Nobu's Black Cod with Miso

This genius dish by the famed chef Nobu Matsuhisa is iconic at "Nobu," his eponymous global chain of restaurants. We dined at Nobu Hotel Portman Square in London in June of 2022 and Gil ordered this dish, which my sis and I both tried on the side. The miso marinade consists of only 4 ingredients and is incredibly complex despite its simplicity. Sooooooo good, and so easy to make. Elaine made the recipe from "Nobu the Cookbook" and shared with us for our belated Chinese New Year's celebration late February this year, using Sea Bass instead of Black Cod, which came out amazing! I ordered black cod from Giovanni's Seafood in Morro Bay to make this recipe, but it's just as good with Sea Bass or Alaskan Cod. The original recipe doesn't call for it, but I like to garnish the fish with some thinly sliced scallions before serving.

INGREDIENTS:

4 Black cod filets, about 1/2 lb. each (or substitute with 2 lbs. Sea Bass or Cod), skin on

MISO MARINADE:

3/4 cup sake

3/4 cup mirin

2 cups white miso paste

1 1/4 cups sugar

1. Black cod filets can often have pin bones: feel along the filet for bones and remove with a tweezer.

MARINDADE:

2. Bring the sake and mirin to a boil over high heat in a medium saucepan and let heat for 20 seconds to evaporate the alcohol. Be careful, as the mixture may ignite, if on a gas burner over a flame. If that happens, just turn off the heat and let the flame subside.

3. Turn the heat down to low and stir in the miso; stir constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk until the miso has completely dissolved.

4. Turn the heat up to medium and add the sugar; stir constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

5. Pat the cod filets dry with paper towels and place into a Ziploc-type bag in a single layer. Pour in enough of the cooled miso marinade to cover (about 2 cups). Pour the remaining marinade into a container, cover and refrigerate.

6. Place the bag with the cod and marinade in the refrigerator, keeping the bag flat and the fish in a single layer. Let marinade for at least two, but up to three days, turning over a couple times to distribute the marinade evenly over the fish.

7. Place oven rack to the upper 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 400F. Place aluminum foil over a baking sheet and spray or grease lightly with oil (otherwise, the fish skin will stick).

8. Remove the fish filets from the bag and place skin-side down on the foil-lined baking sheet. Do not blot off the marinade.

9. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until the tops of the fish are lightly browned and cooked through in the middle. 

10. Using a fish spatula, carefully remove each fish filet to a serving dish. 

Optional garnish is thinly sliced scallions with a few dots of extra miso marinade on the side. The fish is very well seasoned so you really don't need much extra sauce when serving. Great with steamed white rice, too!