Ichise Etsuko’s Recipe for Moist, Fluffy Fish of the Season Marinated in Miso
May 25,2023
Fish is an everyday food that brings a sense of the season to the dining table. Many fish varieties come into season during the months from spring to early summer. Wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy them on busy workdays as well?
Here culinary expert Ichise Etsuko suggests an easy way to enjoy fish: marinated in miso and fried. She also shares an idea for getting more enjoyment out of this method of preparation and talks about one of her favorite fermented condiments, nam pla.
To make a dish of restaurant quality,
just marinate and fry!
When Etsuko picks up fish of the season cheaply at the store, or some is left over from her job as a culinary professional, she marinates it in miso. Then she’ll cook it the next day. And that’s it. It’s so simple, yet amazingly, she says, it invariably turns out delicious.
“Fish tends to be dry and flaky, but just marinating it in a sauce made from miso and mirin (sweetened sake) leaves it fluffy and moist. It also eliminates excess liquid and concentrates the flavor. And it infuses the fish with the flavor and aroma of the miso marinade. This is a completely different way to enjoy the delicious taste of fish than salting and broiling it. Fish prepared this way also tastes great cold, so it makes for a perfect bento lunch box item as well.”
Etsuko’s technique for marinating fish in miso requires no miso pickling bed. You simply make a small amount of miso sauce whenever you’re going to marinate some fish, coat the surface of the fish with it, and wrap it in plastic wrap. “You don’t have to use much miso, plus it’s a cinch to do, which is nice.”
Etsuko demonstrated the technique with a type of Spanish mackerel called sawara, a plain-tasting, white-fleshed fish that comes into season in the spring and early summer. “Another advantage of marinating in miso and frying is that it works with virtually any type of fish. Have fun trying it with different types of fish: yellowtail or horse mackerel when they’re in season, say, or those old favorites mackerel, salmon, or cod.”
Apply just enough miso sauce to cover the surface. “I don’t reuse the miso sauce after marinating raw fish in it because of the moisture and odor produced by the fish.”
What’s the secret to cooking fish marinated in miso without burning it?
Making fish this way takes just a few simple steps, but you have to take care not to burn it during cooking. The fish might get burnt to a crisp when you’re not watching.
“The reason it gets charred is the miso sauce. Be sure to scrape all the sauce off first before frying the fish. The fish can easily burn if any remains.”
When frying the fish, use a nonstick Teflon-coated frying pan and be careful to use the right heat setting. “Cook one side over low-medium heat until it turns a nice color. Then flip the fish over and slowly do the other side over extra low heat until it’s heated through. It should turn out great.”
Recipe for fried miso-marinated sawara
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- [Ingredients for 2 servings]
- 2 fillets of sawara (200g)
- Pinch of salt
- 〈Miso sauce〉
- 3 tablespoons miso
- 1 tablespoon mirin (sweetened sake)
- 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
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The ingredients for fried miso-marinated sawara. The miso that Etsuko usually uses is Meijo, made by Takeda Miso in Nagano. Meijo, which is made from domestic Japanese soybeans and rice, has a full-bodied flavor.
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- ［Instructions］
- 〈Marinating〉
1.Mix the ingredients for the miso sauce.
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2.Salt the sawara and let sit for 5 minutes. Sponge off any moisture produced with a paper towel.
Sprinkle with salt to bring out the odor of the fish and any excess moisture, so you can remove them.
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3.On a 30×40cm sheet of plastic wrap, spread half the miso sauce prepared in Step 1 over an area as large as the two sawara fillets. Place the fillets from Step 2 on it and coat the top with the rest of the sauce.
Coat the plastic wrap with half the miso sauce and place the fish on it (left). Then coat the top of the fish with the rest (right). That way you can cover the entire fish with miso without getting your hands sticky. You don’t need to be too thorough applying the sauce, since the fillets will be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap anyway.
- 4.Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in a tray or similar container. Let marinate in the fridge overnight.
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〈Frying〉
5.Unfold the plastic wrap and scrape off the miso sauce adhering to the sawara with a rubber spatula or the like.
Any miso sauce left on the fish could cause it to burn. Scraping it all off is one of the keys to making it taste great.
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6.Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Place the sawara from Step 5 in it, skin side down, and fry for 2 minutes until it turns a nice brown. Then flip it over, turn the heat down to extra low, and fry for 5 minutes until heated through.
Flip over the fish when one side turns fragrant and brown, then slowly fry the other side over extra low heat. That way it won’t burn and stick to the pan.
- 7.Dish up. Garnish with sweet vinegared ginger to taste.
Meat marinated in miso sauce tastes equally great!
Miso sauce made the same way is perfect for marinating meat as well as fish.
“A cut of chicken can be marinated in the same amount of sauce as two fillets of sawara. The way you marinate it is the same, but because chicken is thicker, I’ve come up with a different way to fry it. Fry one side over medium-low heat and flip it over once it turns brown. Then put on the lid and slowly fry over low heat.”
Fried miso-marinated chicken makes a great accompaniment to rice. The meat is moist and juicy, and the miso smells delectable. You can also use other types of meat to your liking—the cut of pork loin used for pork cutlet, for example. The addition of fried fish and meat marinated in miso to your trusty repertoire of main dishes is a godsend.
To make fried miso-marinated chicken, marinate a large chicken thigh (300g) overnight in the same way as miso-marinated sawara, using the same amount of miso sauce (3 tablespoons miso, 1 tablespoon mirin). When cooking, fry for 2 minutes over medium-low heat, skin side down. Then flip over, turn the heat to low, and cook for 7 minutes.
The miso sauce can be varied by using different types of miso.
The miso Etsuko usually uses is Shinshu miso from Nagano. “I love the dark color and well-balanced flavor of this full-bodied miso.”
She continues, “Saikyo miso from Kyoto also makes a delicious marinade. It’s tastes so elegant. Saikyo miso contains less salt than your regular miso, so add a bit extra salt when dressing the fish to make it just right. In addition, there are many other local varieties of miso all over Japan. Experiment with using different ones, and you could well discover a new flavor experience.”
Etsuko also suggests giving the miso an extra twist.
“To bring variety to your dining table, try adding grated ginger to your miso, or grated garlic, which kids just love. Spice it up with some Chinese chili bean sauce. Or give it a Korean flavor by mixing in some gochujang.”
Using nam pla to keep meals from becoming boring
Whan asked her favorite fermented food, Etsuko promptly replied, “Nam pla.” Nam pla, a fish sauce that no Thai meal would be complete without, is made by fermenting raw fish such as anchovies fish in salt. This highly flavorful condiment is now easily available at the supermarket, but many people out there still aren’t sure what to do with it.
“Stir-fries, fried rice, and takikomi gohan (rice cooked with other ingredients) all taste delicious when seasoned with a little nam pla. Heating nam pla alleviates its peculiar smell while leaving its umami intact. Foods take on a different character when you give them an ethnic twist.”
Nam pla tastes different depending on the brand, so find the flavor right for you, Etsuko urges.
“I prefer Balance Nam Pla Gold, which is made in Thailand. Some varieties of nam pla are really salty, but Balance Nam Pla Gold is only mildly salty, with a pronounced umami flavor. You can drizzle it on as is or use it as a dressing. Either way, it brings the flavor together nicely. Just adding a little to, say, beef or pork shabu-shabu after boiling it enhances the flavor. It really tastes great.”
Etsuko recommends Balance Nam Pla Gold. Made by salting fresh fish and patiently aging it for 24 months. Only the liquid on top is used.
