Hot food: Miso cod

What is it?

Saikyo yaki, or fish marinated in miso (fermented soy bean paste) and grilled or baked. It has been the signature dish of Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa since 1987 and is the favourite dish of actor Robert De Niro, co-owner with Matsuhisa of the global Nobu restaurant chain. Based on a traditional white miso marinade once used for preserving fish, it is a thing of shimmering beauty, with a deep, rich, buttery, almost caramelised flavour.

Where is it?

At Nobu Melbourne, of course, which serves up more than 20,000 portions of miso cod to its diners every year. But miso cod has long broken out of its home base, appearing in various guises around town. At Matteo's in North Fitzroy, chef Brendan McQueen applies the traditional white miso marinade to black cod (sable fish), grilling it under the salamander for that all-important final burnished glaze and serving it with choy sum, tiny spanner crab and potato gems, and an elegant crab and carrot sauce. "We have a lot of wine dinners at Matteo's and it's always chosen as a course with which to showcase the wine," he says. "Everyone who has it loves it."

There seems barely a Japanese restaurant without miso cod on the menu in Sydney, including Potts Point's new darling, Cho Cho San, where chefs Jonathan Barthelmess and Nic Wong send out a hand-made ceramic bowl holding a darkly glazed, sustainably caught Glacier 51 toothfish from the Great Southern Ocean that cleaves perfectly into glistening lobes of pearly flesh. "It's a sustainable fish and the taste and texture are supreme," says Barthelmess. "The natural oil of the fish works really well on the grill, along with bold flavours of our dark miso glaze."

Why do I care?

Because it turns fish into something exciting that everyone will want to eat. And because it's on the menu at Nobu Melbourne for $42.

Can I do it at home?

Sure can; use this recipe adapted from the Nobu original. Choose a thick white fish, such as blue-eye trevalla. (Tip: Use any leftover marinade on salmon, chicken, eggplant or tofu.)

MISO COD WITH SESAME GREENS

Serve with greens such as broccolini and snow peas, tossed in sesame oil and a touch of mirin.

4 tbsp white miso paste

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp mirin (sweet rice wine)

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

4 x 180g blue-eye trevalla fillets

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

2 tbsp Japanese pickled ginger

1. Whisk the miso, soy, mirin, sugar and olive oil in a bowl until smooth. Slather the paste all over the fish, cover and refrigerate for 12 hours or overnight.

2. Heat an overhead grill until hot, and cover the grill tray with kitchen foil. Grill the fish for five minutes or until golden and caramelised; it should be a bit scorched on the edges without being burnt. There's no need to turn it, as it cooks very quickly. Drizzle with sesame oil, scatter with sesame seeds, and serve with pickled ginger.

Serves 4

Sourcing

Miso paste, mirin and Japanese ginger are available in larger supermarkets and Asian food stores.

VIC

Nobu, 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank, 03 9292 5777, noburestaurants.com

Matteo's, 533 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy North, 03 9481 1177, matteos.com.au

NSW

Cho Cho San, 73 Macleay Street, Potts Point, 02 9331 6601, chochosan.com.au