Black Cod with Miso

Ingredients
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup sake
1 cup white miso paste (must be white, not red or yellow)
1/2 cup sugar
2-3 black cod fillets (1 pound, one side with the skin still on)

Method
Marinade

1. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine mirin, sake and miso. Stir constantly with a whisk until the miso dissolves completely.
2. Increase heat to high and dissolve the sugar, stirring constantly.
3. Take off heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Fish

1. Wash fillets and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Reserve a few tablespoons of the marinate in a container and refrigerate.
3. Place remaining marinade in a large plastic bag along with the fillets. Ensure that the fillets are coated with the marinade.
4. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours, but up to 3 days.
   
5. Heat oven to broil.
   
6. Remove fillets from plastic bag and shake off extra marinade.
7. Place fillets, skinless side up, on a non reactive dish (oven safe) under the broiler until the top layer of the fish has browned.
8. Transfer fish immediately to another oven safe dish.
9. Reduce heat to 400 F.
10. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the fish is cooked through and opaque in the center.

Garnish plate with a few drops of the marinade.

Tip: If you want to make life even easier and you live near a Mitsuwa Marketplace, they often carry black cod that is already marinated in white miso.

Where to eat a fish with miso?

Musha Restaurant

424 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 576-6330

The recipe above is a simpled/modified version of Nobu's recipe. And although this dish was awesome at Nobu, the rest of my dining experience there was so-so. The sushi was fresh, but some of the roll combinations were too complex and the rolls didn't showcase the fish. I'd rather give props to Musha's. The food is fab and the staff is very friendly. No pretension at Musha. Funnily enough, I don't recommend the sushi at Musha's but there are plenty of small plates to share with friends that I really love. The pumkin croquettes, garlic somen and Salmon miso are my favorites. You can substitute salmon for the same recipe above. It is also very flakey and yum-eee.