Miso Black Cod with Pa Jeon and Ginger Sesame Sabayon

Happy Valentine's Day to all my friends and visitors. May your day be filled with love, joy, understanding, and contentment as you make your way through life with those you love and hold dear.

This year for Valentine's Day I decided to go with the romantic flow and be a bit excessive in my dinner preparation for my Valentines.  This dish is my attempt to pay tribute to the amazing Black Cod on Korean-style pancake that I had at ByMark a few weeks ago. The fish was the most perfectly cooked fish I ever had, and I was fascinated by the Chef's choice to serve it atop a Korean-style pancake (Pa Jeon).  I also wanted to take a stab at a Sabayon as I have never made one but was pretty certain that it was a play on that sauce that the Chef served with the fish.

This recipe is a close approximation of the fish I had that night, and something like it generally appears on most higher-end Asian style restaurants.  I have been making this particular fish recipe for a number of years - way back it was with Chilean Sea Bass -  but for obvious reasons I have not made it with that fish for a long time.  Halibut will work well, but so far Black Cod is the best substitute that I have come across for Sea Bass.

The Korean Pancake was a huge hit with all 3 of my Valentines and I have a feeling we will be making them as lunches or snacks on the weekend in the future.  Mixed reviews on the Sabayon as it contained Prosecco - amazingly it was the Teen that was "Meh" on the sauce - but everyone else loved it.

Ingredients:

4 Black Cod fillets (about 1.5 lbs) - sometimes called Sablefish


For marinade:

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 cup white miso (the recipe works without if you can't find it)
1 cup mirin
1/2 cup sake
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

Mix the marinade ingredients thoroughly in a Ziploc plastic bag.  Place fillets in Ziploc bag with the marinade.  Marinade in the refrigerator over night, being sure to turn at least once.  Can be marinated up to 3 days.

To cook, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove fillets from marinade and pat dry gently with a paper towel.  Place fish in a glass pan and bake in the oven for approximately 15-20 minutes.

Serve on top of Pa Jeon (Korean-Style green onion pancakes) with Ginger Sesame Sabayon and a sprinkling of Shitake mushrooms lightly sauteéd in a little butter.

Cooks Note:

Watching an episode of Martha Stewart years ago, I learned a handy trick for testing the doneness of fish from Eric Ripert of renound seafood restaurant in NYC, Le Bernadin.

To test if fish is ready, insert a carving fork gently into the centre of the fillet and pull back.  If the fork releases easily, the fish is done.  If the fish clings slightly to the fork, it requires a few more minutes of cooking.  If it does not release, it needs more cooking time.  Has worked like a charm for me for years.