Miso-Glazed Black Cod Recipe
Am I the only one who reads cookbooks like novels? Sometimes it’s embarrassing when I am asked “what are you reading?” because my nightstand is stacked with cookbooks, nutrition books and cooking magazines. Of course it’s inspiring to look at new recipes and techniques, but more than that I find it relaxing. A cooking nerd I most definitely am.
I was super excited to dig into Laurie David’s new cookbook, “The Family Cooks.” I recently had the opportunity to meet Laurie at a party for the launch of her new book. I think she is such a powerhouse and I love her message about making time to cook from scratch and eating together as a family. I’m so on her wavelength. All her recipes look good, but since she urged me to make the miso-glazed cod first, I didn’t waste any time.
The first time I had miso cod was many years ago at a very fancy restaurant in LA called Nobu. The cod is so silky, it just melts in your mouth and has a little sweet-salty thing going on which is my favorite flavor combo. This recipe is very similar although I appreciate Laurie’s use of maple syrup over processed cane sugar. It is a very impressive dish, yet it only takes minutes to prepare and uses very few ingredients. I also love that you can marinate it for a whole day if you want and then all you have to do is broil it before din
I am always looking to expand our fish repertoire with good sustainable options. We tend to eat a lot of wild salmon, wild halibut and (when my husband is not home for dinner) wild shrimp. Whenever I want to know what the current status is for a particular fish, I go to seafoodwatch.org, an organization which helps consumers and businesses make choices for healthy oceans. Their recommendations indicate which seafood items are “Best Choices,” “Good Alternatives,” and which ones you should “Avoid.” Black cod, which is also known as sablefish, is considered to be a “best choice.” The whole family (except Daughter #2 who still doesn’t eat most fish and didn’t try this) loved it. Serve with a simple steamed rice or cauli-rice, and a green vegetable and you have an easy, delicious and healthful dinner. I made it recently with a kelp noodle salad and some sautéed beet greens!
There are a few ingredients that you may not normally have on hand, namely miso, a fermented soybean paste, and mirin, a sweet rice wine. Both are easy to find in many grocery stores and they have a very long shelf life so you have plenty of time to make this recipe again!
Miso-Glazed Black Cod
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup white miso preferably organic
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey I like maple syrup
- 1/3 cup mirin
- 1 Tablespoon grated fresh peeled ginger
- 1 Tablespoon toasted unrefined sesame oil
- 4 pieces 6 ounces each skinless black cod fillet, also known as sablefish
Instructions
- In a bowl or glass pie plate just large enough to hold the fish, whisk together the miso, maple syrup, mirin, ginger and sesame oil. Place the fish in the bowl and spoon the marinade on top of the fish to cover it completely. Cover the bowl with a plate and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight. The longer you can do this, the better the fish will taste.
- Before cooking the fish, preheat the broiler and position your oven rack about 6 inches from the heat. I place the rack on the level the second from the top.
- If you don’t have a stainless steel baking sheet, line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
- Pull the fish from the bowl and shake off any excess marinade clinging to the fish. Place the fish on the baking sheet and broil until the glaze is dark and shiny and the fish flakes when you press on it, about 6-8 minutes.
25 Comments
I am totally addicted to this dish.
Every time I make it I can’t wait to make it again.
Thank you for the recipe.
You’re welcome, Serene 🙂 I’m glad you enjoy this one!
Hi Pamela,
I have had this dish at a restaurant and it was delicious, so I am anxious to try this. I also have some black rice in the pantry I haven’t tried yet and I see you have paired it with the fish. What does black rice taste like? I’ve never had it. Do you cook it the same way you’d cook regular rice?
Thanks
Black rice has an earthy/nutty flavor and is denser than white rice. You can cook it like you do white rice with a longer cook time range 30-50 minutes, depending on the brand. Or you can cook it in a pot with plenty of water until tender. Drain in a colander or mesh sieve before serving. Hope you like it.
Tried this recipe tonight for dinner and it was a WINNER!!!! Something that a fancy restaurant would charge $30-$50 for. I whipped up the marinade last night in no time, which made cooking dinner tonight super quick. My only hiccup was that the parchment paper burned and (almost!) caught on fire. I pulled it out and relined with some foil and disaster averted. This recipe would be so good for company, a true show-stopper and flavorful!!!!
Yay! I think I need to adjust the recipe re: broiling with parchment. It’s safer with foil.
Wondering if there’s a substitute for Mirin? I can’t get to the store at the moment and don’t have any!
Hmmm, you can try 1/3 cup white wine or sherry mixed with 1 Tbs. sugar.
I used rice vinegar, but knew I wasn’t marinating for too long. It was AMAZING – next time I’ll use what it calls for – can’t wait!
Wonderful! Glad to hear it was a hit.
Hi! Can this be made with the mellow yellow miso, or does it have to be white? Thanks!
I meant mild yellow. Not mellow. Oops. Same company as the one you have posted in your pic.
Yes, no problem!
Hi Pamela,
I’m out of sesame oil and can’t get out to Grow…any substitution?
Thanks!
T
Hmmm, sesame has such a particular flavor. You can come borrow some from me 😉 or what about peanut oil? Otherwise, just sub any oil and it just won’t have that sesame aroma.
What do you think about using walnut oil and adding toasted sesame seeds?
Hmmm…not so sure about that one flavor-wise, but maybe you’d love it. I don’t cook with walnut oil though. It’s pretty fragile and oxidizes easily.
Thanks for posting this recipe! I was just wondering how I should prepare the cod that is defrosting in my fridge and I remembered that you’d posted this.
Hope you are well – I’ll have to get to a class soon!
Hope you enjoyed it!
I made this tonight with sea bass (no black cod at our market) and the family went NUTS for it!! Super yummy…as always.
Terrific! So glad to hear this. Thank you, Kelly!
Can’t wait to try this! On a side… Where did you get your stainless steel baking sheet? I’ve been Looking for one forever!
Mine is all-clad and I bought it many years ago at Williams-Sonoma. Sadly, it is discontinued. But there are other stainless baking sheets out there, but may not be as heavy-gauge as the all-clad. Check here: http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Stainless-Steel-Cookie-Sheet/dp/B000F7A58A and then here: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/fox-run-stainless-steel-jelly-roll-pan/1042212188?Keyword=stainless+bakign+sheet Even if you can’t get a stainless baking sheet, I use my aluminum and nonstick ones all the time lined with unbleached parchment paper!
How would you cook it so it caramelizes browns the maple syrup on top but doesn’t overcook the fish? Would you put it in first really hot and then turn the temperature down or reverse first cook and then quickly broil it on top. Thank you. We love this recipe I have down it several times and it’s a winner every time.
Broil at the end!