Nobu's Miso Marinated Black Cod Recipe

Nobu's Miso Marinated Black Cod Recipe is very similar to the Saikyo Yaki Miso Marinade and Saikyo Yaki recipes that I posted some time ago. Nobu’s marinade is a Westernised version with a stronger flavour, particularly the sweetness. See the video.This is a recipe from his cookbook called The Cookbook. I only changed the fish fillet to be marinated. Instead of black cod fillets, I used Glacier 51 toothfish fillets.There isn't Meal Ideas today. If you visit my post, Saikyo Yaki Fish, you will see what sort of dishes might go well with Saikyo Yaki.

Prep time: PT5M

Cook time: PT15M

Total time: PT4340M

Rating

4.8 stars (10 reviews)

Keywords

Nobu black cod Saikyo yaki, Saikyo yaki recipe

Ingredients

2 fillets Glacier 51 toothfish (thawed in the fridge (150g/5.3oz each, note 1))
50ml/1.7fl.oz cooking sake
50ml/1.7fl.oz mirin
150g/5.3oz shiro miso ((note 2))
75g/2.6oz sugar
2 spears asparagus (blanched and cut into half lengths (note 3))

Cuisine

Japanese

Steps

Miso Marinade
- Put sake and mirin in a saucepan and bring it to a boil over high heat. Boil for 20 seconds to let alcohol evaporate.
- Reduce heat to low and add miso to the pan. Mix well until the miso dissolves completely with no lumps.
- Turn the heat up to high and add sugar. Mix well until the sugar dissolves, then turn the heat off.
- Let it cool to room temperature.
Marinating Fish
- Pat-dry the fish fillets with kitchen paper.
- Slather slightly less than half of the miso marinade into an air-tight container, or a tray that can just fit in the fish fillets without overlapping (note 4).
- Place the fish fillets on the miso, without overlapping, then slather the surface of the fillets with the rest of the marinade. Ensure that the fish fillets are coated in the miso marinade completely (note 4).
- Cover the surface of the marinated fish with a piece of cling wrap, pressing down the cling wrap so that there are no air pockets between the surface of the marinated fish and the cling wrap.
- Cover the tray with another piece of cling wrap and leave it in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Grilling Fish and Serving
- Preheat the grill or a broiler.
- Wipe the marinade off the fish fillets (note 5).
- Place the fillets on the grill/broiler (note 6) and cook for about 5 minutes (note 7).
- Turn the fillets over and cook for further 5 minutes (note 6) until the edges of the fillets turn slightly charred.
- Place each grilled fillet on a serving plate, then place two asparagus sticks leaning against the fish.

Reviews

Julie Nolan on 2026-01-24 (5 stars):
Just wondering what the minimum time might be in the marinade. Special dinner pending....
Stephen on 2025-02-14 (5 stars):
It is not widely understood that Black Cod is not the same species as Cod. Black Cod (aka Sablefish) as Yumiko states is an oily white fish. I say this because many friends have used normal fresh cod and it doesn't hold the flavour like the real Nobu recipe. Salmon or Mackerel also work very well.
Craig on 2023-12-03 (5 stars):
For cooking i steam for a par cook then grill to finish fish stays very moist
Jake Love on 2023-11-04 (5 stars):
Charming recipe, thanks! Thank you for pointing this out, Angela, yes, the "Chilean Sea Bass" (what it's called in our part of the world) is as endangered and overfished as it is delicious. I've been avoiding it for this reason since about 2000. Plenty of other tasty fish that aren't fished out...not to mention Tofu, which also tastes great via this recipe!
Eliza on 2023-09-23 (4 stars):
Hi Yumiko. I love blackened cod. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I'm going to try it. If I use the oven, I assume that it is the grill function (grilling at the top shelf) to be used (rather than the normal baking function at the lower shelf). Please advise what temperature should the oven be preheated to grill the cod?
Jane on 2023-05-29 (5 stars):
I made this with Glacier 51 Toothfish and it was delicious. The method was easier than other miso baked recipes I've done. Thanks!