Give your fish an Asian twist with this savoury, tangy miso glaze. A simple way to meal prep some lean protein.

Time: 3/5
Two batches of cod in the oven telescopes pretty neatly into the other tasks.

Effort: 3/5
Not much harder to work with than chicken, and less grease to clean up afterwards.

Minimal work, moderate results

Amid all the chicken and rice recipes I churn out on this site, sometimes I forget to include more fish in my diet (the few times I do, however, have often resulted in great meals). Which is a shame, because fish in the diet is so good for your health.

One of the more popular posts on this blog is the Mayo and Old Bay Crusted Cod. Cod is pretty pricey where I live, so it stayed in the back of my mind until it was brought back up to the fore when I saw it go on sale again.

I’ve had considerable success when meal prepping salmon and chicken with a honey and miso mixture that does double duty as a marinade and a glaze. So it’s natural for me to wonder if the same method would work for cod as well.

Although, the glaze might benefit from a few modifications. I’ve started becoming more aware of what acid does to food (thanks, Samin!) and it paid dividends in upgrading my Gyudon game. A tiny bit of vinegar also added some interesting notes to this marinade too, and it’s definitely a lesson I will carry over to the next time I use it for other proteins.

This sort of lateral thinking and small incremental tweaks is how I manage to meal prep for more than 10 years without repeating the same recipes over and over again.

I still have an issue with not being able to brown the tops of the fish properly, even though I thought I did everything right – roasted in small batches, turned up the oven as high as it would go, and put the baking sheet on the topmost rack. 

I thought I could overcome my lack of a proper broiler, but I guess shortcuts can only take you so far. A kitchen torch would probably do the job too if I was cooking for a special occasion, but that’s too much hassle for a weeknight dinner.

Oh well. I’d much rather be Pareto optimal with my effort-to-reward ratio than to go all out and fry cosplay as a real big boy fancy chef. I’ve got things to do outside of the kitchen, and this meal is more than fit for purpose.

Dramatis Personae

Served 7.

Cod – 12 x 110g filets

I get two filets a portion, while the lady gets one and a half. We cheaped out and bought the budget brand, and I suspect the price reflects the quality. The fish released quite a lot of water during the marination, and shrank by more than I would expect during cooking.

It would be an interesting experiment to do a side by side comparison for cod filets from different manufacturers to see if some brands are selling us water weight. Perhaps one day, when my grocery budget can justify the expense.

Marinade 

Whisk together two tablespoons each of miso, light soy sauce and sugar, plus two teaspoons of vinegar and mirin. Unintentionally went all Noah’s Ark on the ingredients here, but that’s what I felt like at the moment.

You need to be careful about the miso, because it contains quite a bit of salt. It’s often a good idea to use less than you think you need the first time you work with an ingredient. You can always add salt afterwards, but you can’t take salt away.

Green beans – 1200g

Always eat your veggies! Green beans are one of the more meal prep friendly vegetables out there, because it’s so easy to prep. Rinse it off, cut into sections, and it’s ready to go. Makes a mean stir fry, too.

I’m just cooking them in the pan with a bit of oil, salt and some jarred minced garlic. Jarred garlic just isn’t the same as fresh, which might be why I was under strict orders to find ways to finish the jar as soon as possible.

Executive summary

1. Whisk marinade ingredients together. Toss fish to coat, and marinade in fridge overnight.
2. Begin cooking by starting the rice cooker. Preheat the oven to 250C/480F.
3. Lay half of the fish onto a foil and parchment lined baking sheet. Roast on the top rack for 10 minutes, or until just beginning to flake.
4. In the meantime, clean and cut the vegetables.
5. Reserve the first back of fish once it’s done, and roast the second batch the same way.
6. Cook vegetables in a skillet with a bit of oil on medium heat. Salt to taste, and add minced garlic when vegetables are almost done.
7. Assemble and serve.

Play by Play

Last things first. Defrost the cod, mix up the marinade, and massage it into the fish.

This is why it’s prudent to defrost in a container. The packaging leaked, and thankfully my skillet contained all the raw fish juice.

First batch of fish goes into the oven. Top rack, max heat, fingers crossed.

Always wash your veggies! Cut into sections, and we’re ready to go.

The first batch of cod was done at this point. Not quite what I expected, but it will pass muster. Reserve these pieces, and start roasting the second batch.

Next, I cooked the green beans in a skillet, with a little oil. Jarred garlic goes in last, when everything is almost done. They’ll get cooked a bit in the residual heat.

It’s always satisfying when everything becomes ready at about the same time. While I laboured on the fish, my SO had been working on the clam and luffa broth.

I was too busy with my stuff to take photos of the process, but this was a thumb of ginger, and a peeled luffa cut into chunks, simmered until the luffa was almost done before the clams went in for a minute or two. Seasoned lightly, for a savoury and refreshing broth.

Clam broth won’t make you jacked, though. But miso glazed cod will. Enjoy!

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