Miso Marinated Cod, the Best Nobu Recipe Dupe

This Miso Black Cod recipe has just a few easy-to-find ingredients, no refined sugar, and because we're using a naturally buttery, omega-3-rich fish, super fast and healthy from frig to fork (or chopsticks)! Add new fish dish to your rotation of salmon recipes with Miso Black Cod, inspired by Nobu's Miso-Marinated Cod. Instructions for either the oven or an air-fryer! Shall we?

What is Miso Salmon | Health Benefits | Miso Salmon Ingredients | How to Make Miso Salmon | What Kind of Miso | What Kind of Salmon | Air Fryer vs Oven | Substitutions | Storing Leftovers | What to Serve with | Wine Pairing | RECIPE

What is Miso Cod

Miso Cod is black cod, usually in fillet form, that marinates in a salty, umami-rich miso mixture for a short period of time, then bakes in the oven or in an air-fryer.

You might already be familiar with miso-marinated fish, which is a classic Japanese preparation, made a little more world famous by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa's Miso Black Cod at his Nobu restaurants. Yeah, you know the one, with the charred edges and the little pickled ginger stem as garnish. His dish inspired my own recipe for Miso Marinated Cod here, which is a great alternative if you prefer a lighter, flaky white fish to richer fuller flavored salmon.

Health Benefits of Miso Cod

Omega-3s in Black Cod. When we talk about the health benefits of black cod, we are almost always talking about the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, the all-star anti-inflammatory compound associated with supporting gut health and reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other inflammation-induced diseases. black cod is one of the highest concentration, highest quality sources of omega-3 fatty acids, containing 2,150 mg per 3-ounce serving.

Nutrients in black cod. black cod is also one of the most nutrient-dense foods in the world. In addition to the high levels of above-mentioned omega-3s, black cod is an excellent source of vitamin B12 for cellular energy, vitamin D which our bodies cannot make on our own, and the essential mineral selenium that has antioxidant properties that protect the heart, reduce cognitive decline, and boost immunity. (source: NIH)

Miso Has Probiotic-like Qualities. Miso is made by fermenting soybeans. As a fermented food, miso provides gut-health promoting probiotic bacteria. That fermentation gives miso its umami flavor, that salty, savory deliciousness that's hard to pinpoint in foods. Miso makes food taste delicious, so adding it to healthy foods like black cod helps you eat more of those healthy foods!

This recipe for Miso black cod is:

• dairy-free
• gluten-free if you use tamari (which is naturally gluten-free) instead of soy sauce (which is brewed with wheat so it contains gluten)
• refined sugar-free
• low carb (though not keto, paleo, or Whole30 because the marinade contains both soy and sake, which is an alcohol)

What Ingredients You Need to Make Miso Cod

For Miso Cod, you will need only a few ingredients:

• White miso
• Sake, Japanese rice wine
• Mirin, Japanese cooking rice wine seasoned with salt and sometimes sugar
• Sugar or maple syrup
• Black cod, a firm, flaky, white fish

What Kind of Miso Do You Use for Miso Cod

tl;dr: Use light-colored white or yellow miso that is labeled "organic" or "non-gmo." Light-colored miso, which I used throughout all the photos in this post, is also used in the Miso Salmon recipe as well.

My favorite brands are all organic—this brand, this brand (pictured above), and this brand—and I have been able to find them in Whole Foods Markets in southern California. If you are able to get to an Asian market or specialty store, check out the miso section. It's huge! And you'll probably find these brands there too.

There are a few different types of miso that range in flavor, color, saltiness, and most importantly (to me) intensity of funk. No surprise here, but the funkier, the better. Miso can be labeled and categorized in a number of different ways, e.g. by ingredients, fermenting agent, city of origin, "style," but the easiest way for most people is to simply refer to the color.

Generally, the lighter in color the miso—those labeled "white" and "yellow," sometimes "shiro"—the milder the flavor and saltiness. Sometimes, the lighter colored misos are described as sweet, though they are not actually sweetened with any kind of sugar. They are just less salty.

Darker miso—labeled "red" or "aka miso"—is stronger in flavor and is usually saltier. I love darker red miso for soups and making dips for vegetables, but it's a little too strong for this recipe.

