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Miso Glazed Sea Bass

by Matt Kennard

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The Nobu and Masa standard, with more miso, a touch of tamari and a high-heat grill option. Marinate two days, then burn the glaze a little on purpose.

Serves
4
Total
30 min
BroiledGrilledSeafood
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This is the famous one, and the famous version is right. Black cod, which is sablefish and not cod at all, marinated in sweetened miso for two or three days and then cooked hot enough that the sugars char.

I make it with more miso than most recipes call for, and a tablespoon of tamari. The standard ratio is balanced for restraint; I want the savory side forward, because the sugar in the mirin and sake already pushes the other way. The tamari adds depth and a little salt without making it taste of soy, and it darkens the glaze, which helps the char read.

And I grill it as often as I broil it. Nobody writes that version down and it's very good: the same glaze, over hard direct heat, with the char coming from flame rather than an element.

If it's not right

  • Burnt bitter rather than charred: the marinade wasn't wiped off, or the rack was too close.
  • Bland: not long enough in the marinade.
  • Falls apart: wrong fish. This wants black cod or something equally oily.
  • Too sweet: that's the standard ratio, and it's why I use more miso. Push it further if you like.

Ingredients

4

Method

  1. **The marinade.** Bring the sake and mirin to a simmer for a minute to cook off the alcohol. Off the heat, whisk in the miso until smooth, then the sugar and the tamari. Cool completely.

  2. **Dry the fish** and coat every side. In a dish or a bag.

  3. **Two to three days in the fridge.** Two is good. Three is better. One is not enough and you'll taste the difference.

  4. **Wipe the marinade off** before it goes near heat. Not rinse, wipe. A thin film is what you want; a thick layer burns black rather than caramelizing.

  5. **Done when** the surface is blistered and dark in places and the fish flakes at the thickest part.

Goes with

From the journal

  • Make the Fish — Fish is one of the things people reserve for restaurants, and it shouldn't be. It's fresher at home, it's faster than almost anything else, and the fishmonger is the best part.

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