I’ve been on a seafood kick lately. I served Smoked Catfish dip at the James Beard House. I made some delicious smoked trout, I’ve cooked salmon several ways (here, here, here, and here.) Today, I want to talk about another favorite fish of mine, black cod. Black cod is not really even cod, it’s a sablefish (aka butterfish.) It is a white fish with a high-fat content, which gives it a buttery, moist texture. Most importantly, it’s listed as a “best choice” for sustainability from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch. The recipe for Grilled Black Cod with Ginger Soy Broth is a take-off on “Hong Kong-style” fish recipes. In those recipes, soy sauce is combined with sherry, water, and sugar to make a flavorful broth that surrounds the fish. The ginger-soy broth in this recipe has more of a full flavor with the ginger, sambal oelek, and chicken broth. Paired with udon noodles and sauteed spinach, the grilled cod is a show stopper piece of fish.
Preparing and prepping the Ginger Soy Broth
If you want to prep the ginger-soy broth, the spinach or the udon noodles ahead, feel free. All of those items will keep in the fridge a couple of days. After the udon is cooked, toss with sesame oil to keep from sticking. Other than that, the dish is pretty simple to make. Cook the spinach down with sesame oil, and simply put the broth ingredients in a small stockpot, bring to a boil then simmer for at least 20 minutes.
Grilling the Black Cod
You’ll need 4 to 6 oz filets of black cod. You can go slightly larger if you want, but black cod is rich and filling. I seasoned the cod with my Lucky 7 seasoning, which is lightly flavored with some citrus overtones. If you don’t have that, simply use your favorite fish seasoning. Prepare a grill to run medium hot with a cool zone. Make sure you oil the grates before grilling the fish, as it is delicate. Remove the fish when it hits 143 degrees internal temp. The residual thermal heat will take the filet above 145, the recommended internal temperature for fish.
Putting it all together
To serve, place udon noodles in a bowl and top with sauteed spinach. Set the grilled cod on the spinach then pour ginger-soy broth around it. Grilled cod makes a super special meal when you’re entertaining, or a nice meal for the family. Feel free to substitute other white fish, such as grouper as well. This is sooo delish!
As always, I hope you enjoy!
Ingredients
- 4 4-6 oz Black Cod Filets
- 2 TBS Lucky 7 Seasoning or your favorite fish seasoning
- 1 TBS canola oil to oil grates
Instructions
- Prepare a grill to run at medium heat with a cool zone (indirect grilling)
- Remove cod filets from package and rinse, then pat dry
- Lightly season all sides of filets with seasoning
- oil grates of grill, then put on. Allow to cook for 3 minutes, then give the a 1/4 turn. Allow to cook for 2-3 more minutes, then turn over and repeat process. Using a instant read thermometer, cook until internal temperature of 142 is reached.
- Remove cod from grill, plate and serve.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 TBS rice wine vinegar
- 1 TBS ginger peeled and minced
- 1 TBS oyster sauce
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 TBS sambal oelek
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 TBS toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except sesame oil to saucepan
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes
- add in toasted sesame oil
- Pour broth over cooked udon noodles and sauteed spinach.
Leave a Reply