Stewed Sablefish in Miso Gravy
May 11th, 2023Japanese-Inspired Comfort Food
If you’ve got a handful of key Japanese staple ingredients in your refrigerator, try making this very savory, very simple recipe for sablefish stewed in miso broth. The finished dish features a delicious mix of textures — buttery flakes of fish, crispy skin, and a gravy-like broth that’s perfect for spooning over a bowl of steamed rice. It’s Japanese-inspired comfort food, featuring wild-caught fish.
For an even simpler miso sablefish meal, check out a 3-ingredient recipe for Broiled Miso Sablefish.
Notes on Miso Gravy
This recipe reduces stock and miso paste into a slightly thickened sauce that can be enjoyed like a thin gravy. To make this miso gravy, you have a few options in terms of what base you want to use. Veggie stock (either homemade or store-bought) is the most basic option. Alternatively, using spot prawn stock as the base of this dish will add a prawny nuance to the meal.
For an even more Japanese take on this recipe, you can use dashi, an umami-rich stock made from dried kombu and dried bonito flakes. Both kombu (a type of seaweed) and bonito (a type of fish) can easily be found at your local Japanese grocery store. You’ll need to make about 2 cups of dashi for this recipe.
How to make homemade dashi (2 cups):
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Soak 5 grams for dried kombu in a pot filled with 2 cups water for 30 minutes. Over the course of 15 minutes, gently bring water to a simmer.
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Then, stir in dried bonito flakes and simmer for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to steep for 15 additional minutes.
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Strain, then use in place of stock.
About Chef George Pramatarov:
George Pramatarov is a chef based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Over the past decade, he has worked at several award-winning restaurants including St. Genevieve, Hai Hai, Grand Cafe, and Petite Leon—recently included in New York Times's 50 Favorite Restaurants of 2022. Born and raised in Bulgaria, George moved to the United States at age 14 and is equally influenced by Bulgarian, French, and American cuisine. Through cooking food and creating recipes, he is continually revisiting the feeling of home. When not cooking, George unwinds with his partner, Sara, and their crazy Beagle at the family lakeside cabin in Wisconsin.
Stewed Sablefish in Miso Gravy
By Wild Alaskan Company
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Total time
40 minutes
Yield
2 servings
Ingredients
- 2 (6-ounce) portions sablefish
- 2 cups veggie stock, spot prawn stock, or dashi
- ½ cup sake
- 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 3 tablespoons mirin
- 2 ¼ tablespoons sugar
- 4 ½ tablespoons miso paste
- 3 thin slices of fresh ginger
- 1 small red bell pepper, cut in eights
- 2 small leeks, cut into 1 ½ inch segments, one white segment reserved for garnish
- 1 packet enoki mushrooms, trimmed, washed and broken into bunches
- Chili oil, for serving (optional)
Instructions
1. Combine the stock, sake, soy, mirin, sugar, and ginger slices into a large enough pan in which the fish won't overlap. Bring to a boil and reduce it for about 10 minutes.
2. While the broth is reducing, pat sablefish fillets dry with a clean tea towel or paper towel, then score the skin with an “X” using a serrated knife. Make sure you don’t go too deep in the flesh.
3. Place sablefish fillets into pan skin-side up, in a single layer. Add leek segments (except for one reserved segment) and bell pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the garnish. Cut remaining leek into very thin matchsticks. Soak in a bowl of ice water for 15 minutes. Ladle ¼ cup of hot broth into a small mixing bowl, then dissolve miso in it. Return miso-broth mixture to pan and add enoki mushrooms. Cover and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes.
5. Remove lid and cook down for an additional 2 minutes. Meanwhile, set broiler to high, then transfer pan to oven for 5 minutes to crisp sablefish skin and further reduce miso broth. Keep an eye on fish so it doesn’t burn.
6. Divide fish and broth evenly among serving bowls, then garnish with leeks and chili oil. Serve immediately, alongside steamed rice.
Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of food-borne illness, especially if you have a certain medical condition. The FDA recommends an internal temperature of 145°F for cooked fish.
