Miso Black Cod

This dish has always been my favorite restaurant indulgence.  I don’t eat out all that often, so when I do, I try to have something I could not make at home – and until now, I assumed Miso Black Cod was in that category.

I was inspired to give it a whirl after receiving my weekly Goop email – usually containing scraps of the high-life, graciously passed down from Gwenyth herself.  Her recipes are great for inspiration but i find them slightly pretentious and highfalutin for a layman such as myself.  I always end up feeling slightly worse about myself and my commitment to whatever wacky health food trend is in vogue – for example, her recipe calls for nama shoyu with no explanation of what that might be…it is unpasteurized soy sauce in case you were wondering, a common ingredient in raw food cuisine.  If you happen to have nama shoyu in your pantry, please feel free to use it.  I used soy sauce.

This is one of the easiest recipes I have ever made, the only thing required is planning ahead so that the fish can marinate for 24-36 hours.  I let it sit 24 hours and it was flaky and delicious, but I think with 36 hours it would have only gotten better.  The active prep time is about 10 minutes.  It doesn’t get any easier than that.

I served this with charred shishito peppers which add the perfect flavor and touch of heat without overpowering the fish.

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Miso Black Cod

Yield: 3-4 portions

Ingredients

1. 1 lb black cod, cut into 3-4 fillets

2. ¼ cup mirin (or white wine)

3. ¼ cup soy sauce

4. 1 tbl maple syrup (can use agave, honey, or brown sugar)

5. ½ cup shiro (white) miso paste

6. 1 tbl safflower oil (or other oil with a high burn temperature: canola, grapeseed, etc)

Instructions

1. Place fillets into a container (with a lid) that is just big enough to fit the fish if possible.

2. In a small pot, combine mirin, soy sauce, and maple syrup.  Cook until just bubbling at the sides, turn off the heat and stir in the miso paste.  Let cool completely.

3. Set aside ¼ - ½ cup of the marinade to use as a sauce later, refrigerate.   Pour the rest of the marinade over the fish.  The fillets do not have to be completely submerged but make sure they are fully coated.  Refrigerate 24-36 hours.

4. Preheat the oven to 400°F and start to warm the reserved marinade in a small pot, stirring occasionally. Remove the fish from the fridge and scrape off the marinade.

5. Heat oil in an oven-safe sauté pan until almost smoking (just get it really hot).

6. Sear the fillets 1-2 minutes on first side, until a dark caramelized brown, flip over and put the pan into the preheated oven.

7. Bake for 10 minutes and serve hot with reserved marinade.

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