Black Cod with Miso Marinade

BLACK COD

Black Cod, also known as Sablefish, is one of my favorite types of fish.  It also has another name “Butterfish” because of its a soft, flaky texture and buttery rich flavor, similar to Chilean sea bass.  Many people substitute Black Cod for Chilean sea bass due to its affordable price.

There are many ways to cook black cod—simply marinade with salt & pepper, garlic salt, soy sauce, lemon pepper, etc.—but the most popular and delicious marinade is miso.  Whichever way you prepare the fish, the buttery flavor from the black cod just makes the flavor so unique.

Ingredients:

Step 1:

8 fillets (1.5″ wide)	Black Cod
3 tsp	Sea salt
4 Tbsp	Sake

Step 2:

1/2 cup	White miso
6 Tbsp	Mirin
4 Tbsp	Sake

Directions:

1. This fish needs to be marinated for at least 2 days to get the best flavor.
2. To get rid of the fishy smell, sprinkle salt over the fish and set aside for 30 minutes. 
3. Pour 4 Tbsp sake over fish to rinse off the salt and pat dry with paper towel.  Rinsing under tap water is not recommended.  
4. In a container, combine white miso, mirin and sake and mix well.  
5. Put fish fillets into the bowl and get a nice coat of marinade. 
6. Place fish in a large glass container and pour excess marinade in.  Cover the lid and refrigerate for 2 days.
7. Preheat oven to 400F.  Remove the marinade off the fish with your fingers.  Too much marinade will burn the fish easily.
8. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and place fish fillets skin side up.
9. Bake the fish until the edges are browned (about 25 mins).

Mahi Mahi with Onion and Capers

I surely took a long break from blogging. During the past year, I have tried many new recipes, and many of them should be added to my collection. This Mahi Mahi recipe is so fantastic that it motivates me to come back to post. Besides getting comments of having a restaurant-quality dish, I like the fact that it is effortless. I slightly modified the original recipe (which you can find here) to suit my taste.

Ingredients:

4 pieces	Mahi Mahi fillet with or without skin
1	Large white onion
3 Tbsp	Capers (in brine)
3 Tbsp	Water
50g	Unsalted butter
3 Tbsp	Fresh lemon juice
½ tsp	Fresh ground black pepper
¾ tsp	Salt
	Chopped fresh parsley or green onions as a garnish

Directions:

1. Thinly slice onion, set aside.  (picture 1)
2. Rinse and drain capers, coarsely chop and set aside.  (picture 2)
3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over high heat, then add onion and cook until brown (stir frequently).  (picture 3)
4. Add in water and pepper, cook for 1 minute.  (pictures 4 and 5)
5. Add in butter, lemon juice and capers.  Stir and cook until butter is melted.  Remove from heat and cover the pan to keep warm.  (pictures 6 – 9)
6. Preheat broiler.
7. Wash and pat fish dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
8. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a cast iron pan over high heat, then add fish fillets to the skillet and fry for about 2 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets.  (picture A)
9. Flip the fillets and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes.  (picture B)
10. Put the cast iron pan under the oven broil, about 5 inches from heat until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. (pictures C)
11. Serve fish topped with onion mixture and sprinkled with parsley or green onions.
    

Notes:

• If fillets have skin, put skin sides down when you put them under the broiler.
• Don’t over cover the fish, the fillets should be very moist and soft.
• I had no onions one time, so I used red and yellow bell peppers.  It also tastes very good.