Miso cod with butter coriander sauce

With Loimer Langenlois Ried Seeberg Grüner Veltliner, 2020

"Washing down the miso cod with this wine make a perfect combination."

Miso is essential in Japanese cooking. I have been exploring combinations of miso with different ingredients as well as wine. This is a miso cod in spring onion and coriander butter sauce, with chargrilled broccoli and carrot rice on the side. The dish was demolished by my family within 15mins so I can say this is good.

Miso cod with butter coriander sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 cod fillets

• 1 tablespoon of miso marinade; or 1 teaspoon of white miso paste diluted in a teaspoon of water

• Sea salt and pepper, generous pinches

For the butter coriander sauce:

• A large bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

• Small bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced (the ratio between coriander and spring onion should be roughly 2:1)

• A generous knob of butter

• Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Pat dry the cod fillets before marinating

2. Marinade the cod fillets for around 10minutes; put the salt and pepper first, then brush the miso marinade evenly on the cod fillets

3. Heat a non-stick frying pan in high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil after the pan is hot

4. Test that the oil is hot enough by dipping the tip of a wooden chopstick to the oil; bubbles will form around the chopstick if the oil is hot enough

5. Add the cod fillets to the pan and fry for 4-5minutes; turn and fry for another 4-5minutes; depending on the thickness of the cod fillets. If possible, fry the fillets that are same thickness at the same time

6. Take out the fillets once ready; add the butter to the same frying pan until the butter is melted and slightly brown; add the salt and pepper and mix well. Add the spring onions and immediately remove from the heat. Add the coriander and mix well after removing the pan from the heat

7. To serve, toss the butter sauce to the miso cod

P.S. this dish goes well with chargrilled broccoli and sushi rice

Wine pairing:

I matched this dish with a nice bottle of Grüner Veltliner from Austria, a gift from a very good friend. In fact, I cooked this dish in order to pair this wine. This wine has very high acidity so it breaks though the oiliness of the butter sauce. The honey and pineapple flavour of the wine resonates the sweetness in the miso sauce. And since the wine also has high acidity and lemon flavour, it balances out the "sweetness" and "heaviness" of the dish.

Washing down the miso cod with this wine make a perfect combination as the high acidity of the wine lightens up the "can-be-too-heavy" sweetness from the miso and pineapple flavour in the wine, resulting in a perfect balance of acidity, sweetness and rich complex flavour.