Gindara Image Used Under Creative Commons License From moranbong.co.jp
Citizens, of all the delicious fish in the Japanese culinary repertoire, Gindara (miso-cured and glazed black cod) reigns high in the firmament of all finned feasting!
The sablefish has many names: in English, common names for it include sable (USA), butterfish (USA),black cod (USA, UK, Canada), blue cod (UK), bluefish (UK), candlefish (UK), coal cod (UK), coalfish (Canada), beshow, and skil(fish) (Canada), although many of these names also refer to other, unrelated, species.
The sablefish is found in muddy sea beds in the North Pacific at depths of 300 to 2,700 m (980 to 8,860 ft) and is commercially important to Japan.
The white flesh of the sablefish is soft-textured and mildly flavored. It is considered a delicacy in many countries. When cooked, its flaky texture is similar to Patagonian toothfish (Chilean sea bass).
The meat has a high fat content and can be prepared in many ways, including grilling, smoking, or frying, or served as sushi. Sablefish flesh is high in long-chain omega 3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. It contains about as much as wild salmon.
This particular dish’s cooking method is known as “Saikyo Yaki”. Saikyo in Japanese means “West City” and it’s actually the old name for Kyoto.
This specific cooking method is named Saikyo because the recipe utilizes Saikyo Miso (sweet white miso) which originated from the Kyoto area. The traditional Saikyo Yaki recipes include just three ingredients: Saikyo Miso, mirin, and sake.
My recipe for Gindara is closely based on superchef Nobu Matsuhisa’s version, as it was he who popularized this delicious recipe outside Japan. Citizens, it remains one of my great favorites and is not difficult at all to make!
Battle on – The Generalissimo
Ingredients
- ¾ cup shiro (white) miso
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup sake
- 6 tbsp. mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine)
- 1 lb. boneless sashimi-quality black cod
- Sea salt
Instructions
- Put all marinade ingredients in top of a double boiler and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth.
- Cook over simmering water over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Cut 1 lb. boneless sashimi-quality black cod into 8 equal pieces.
- Sprinkle sea salt over the fillets and set aside for 30 minutes. This will help get rid of the fishy smell and removes excess moisture from the fish.
- Wet a paper towel with sake and gently pat the fillets dry. Do not wash the fish.
- Pour half of cooled miso marinade into a shallow dish, add cod, then pour remaining marinade on top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 days, traditionally it cures for a week!
- Position a rack in center of oven about 8'' under broiler. Preheat broiler.
- Remove the marinade off the fillets completely with your fingers. Do not leave excess miso on the fish otherwise it'll burn easily. Place the fish skin side up on baking pan lined with parchment paper.
- Put in oven and broil until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Turn cod over and broil until fish flakes easily, about 3 minutes more.
- Serve immediately.
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Just put mine in the fridge to marinate for the next several days. The marinate had a rather strong alcohol smell and my cats are going nuts looking for the cod but otherwise no issues so far. Will let you know how it turns out. Or rather Marcus Ogawa will let you know 😉