Dine in Style With Rocco DiSpirito’s Nobu-Style Miso Cod

If you’ve never had the chance to visit the trendy Japanese fine dining chain, Nobu, Rocco DiSpirito thinks you still deserve a taste of the good life. In his latest cookbook, Everyday Delicious: 30 Minute(ish) Home-Cooked Meals Made Simple, he’s teaching us how to whip up one of their signature delicacies in the comfort of our homes.

“All due credit goes to Nobu for creating a miso cod recipe so simply perfect I wouldn’t dare to mess with it,” DiSpirito writes in his book. “Cod is marinated in a mixture of mirin, honey, brown sugar, and miso until decadently sweet, savory, and delicious.”

Unfamiliar with mirin? DiSpirito also includes a breezy introduction to the Japanese cooking wine: “Mirin is often confused with rice vinegar, but their flavor profiles are quite distinct. While both are staples of Japanese cooking, rice vinegar is salty and acidic, while mirin imparts a sweet flavor, more like a Marsala wine.” If you’ve never cooked with this tangy pantry staple before, prepare to be hooked.

Think you’ll be obligated to sweat over the hot stove as you assemble the perfect side dish to this decadent fish? DiSpirito actually says it’s best to keep things simple: “Serve on its own or with steamed broccoli and cooked rice.” 

Nobu Rip-Off Brown Sugar Miso Cod

Serves 4 | Total Time: 30 minutes | Ease of Preparation: Easy

Ingredients

• ½ cup mirin
• ½ cup miso paste
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
• Salt
• 2 pounds black cod or skinless Atlantic cod, cut into 4 portions

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mirin, miso, honey, brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Arrange the cod in a single layer in a broilerproof baking dish and pour the miso mixture over the fish. Allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes (overnight in the fridge would be optimal).
2. Preheat the broiler to low.
3. Place the baking dish with the fish and marinade under the broiler for 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Serve immediately.

Excerpted from EVERYDAY DELICIOUS copyright © 2024 by Rocco DiSpirito. Used by permission of Rodale Books an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.