Miso-Glazed Salmon | Everyday Dorie

Dorie’s miso-glazed salmon is inspired by a similar dish at Nobu, the iconic miso-glazed black cod. It is the dish I’d very much like to have for my last meal, if I’m ever given a choice. I have it regularly at Nobu — whenever I have lunch with a friend who lives close to Nobu Downtown in New York City.

Many chefs try to replicate the miso-glazed black cod — with varying degree of success. The common ingredients for the miso marinade are: mirin (2T), miso paste (1T), sake (2T) and sugar (1T). Meanwhile, very rarely do I see black cod in the fish market. Therefore, I have never attempted to make the dish at home, also knowing full well the key to success is premium-quality chef-grade ingredients.

Besides using salmon, Dorie’s recipe for the marinade includes: miso paste, honey, freshly squeezed lemon juice and soy sauce. These are good choices for curing the salmon first for a few hours in the refrigerator. Then roast the marinated salmon fillets in a 425°F for 8 to 10 minutes. I didn’t read the recipe close enough and proceeded with pan-frying the fish on the stovetop. The salmon skin turns brown and crispy as a result. It’s probably easier with oven roasting which cooks more gently and evenly, particularly for anything more than four pieces of salmon in one go.

Nobu serves the black cod with a delightful ginger pickle. Again, I’ve never seen the micro ginger spear anywhere in the market. The best I can come up with is to use a piece of young ginger. Slice and then cut them up thinly like ribbons. Put them in a quick pickle brine of mirin, rice vinegar and soy sauce. Set aside. It’s appealing to serve the salmon with a mix of the pickled ginger and green onion chiffonade.

This is not black cod from Nobu, but I am excited the way the miso-glazed salmon turns out.