Recipe: Misoyaki Grilled Fish

Many of us have enjoyed Miso soup (味噌汁) at Japanese restaurants. The soup is simple and light in contrast to clam chowder, yet its taste is so rich. While sipping the Miso soup, you wonder what makes the soup so special that all Japanese restaurants serve Miso soup to their dear customers. The short paragraph from Wikipedia about Miso provides us some insight into its primary secret ingredient - Miso:

Miso is soy bean paste, which is an essential condiment in Japanese cooking. Miso is made by fermenting soy beans with salt and koji. Koji are fermented grains such as rice, barley, and soy beans. It takes about 10 months to a year for miso to be ready for use.

In short, what brings Miso such a rich taste is the fermentation process - a process that help preserve the original smell and taste of soy beans. If you are not allergic to soy products, I recommend you start adding Miso to your regular cooking today. Besides its rich taste, you get all the greatness of soy beans, which have been proven to be beneficial to your heart. Don't know where to start? Try out this unique recipe that grills the Miso marinated fish in a Japanese style.

Materials

1. 2 full table spoons of Miso. Miso can be easily found at any Asian supermarket. There are also many kinds to choose from and at various prices. I normally purchase those imported from Japan, because they know just how to produce high-quality Miso.
2. 1 table spoon of rice wine. I use rice wine to add fragrant flavor to the fish, even though most of the Miso products are already mixed with alcohol. Again, you can find rice wine from any Asian supermarket.
3. 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. I like to add a bit of sweetness to the fish by using sugar.
4. 1 piece of Orange Roughy fillet. I found that Orange Roughy is a perfect choice for this recipe, because the fish itself has a plain taste. You are welcome to try out any fish of your favorite, though.
   

Steps

1. Put Miso, sugar, and rice wine in a small bowl and use a spoon to mix the ingredients.
2. When Miso and sugar are well resolved and mixed with rice wine, pour the mixed Miso in a Ziploc bag.
3. Place the fish in the Ziploc bag. Zip the bag, after carefully squeezing out all the air. This assures the fish is thoroughly marinated.
4. Place the Ziploc bag flat in the refrigerator for at least half of a day to allow the flavor to simmer into the fish.
5. When ready to serve, take the fish out of the Ziploc bag. Wash the fish in a bowl with clean water and leave no Miso on the fish. NOTE: This is very important. Or, the fish will be burned by the grill.
6. Preheat the grill.
7. While waiting for the grill to be ready, wipe the fish with a clean towel to remove extra water.
   
8. After the grill is heated up, place the fish on the grill for about 6 to 8 minutes. The length of the grill time depends on the thickness of the fish fillet and the tenderness of the fish of your preference.
   
9. Remove the fish from the grill, when the time is up. It will taste the best, when the fish is served right off the grill.

I hope you all enjoy the Misoyaki grilled fish. You may want to readjust the amount of the ingredients to suit your taste. Ask me questions or leave me comments on how you like it.

Also, read this post at eHow.