Healing Foods: Miso-Marinated Black Cod

I cooked for our friends Cynthia and Michael this weekend, which is always a fun challenge. Both are worldly, consummate foodies who love to cook, and they are great company. Our evenings together are always fun, and full of laughter and great conversation. I wanted to cook healthy, and when I saw the beautiful cod fillets at the fish market I was reminded of a recipe from one of my favorite food websites www.rasamalaysia.com. Bee Yinn Low, the blog founder and editor, is an amazing cook who has adapted (and created) many Asian recipes that are easy and delicious. Her Nobu inspired Miso-Marinated Black Cod is one of those—and is as easy as it is mouth wateringly delicious. And with two nutrient dense foods, miso and cod, it is a great healing dish.

According to the World’s Healthiest Foods website (www.whfoods.org), cod is an excellent low-calorie source of protein (a four-ounce serving of cod provides 52.1% of the daily need for protein for only 119 calories) cod contains a variety of powerful nutrients (vitamins B12, B6, and Omega 3 fatty acids) to aid in heart health, lowering cholesterol, and strengthening the immune system. Paired with miso, cod becomes an even healthier choice, since miso is recommended as a powerful B12 source. It also provides daily needs for manganese (for healthy bones and blood vessels), and the trace minerals zinc (for aiding immune function and healing) and copper (for aiding in energy production and antioxidant defenses).

We vowed to make this dish more often—so I will work on great sides to pair with it in future posts. Steamed broccoli and rice were our side dish choices this time around—which were tasty. So, with thanks to Bee and Nobu, I am happy to introduce you to this recipe.

2-3 black cod fillets (about 1 lb)

For the marinade:
1/4 cup sake
1/4 cup mirin
4 tablespoons white miso paste
3 tablespoons sugar

Mix the marinade ingredients thoroughly in a plastic container (with lid) and set aside. Save some for plating purposes.

Pat the fish fillets dry with paper towels and put them into the plastic container with the marinate. Cover the lid and leave to steep in the refrigerator overnight or for 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Preheat an indoor grill at the same time.

Lightly wipe off any excess miso marinade clinging to the fish fillets but don’t rinse it off. Place the fish on the grill and lightly grill on both sides until the surface turns brown.

Transfer the fish fillets to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Add a few extra drops of the marinade on the plate and serve hot.

Adapted from Nobu: The Cookbook

Recipe and photo courtesy of www.rasamalaysia.com