Miso baked cod – umami yumminess

Umami, as I’m sure you already know, is one of the five basic tastes – the others being sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness. It has been variously translated from Japanese as yummy, deliciousness or a pleasant savoury taste. When you combine ingredients containing different umami-giving compounds, they enhance one another so the dish packs more flavour than the sum of its parts. Which is why the cooked beef, tomato and cheese in a burger form a ménage à trois made in heaven. Anyhow, the rich umami flavour of miso in this marinade is a perfect pairing for cod. Not only does it taste moreish, it is only 180 cals per portion.

MISO BAKED COD

Ingredients serves 2
2 tbsp miso
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp light soy sauce
½ tsp toasted sesame oil
30g fresh ginger, grated
2 cod fillets
4 spring onions, finely sliced, plus extra to garnish
Handful fresh coriander, plus extra to garnish
To serve
Steamed rice and griddled pak choi
Lime wedges

How to prepare
Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/ gas 6. Mix together the miso, mirin, soy sauce or tamari, sesame oil and ginger in a small bowl.

Lay each piece of cod on a piece of foil large enough to enclose it, then spoon half the miso mix on top of each. Add the spring onions and coriander, then tightly seal to make parcels.

Put both parcels into a roasting tin or baking dish, transfer to the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes – no longer, otherwise the fish will be dry. Divide the rice and pak choi between two plates. I didn’t lift the fish out of the parcels because I didn’t want to lose the fabulous juices, so simply opened the parcel and put it on the plate next to the rice and pak choi. Serve with extra coriander and spring onions on the side. Add lime wedges for squeezing.

Here’s one of our other miso recipes:

 

Aubergine with Miso