B Beins: Miso-Marinated Black Cod
About B’s Recipe
This recipe is significant to me as the culmination of two formative chapters of my life that have led my cooking journey and general love for food to where it is today. The first was starting a local apprenticeship in sushi at Mame, which later became Akira, where I learned the importance of quality ingredients, respect paid to them, and simple preparations that let those ingredients shine. The second formative chapter came during the later half of this time and proceeded for the years to follow; finding the Lane County Farmers Market and the truly remarkable farms that, to me, showed why fresh, quality produce unlocks a whole new world of cuisine. Learning that certain varieties of peaches or strawberries could taste that good changed the world for me. For those that remember Grateful Harvest’s “Tristar” strawberries, I’m talking about things like this. In my eyes, these incredible varieties of fruits and vegetables, grown healthily, and harvested thoughtfully are the foundation of truly special recipes.
This recipe is a coming together of celebrating the influx of amazing produce that comes with the Spring season in the lower Willamette Valley and also appreciating those ingredients through the lens of thoughtfully restrained execution of Japanese cuisine, especially that of Japanese farm food. If you enjoy this recipe, I highly suggest Nancy Silverton Hachisu’s book by that title to learn similar preparations.
This recipe takes advantage of a few ingredients that I think are at their peak during the Spring season. Those ingredients being strawberries, turnips, Spring onions (an all-time personal favorite for their sweetness), and salad greens. Generally speaking, these all are more tender and sweet before the Summer heat sets in. If you do make this recipe during the Spring, I hope you get to appreciate how well each of these ingredients shine on their own as well as together here.
Ingredients
Miso-Marinated Black Cod:
- Black cod, ⅔ lb (from Brandywine Fisheries)
- Green onion, ⅓-½ bunch (Wild Child’s are exceptional)
- Marinade:
- Garbanzo white miso, 1 ⅓ Tablespoons (from Oregon Permaculture Works, or @OregonPW on Instagram)
- Sake, ¼ Cup
- Mirin, 1 ½ Tablespoons
- Soy sauce, 2 teaspoons
- Rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon
- Salt, ¼ teaspoon
Salad:
- Strawberries, 1 pint
- Turnips, 1 bunch
- Spring onions, 1 bunch
- Salad greens, 3-4 Cups
- “Canadice grape-boshi”, 10 each (local version of umeboshi also from Oregon Permaculture Works)
- Salt, a sprinkle to finish (preferably flake salt)
Dressing:
- Garbanzo white miso, 2 teaspoons
- Soy sauce, 1 ½ teaspoons
- Rice vinegar, 1 ½-2 Tablespoons
- Sesame oil, ½ teaspoon
- Neutral oil, 2 Tablespoons
- Brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
Process for Salad:
- Get out a large bowl and a small-medium bowl (the larger for tossing the salad, and the smaller for whisking the dressing).
- Whisk all components of the dressing together ahead of time to allow time for the sugar to dissolve.
- Remove the green section of the spring onions (these can be reserved for other recipes).
- Slice the white section of the spring onion into a large dice. Sauté the onions until just starting to caramelize, then add them to the large mixing bowl to cool down.
- Clean the turnips by trimming the greens, removing the root end, and scrubbing them. Cut them into wedges (for smaller turnips, cut into quarters; for larger turnips, cut into sixths).
- Toss the sliced turnips in a fairly generous amount of salt, and let sit for 15-30 minutes (keeping in mind this salt will be rinsed off).
- Slice the strawberries (for the smaller ones, into quarters; for the larger ones, into sixths).
- Once the turnips are done in the salt, rinse all the salt off, and add them to the salad mixing bowl along with the strawberries, “grape-boshi”, salad greens, and the salad dressing.
- When the fish is ready to eat, toss the salad, plate it, and finish with a small pinch of salt.
Process for Black Cod:
- Marinate the black cod for no less than 1 hour and no more than 4 hours.
- Set up a boiling pot that has a compatible steamer to cook the fish.
- Slice the green onions as thin as possible. Move the sliced green onions to a strainer that fits into a bowl, and place them together under a faucet to rinse thoroughly.
- Strain and set up the sliced green onions to drip-dry with the strainer propped up in the bowl. These can be spread on a paper towel to dry further, if desired.
- Steam the fish to 145°.
- Plate up the steamed black cod, topping it with the green onions. Serve with a side of white rice with sesame seeds and the strawberry-turnip salad!