Miso Marinated Salmon

Posted by jdubs on February 24, 2011 · 5 Comments 

Miso-marinated fish is  is a classic Japanese dish that was popularized by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa with his famous Black Cod with Miso.  I have been a fan of this sweet and salty preparation of fish for many years now, as it seems a staple dish for every Asian Fusion restaurant out there today (Bohemian also serves Miso Black Cod).  The almost buttery, silken texture of the fish just melts in your mouth and you can easily recreate this popular dish at home with just a few ingredients that can be used again in many other Japanese dishes.  Black cod is not the easiest (or cheapest) fish to find, but sea bass and salmon are great substitutes.

I significantly cut down the amount of miso paste used as I find the saltiness a bit overpowering, but the original Nobu recipe calls for twice the amount so feel free to double it if you wish!  Basically I just went with equal parts of shiro (white) miso, mirin, sake, and sugar which I think worked out very well (plus easy to remember!).  I also threw in some chopped ginger and garlic at my mother’s suggestion, which I think helps balance the flavors a bit.

I had my favorite Ozeki Hana-Awaka sparkling sake in my cabinet and decided… why not?  I think the bubbles added more pizazz to the flavor!  Plus, I got to enjoy drinking the rest whilst cooking… But regular sake or even rice cooking wine works perfectly fine for this.

Other change I made was that I just simply baked it instead of grilling or broiling first.  Additionally, I decided to mix the marinade over the stove top as I thought it’d help release the flavors a bit quicker as I only let the fish marinate for one hour.  The recipe says to let marinate for 1-2 days but I was too hungry to wait for that…

I decided to serve this with another Japanese dish of Steamed Tofu with Enoki Mushrooms.  The intense miso flavor of the fish were well paired with the simple aka healthy flavors of the tofu and enoki mushrooms.

Miso Marinated Salmon (adapted from Nobu Matsuhisa’s Black Cod with Miso)

Yields: 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb fish fillets (cut into individual servings)
• 2 T shiro miso paste
• 2 T sake
• 2 T mirin
• 2 T sugar
• Optional: 1 T garlic, minced
• Optional: 1 T ginger, minced
• Optional garnish: sesame seeds and sliced green onions

Directions:

Whisk together the miso, mirin, sake, sugar, garlic and ginger in a saucepan over low heat.  Stir until mixed thoroughly.

Pat the fish fillets dry and place in a plastic container or a large Ziploc bag with the marinade.  Make sure each fillet is coated completely.  Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Arrange the fillets on a foiled-lined baking sheet.  Lightly wipe off (with fingers) any excess miso marinate clinging to the fish fillets but don’t rinse it off.

Bake for 10 minutes or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.  Optional: garnish with sesame seeds and green onion slices.

Try serving with Steamed Tofu with Enoki Mushrooms or Braised Baby Bok Choy!

Filed under Asian Fusion, Healthy Cooking, Japanese, Recipes, Seafood · Tagged with asian fusion cuisine, baking, japanese cuisine, mirin, miso, nobu, recipe, sake, salmon