Impossibly Tender & Flaky Miso Marinated Cod

Miso cod is the simple seafood recipe we turn to for an easy date night in! It’s healthy, quick to prep, and has a short cook time, meaning we can make it on a weeknight or a weekend! Best of all, it tastes great.

If you haven’t cooking with miso paste before, you’re in for a treat. It’s a great way to impart a ton of flavor with minimal effort. You can buy it at most major grocery stores these days, and it’ll keep for months in your fridge. You’ll find yourself adding it to eeverything!

We love serving this weeknight miso cod with oven roasted broccoli and sautéed carrots, shiitake mushrooms, and white rice. One bite and you’ll totally feel like you’re dining in a fancy schmancy restaurant! The cod simply melts in your mouth. Let’s make it!

Ingredients For Miso Cod

For the miso marinated fish:

• Cod
• Miso paste
• Sake
• Soy sauce, low sodium!
• Sesame oil
• Mirin or rice vinegar
• Ginger paste
• Honey
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the vegetables:

• Carrots
• Baby shiitake mushrooms
• Scallions
• Sesame seeds, for garnish

Don’t forget white rice for serving! You’ll want to sop up every last drop of the miso marinade. And for sure no judgment if you lick the plate clean.

(Been there, done that.)

We use our rice cooker almost exclusively these days (it’s that reliable!!), but you can also make rice in an Instant Pot if that’s more your thing.

How To Make Miso Cod

1. First, sauté carrots and shiitake mushrooms until soft. Next, add scallions sliced into 2″ pieces, then cook until blistered. Remove and set veggies aside.
2. Add cod fillets (reserve the miso marinade!) to the skillet and cook 2 minutes, then carefully flip the fish over.
3. Place the cooked veggies on top, then pour on the remaining miso marinade. Cook in a preheated oven to 400 F for 8 minutes. The internal temperature of the cod fillets should be between 140-145 F.
4. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and additional thinly sliced scallions just before serving.

If you don’t already own a fish spatula, highly recommend! They are inexpensive and can be used for flipping and scooping anything, not just seafood. This is the one tool I use every single day, but it is especially helpful when flipping the cod fillets over.

We recommend the Thermapen MK4 to check for doneness on all meats!

What’s The Difference Between Cod and Black Cod?

Okay, first — we used regular ol’ Atlantic cod in this recipe. It’s inexpensive (which we love!), but can often times be bland (don’t love that so much!). The flesh is leaner than black cod, making it a flakier fish (versus delicate, melty layers). It’s a great option, however, in applications where there is a super flavorful sauce being applied. Hooray!

Black cod, also known as Sablefish or Butterfish, is super luxurious and much more expensive. It’s got a buttery texture and is fattier than cod. We are crazy about it — and trust me, if I see that bad boy on a menu, there is 99.9% likelihood that I’m ordering it.

Both will work beautifully for miso cod. If you’re making this for a special date night in and the budget allows, I would totally splurge on Sablefish. If it’s just your run of the mill Wednesday night, ain’t no shame in buying Atlantic or Pacific cod. It’ll be delish!

What To Serve With Miso Glazed Cod

A good amount of fluffy rice and all the sautéed or roasted veggies! We recommend baby shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and oven roasted broccoli, but use any vegetables you love. Just make sure to sauté them before transferring the fish to the oven so everything finishes cooking around the same time.

Think of this as an elevated stir fry. All the same add-ins are still welcome, whether you want water chestnuts and baby corn or onions and bok choy. The more the merrier, ya know?

Just before serving, sprinkle the miso cod with thinly sliced scallions (yes, more of them!) and sesame seeds.

Talk about a beautiful presentation! If you are a seafood lover — or even just a miso lover — we think this will become a new weeknight staple! So crazy flavorful.

And the texture of the cod fillets? Melt in your mouth delicious.

Looking for another recipe featuring miso paste? Check out these miso-marinated salmon bowls, which can be enjoyed warm or cold!

If you make this Miso Cod recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below.

And make sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow along on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Facebook for more Well Seasoned recipes! DON’T FORGET to tag us on social channels when you make a recipe at #wellseasonedstudio !! We LOVE seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!

For more easy weeknight seafood recipes, check out the following:

• Slow baked salmon with herb shallot butter
• Spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clam sauce)
• Salmon piccata
• Classic fish cakes
• Salmon Piccata

Print Recipe

5 from 6 reviews

Impossibly Tender & Flaky Miso Marinated Cod

Miso Cod is an elegant dish that is deeply flavored with miso paste, sake, soy, ginger, honey, and sesame. Serve with fluffy rice, earthy shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and blistered scallions. Quick enough for a weeknight, but special enough to entertain with!

Prep15 minutes mins

Cook22 minutes mins

Marinating Time1 hour hr

Total1 hour hr 37 minutes mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: miso paste, pan seared

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 224kcal

Author: Ari Laing

Equipment

Tupperware or Ziploc bag

Large skillet

Fish spatula

Ingredients

For the miso marinade

• ¼ cup miso paste
• 2 Tbsp sake
• 2 Tbsp mirin
• 1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp honey

For the cod

• 1½ lb cod fillet see note below
• 1¼ tsp Kosher salt divided
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
• 2 cups carrots thinly sliced into ¼" pieces (about 4-5 carrots)
• 4 oz baby shiitake mushrooms stems removed, left whole
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 large scallions divided
• Sesame seeds for garnish
• For serving: white rice, steamed or roasted vegetables, scallions, cilantro, lime wedges, sesame seeds optional

Instructions

• Make the miso marinade. Season cod fillets on all sides with 1 tsp Kosher salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Place in a large tupperware or Ziploc bag. In a large bowl, combine ¼ cup miso paste, 2 Tbsp sake, 2 Tbsp mirin, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp sesame oil, and 1 tsp honey. Whisk to combine, then pour over fish. Seal container, shake, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
• Cook the vegetables. Preheat oven to 400F. If needed, cut cod fillets so they fit easily in the skillet, reserving marinating liquid. Heat 2 Tbsp canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add 2 cups sliced carrots and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until beginning to soften. Add 4oz mushrooms and 1 Tbsp butter, then cook an additional 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add scallions. Trim the ends off 2 scallions, then cut into 2" pieces. Add to the skillet and sauté until blistered, another 3-4 minutes. Season with remaining ¼ tsp Kosher salt, stir, then transfer to a bowl.
• Cook the cod. Carefully add cod fillets to the warm, preheated pan. Cook for 2 minutes, then gently use a fish spatula to flip the fish over, being careful not to break it. Return cooked vegetables to the pan, then pour reserved miso marinade on top. Transfer the skillet to preheated oven and cook for 8 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 140-145F is reached.
• Garnish, then serve. Thinly slice remaining scallion (discard the root), then sprinkle on miso cod along with a generous sprinkle of sesame seeds, cilantro, and scallions for garnish. Serve immediately with white rice and roasted or steamed veggies.

Notes

• Nutrition facts do not include white rice or roasted broccoli.
• If you do not have ginger paste, replace with 2 tsp freshly grated or minced ginger.
• Make-ahead: Cod can marinate for up to 24 hours before cooking.
• This recipe uses Atlantic cod fillets, which are less expensive than Black Cod. The same method can be used for cooking Black Cod (has a more luxurious and buttery texture — highly recommend for a special occasion if you can find it!). 
• If you do not have low-sodium soy sauce, do not season the fish with Kosher salt before marinating.

Nutrition

Calories: 224kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 1121mg | Potassium: 727mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 7367IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 1mg

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