Additional Ingredients Resources and Notes

1. Sake. Sake, aka Japanese rice wine, is a type of alcohol made by fermenting rice. Just like regular wine made from grapes, sake comprises a wide variety of styles, brands, quality, and price points. As with any wine in cooking, use sake that you would be happy to drink. Sake is now fairly widely available in grocery stores in the wine section or in liquor stores. The organic sake pictured above is available here.
2. Mirin. Mirin is a Japanese rice wine used specifically for cooking. Mirin is similar to sake in that they are both rice wines, but mirin has a lower alcohol content is usually sweeter either naturally from the fermentation of the rice, or with added sugars. If you can't find mirin, see the substitutes below.
3. Maple Syrup. Most Miso Marinades contain sugar, and quite a bit of it. I prefer the sweetness of natural maple syrup to refined sugars, and use a very little amount. I use an organic maple syrup like this.

Is Black Cod the Same Fish as Cod?

Can You Use Chilean Sea Bass vs Pacific Sea Bass for Miso Cod?

Avoid Chilean Sea Bass (reference: Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch), which is not a true bass, but Patagonian Toothfish, a different species altogether. Certain Chilean Sea Bass are ok based on a Marine Stewardship Council certification, or their source, e.g. Prince Edward Island, but the recommendation is still to choose a better alternative.

Instructions for How to Make Miso Cod

Miso Cod in Air Fryer vs Oven

I have made this recipe countless times in the regular oven and many times in the air fryer for the past year that I've actually owned one. I was an air-fryer denier for a long time, but needless to say, I finally caved and will never look back. Both methods have their slight advantages. Neither method has any disadvantages.

Air Fryer. If you already have an air fryer, use that to make this Miso Black Cod for 2-4 servings, or whatever will actually fit in the air fryer. Because of the short cooking time and variability in thickness of the black cod even in an individual piece of fish, I have found the air fryer to be slightly more reliable in terms of final results. The air fryer also sort of automatically caramelizes the miso marinade without having an actual broiler function because the cooking space is so small.

Regular Oven. The oven is still the gold-standard for making Miso Black Cod, of course, especially when making a larger number of servings. The broiler function on an oven also guarantees that you will get that slightly sweet, caramelized char on the miso glaze. Added bonus: you can cook your entire meal at the same time, just roast vegetables alongside the Miso Cod in the same oven!

When I first started making Miso Cod, I used to use a tiny little toaster oven because it seemed to wasteful to turn on the entire stove just to cook two or three pieces of fish. The toaster oven also had a "broil" function so it was easy to get that caramelized char on the fish. So if you live in a small space, you can still make this Miso Black Cod!

Tools and Equipment

As I always say, you don't need any special equipment to make almost any recipe. However, that's not to say there are a couple of gadgets and tools that might make it a LOT easier to get Miso Cod from your fridge to fork (or chopsticks).

• All-purpose 7-inch chef's knife to cut rolls in a single long stroke, rather than sawing back and forth, which will tear the nori and smash the roll.
• Large Cutting Board. A large size cutting board is stable, sturdy, and has enough surface area to prep multiple vegetables
• Glass mixing bowls
• Soy sauce dishes
• Stainless steel chopsticks
• Rice cooker. Rice cookers run the full gambit of types, features, and prices. I have two, this standard Japanese brand, and this fancy Korean brand, which the NYTimes loves. This is a smaller, affordable version of the Korean one.

Substitutions and Variations

With so few ingredients in this recipe, there aren't a lot of substitutions. That being said, you can make small adjustments to suit certain diets or lifestyles:

• Sugar-Free. To make Miso Cod completely sugar-free, simply leave out the maple syrup or other natural sweetener. Miso, particularly white or "shiro" miso has an inherent natural sweetness, so you may not even miss the sugar anyway!
• Keto-Friendly. To make this Miso Cod recipe keto-friendly, leave out the sake, which is an alcohol and not compliant with keto lifestyles. You do not have to substitute a different ingredients, though you may need to add a couple of tablespoons of water to get the right consistency. You can substitute in rice vinegar which is keto-compliant, though the flavor substitution is not 1:1 and the taste of vinegar is much stronger than sake. Use half to one-third the amount of sake, so for this recipe, 1-2 tablespoons of rice vinegar.
• Other Fish for Miso Marinade. You can absolutely substitute other fish for black cod in this recipe. Some great substitutions for the black cod are: regular cod and sea bass, which are both white fish with a rich texture. Of course, you can make Miso Salmon with this recipe, which has slight adjustments for the unique qualities of salmon, mostly that you only need to marinate for 1 day.

Leftovers and Storage

Marinated raw Miso Cod should be cooked within three days of marinating.

