← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 4 salmon, cod or mackerel fillets (about 120 g each)
• ½ tsp Salt
• 150 g white miso (saikyo miso if you can find it)
• 2 tbsp Sake
• 2 tbsp Mirin
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 4 Shiso (Japanese perilla) leaves (optional)

Method

1. Sprinkle the fish with salt and leave for 15 min, then pat away the moisture that beads on the surface.
2. Mix the miso, sake, mirin and sugar into a smooth paste.
3. Spread a thin layer of the paste in a container, lay a sheet of muslin or kitchen paper on top, add the fish, then cover with another sheet and the rest of the paste. The cloth keeps the miso off the fish so it does not burn later.
4. Cover and refrigerate for 1–2 days.
5. Heat the grill to high. Lift the fish out, wipe off any stray miso and lay it on a lined tray. Grill 15 cm from the heat for 8–12 min, turning once, until browned in spots and just flaking. Watch closely: the sugars catch fast.
6. Serve with rice, a shiso leaf and pickled ginger or radish.

Tips

• If the surface darkens before the fish is cooked, cover it loosely with foil and finish.
• Contains soy; most miso is gluten-free, but check the label.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

RecipeTin Japan Japanese Cooking 101 Just One Cookbook