Black cod, a Pacific fish also known as sable, is treasured in Japan (and at elite Japanese restaurants here) for its richness and slightly smoky flavor. With miso it is astonishingly delicious. (Mackerel is not the same but still very good.) Use white (it’s actually beige) miso if you can find it. As is common before cooking many types of fish in Japan, this is salted to firm up the flesh; you can skip this step if you prefer. This is not a super-saucy dish, but well-made short-grain rice (page 507) is still a good accompaniment, as would be any salad.

　　

Ingredients

4 servings

　　1 tablespoon salt

　　1 1/2 to 2 pounds fillets of black cod (sable) or mackerel

　　1 cup miso

　　1/4 cup sake or mirin

　　1 tablespoon peeled and finely shredded fresh ginger

　　

Step 1

Sprinkle the salt all over the fish and let sit refrigerated for at least 45 and up to 90 minutes. Rinse and dry the fish.

　　

Step 2

Combine 3/4 cup of the miso with 3 tablespoons of the sake. Smear this mixture all over the fillets and let sit refrigerated again for 45 to 90 minutes. Rinse and dry again.

　　

Step 3

Preheat the broiler; the rack should be about 4 inches from the heat source. Soak the ginger in cold water to cover. Combine the remaining miso and sake and smear over the flesh side of the fillets. Put on a nonstick or greased baking sheet and broil carefully, until the mixture bubbles but does not burn and the fish is done (the point of a thin-bladed knife inserted into its thickest part will meet little resistance). If the top threatens to burn before the fish is cooked through, move the rack down a notch or move the fish into a hot oven. Drain the ginger and use it to garnish the fish; serve immediately.

　　

Grilled Black Cod or Mackerel

Step 4

In step 2, do not rinse off the miso mixture; simply use your fingers to remove most but not all of it. Grill over moderate heat, turning once, until the outside is crisp and the inside cooked through.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.