. Black cod is the classic, but standard cod, salmon or mackerel all take the marinade well.

Source: Nobu, via RecipeTin Japan.