Pan Fried Miso Glazed Cod (Easy Recipe)

A delicious, moist, and tender thick piece of cod marinated with Japanese miso makes a wonderful sweet and salty fish dish for you to try! Easy enough to make for any weekday dinner, and impressive tasting for your most fancy dinner party or special occasion too! A versatile recipe, this Pan Fried Miso Cod goes equally well with rice, noodles and mashed potato!

Jump to:

• Why You Must Try Miso
• But What is Miso?
• Ingredient Notes
• How to Make Pan Fried Miso Glazed Cod? 
• Recipe FAQs
• Reader Review
• What to Serve Pan Fried Miso Cod With?
• Delicious Fish Recipes To Try Next Time
• Other Recipes Using Miso
• Pan-Fried Miso Glazed Cod

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Why You Must Try Miso

I will be honest, until about 10 years ago, I haven't even tried miso, nor have I heard of it, really. But once I bought a small jar of miso paste for the first time, I was hooked. There's nothing like the flavour of miso. And with more experience using it, I realised how versatile it actually is! 

Besides making the obvious miso soup, you can use it in broths as a base for ramen and in sauces, like our Creamy Miso Pasta. Or to miso glaze salmon, meat or aubergine.

What is more, miso has become a popular ingredient to use in desserts (you must try our Miso & Peanut Butter Cookies). It gives a hint of saltiness and goes extremely well with caramel and chocolate. 

But What is Miso?

Miso is a sweet and salty-tasting fermented paste that adds an umami flavour to your dishes. It is primarily used in Japanese cuisine but has gained immense popularity across the world in the past decade.

Miso is typically made from cultured soybeans, some kind of grain (normally rice or barley) and a mould called koji. 

There are lots of different types of miso, but generally the lighter in colour, the sweeter and milder tasting the miso is. Yellow or white miso paste is, therefore, typically used for dressings and in desserts to add a salty umami taste (think salted caramel), and dark miso (brown and red miso) is the best choice for stews and richer dishes, otherwise, dark miso will overpower all the other flavours. 

Ingredient Notes

• cod loins: choose thick fish fillets. We used skinless fish, but it's not a must. This recipe works equally well with black cod fillets and Chilean Sea Bass. 
• miso paste: white or yellow miso paste works best with white fish. 
• brown sugar: light or dark brown sugar will work in this recipe. Alternatively, use white sugar. 
• rice vinegar: can be replaced with white wine or apple cider vinegar. 
• sesame oil: we used a small amount of toasted sesame oil. 
• garlic clove. 
• spring onions: also known as green onions, thinly sliced for garnish. 

How to Make Pan Fried Miso Glazed Cod? 

Step 1: Sweet Miso Marinade

1. Combine miso, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic and sesame oil in a small bowl and mix until the sugar dissolves. 

2. Dab the fish with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Pour marinade all over the cod loins, ensuring each fish fillet is covered and leave it in the fridge to marinate for 1 hour.

Step 2: Cook the Miso Glazed Cod 

1. Heat a non-stick frying pan with 3 tablespoon of vegetable or other odourless oil (like rapeseed or sunflower) on medium heat. 

2. Once hot, place fish loins in the pan and fry for 3-4 minutes (if your fish has skin on, place it skin side down). Pour any excess marinade into the pan too. Then cover with the lid and fry for another 3 minutes. 

3. Take the lid off, turn the cod over and increase the heat to high and cook for another minute, spooning any remaining miso mixture from the pan over the surface of the fish to glaze. (You may need to adjust cooking times based on the thickness of the fillets - ours were 4 cm thick). The outside of the fish should be golden brown, and the inside should retain a succulent texture. 

Sca4. Scatter some spring onions and sesame seeds (optional) or red pepper flakes on top of the miso-glazed fish and serve! 

Recipe FAQs

What to Serve Pan Fried Miso Cod With?

So what pairs well with miso cod? I'll be honest, this Japanese Cod Recipe goes extremely well with both Asian and Western-style side dishes. On this occasion, we served it with creamy mashed potato and an Asian-Style Cucumber Ribbon Salad! But we also recommend you try it with baby bok choy or sauteed spinach and stir-fried noodles. other great options include: 

• Fluffy White Rice
• Korean Cucumber Salad With Spicy Soy Sauce
• Fried Tenderstem Broccoli with Garlic and Lemon (Garlic Broccolini)
• Courgette Ribbon Salad

Delicious Fish Recipes To Try Next Time

If you liked our miso glazed cod recipe and love fish for dinner, here are some of our other favourite recipes for you to try: 

• Inverted Fish Pie or Smoked Haddock Gratin
• Coconut Crusted Cod (Baked)
• Pistachio Crusted Cod (Baked)
• Pecan Crusted Cod
• One-Pan Iberian Fish Stew
• Blackened Salmon with Mango Salsa

Other Recipes Using Miso

If you are looking for more ways to cook with Miso Paste, here are some of our best ones: 

• Vegetable & Mushroom Miso Ramen Bowl
• Miso Butter Salmon (Quick & Easy Recipe)
• Sweet & Salty Miso Aubergine
• No-Fuss Vegetarian Bibimbap