Refrigerator. Cooked Miso Black Cod can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Refer to the USDA for safe storage information for fish.

Freezer. Freeze and store cooked Miso Black Cod in an airtight container, preferably with the air removed like in a zipper plastic bag, in the freezer for up to 3 months. Refer to the USDA for safe storage of fish and shellfish.

What to Serve with Miso Black Cod

A generous serving of omega-3-rich black cod marinated in gut-healthy fermented miso served with brown rice and a green vegetable is a perfect meal to me! Here are some great suggestions to pair with:

• Spicy Cucumber and Avocado Salad
• Garlicky Korean Spinach
• Thomas Keller's Oven Roasted Zucchini with my miso glaze
• Steamed Asparagus
• Soba Noodles
• Edamame in their pods

Wine Pairing for Miso Cod

The most obvious pairing choice with Miso Cod is sake, since sake is part of the miso marinade! But don't drink the sake you used for the marinade, as you should be using a good affordable sake for cooking and a separate GREAT sake for drinking.

Because sake is made via fermentation, it is sometimes described as "rice wine" because it is made by fermenting rice, like regular wine is made by fermenting grapes. However, sake is a totally different category of alcohol because the flavor and experience are nothing like regular wine.

If you'd like to stick with regular wine for pairing with Miso Cod, focus on the flavor that dictates the wine pairing: prominent sweetness.

Miso-flavored dishes are:

• sweet
• sweet
• did I say sweet already
• sometimes salty and/or spicy

and do best with wines that are:

• medium-bodied
• high acid
• low tannin

Try these specific wines:

• Dry Riesling, try Tatomer 'Steinhügel' Riesling', Santa Lucia Highlands. Tatomer is a Riesling specialist in Santa Barbara, and makes this special Riesling from a biodynamic vineyard in Monterey. Multiple vintages of Tatomer Riesling available here.
• Pinot Gris (same grape as Pinot Grigio), try La Crema Pinot Gris, Monterey La Crema is a widely available brand based north of Monterey in Sonoma, but this particular wine is made with grapes grown in Monterey!
• Gewürztraminer, try Scheid Vineyards Gewürztraminer
• Dry rosé

These wine pairings will more than likely work for fish glazed or coated with any type of sweetness like teriyaki, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, reduced fruit juice, etc.

For a comprehensive guide to the best wines to pair with fish, check out this post, which has specific bottle recommendations.

What Else Can You Make with Miso? Try These:

Since you only use a few tablespoons of miso for your Miso Cod, you'll have an entire container of miso left to make these recipes!

• Miso Ginger Dressing makes ANY salad craveable
• Miso Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Ginger Miso Soba Noodle Soup
• Miso Butter on Poached Eggs
• Miso Salmon

What to Serve with Miso Marinated Cod

• Steamed white or brown rice
• Charred Broccoli
• Spicy Cucumber Avocado Salad
• Soba Noodle Salad

Afterthoughts

I am allowing myself to be receptive to any and all stimuli that will keep me on this path of blogging inertia, which sounds like I'm about to stop, but if you happened to pass Physics 8A on the third try like I did (!) you'd know that "inertia" is the tendency of an object to remain in whatever state it is in, motion or rest, unless acted upon by a force. In the case of this Delicious blogger, unless Peyton Manning shows up on my doorstep in nothing but an NFL grilling apron, I should keep blogging.

Now, since it’s Friday, fish seems appropriate, but that’s only because the Catholic brainwashing during my childhood was partially successful. However, I can’t just say “fish” and be done with it, so I am using one of my favorite websites, dictionary.com and its Word of the Day as the meat fork that’s poking into my medium rare roasted brain and letting the bloody, fatty creative juices flow out into a thick, gravy of a blog post.

Dictionary.com's Word of the Day is “gainsay,” which is just my f**king terrible luck because there are some words that you want to incorporate into your daily life because they make you sound smart, like “redolent” but how stupid does it sound for a food blogger to use the word "gainsay” in every day food conversation?

Very. Stupid.

Oh well.

For the purpose of blogging, sea bass, blogging sea bass, and the furtherment of SAT vocabularical flash cards, let me just state for the record that my sister Jenn's recipe for Shiro Miso Marinated Seabass is the very thing that will gainsay any and all future statements that I will ever hatefully make insinuating that there is only ever "ew" in Asian Fusion.

By the way, the Black Cod is quite wonderfully redolent of miso.