Ingredients

·       4 fillets of black cod or lingcod (4-6 oz or 113-170 g per fillet; skin-on; about 1 inch or 2.5 cm thick)

·       2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt

·       2 Tbsp sake (to clean the fish and remove its odor)

For the Miso Marinade with Saikyo Miso (Traditional)

·       6 Tbsp Saikyo miso (Kyoto-style white miso) (a sweet white miso)

·       3 Tbsp mirin

·       3 Tbsp sake (do not substitute)

For the Miso Marinade with Regular White Miso (Optional)

·       6 Tbsp white miso (for miso types that are saltier than white miso, add more mirin or/and sugar)

·       3 Tbsp mirin

·       3 Tbsp sake (do not substitute)

·       1 Tbsp sugar

Instructions

Before You Start: Select the freshest fish possible, as you will be marinating this fish for a few days. Please note that this recipe requires a marination time of 2–3 days. If you use skinless fish, marinate it for a shorter period of time. You can also use salmon and sea bass in this recipe.

Gather all the ingredients.

Marinate the Fish (2–3 days before serving)

1.       Sprinkle 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt over 4 fillets of black cod or lingcod and set it aside for 30 minutes.
The salt will draw out excess moisture and reduce the fish‘s odor.

2.       Meanwhile, make the marinade. In a bowl, add 6 Tbsp Saikyo miso (Kyoto-style white miso), 3 Tbsp mirin, and 3 Tbsp sake for the traditional recipe. (Optional: If you are making the optional recipe using 6 Tbsp white miso, add 1 Tbsp sugar.) Tip: While in some recipes we can replace sake with water, it‘s not a suitable substitute in this recipe due to the longer marination time required.

3.       Mix it all together and pour the marinade into a flat-bottomed airtight container.

4.       Pour 2 Tbsp sake over the fish to rinse off the salt. Gently pat dry with a paper towel to remove the moisture.
Do not wash the fish under running water.

5.       Place the fish in the container and coat both sides of the fish with the marinade.

6.       Slather the fillets with the marinade. Cover the container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days for thetraditional method. Tip: If you are not using Saikyo miso or regular white miso, you can reduce the marination time to several hours or overnight.
Since other miso types are saltier than white miso, please adjustthe flavor by adding more mirin or/and sugar.

To Remove the Fish from the Marinade
With your fingers, wipe the marinade off the fish completely. Do not leave any excess marinade on the fish;otherwise, it will burn easily. At this point, you can individually wrap the fish with plastic wrap and store it in afreezer bag for up to 2–3 weeks. Defrost in the refrigerator before cooking.

To Prepare the Fish for Cooking
Place the fish skin side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper/silicone mat (for baking) or aluminumfoil (for broiling).

To Bake (Recommended)
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200ºC) with a rack placed in the center of the oven. For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Bake the fish on the parchment paper until the surface is blistered and browned a bit, about 20 minutes. You do not need to flip the fish. Please remember the cooking time varies depending on the thickness of the fish.

To Broil (Optional)

1.       Preheat the broiler* with a rack placed about 8 inches (20 cm) away from the top heating element (in the centerof the oven) for 5 minutes. Tip: When broiling, you don‘t control the temperature in the oven; instead, you controlthe distance between the broiler and the surface of the food. It‘s similar to using hotter and cooler zones onyour grill. *There are usually three broiler settings: Low (450ºF/232ºC), Medium (500ºF/260ºC), and High(550ºF/288ºC). I usually use the Medium (6 inches away) or High (8 inches away) setting.

2.       Place the fish on the foil-lined baking sheet and broil on High (550ºF/288ºC) for 8–10 minutes until the surface isblistered and browned a bit. Please remember the cooking time varies depending on the thickness of the fish andthe distance between the broiler and the food. You do not need to flip the fish.

To Serve
Carefully remove the fish with a spatula and remove any burnt miso from the fish. Serve immediately. I serve the fishwith thinly sliced red radishes and garnish it with a small green leaf from my backyard for additional color. Wealways eat this dish with rice.

To Store
You can keep the cooked leftovers in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for 3 days and in the freezer for up to a month.

Notes
Sake: Sake is used to clean and remove the odor of the fish. You can't replace it with water even though sometimes water is used as a replacement in some recipes. We will marinate the fish for a longer time, and water can go bad and ruin the marinade and fish.

Mirin: Typically, mirin can be replaced with water and sugar, but for this recipe, please do not use water. If you want to omit the mirin, use sugar only. For 1 Tbsp mirin, use 1 tsp sugar.