I’ve been very fortunate to eat at many award winning restaurants all over the world. Nobu, the very popular franchise from Chef Nobu Matsuhisa is not one of them. I believe they have almost 60 Nobu restaurants all around the world and I’ve never been. ☹️

One of the dishes made famous by Nobu is the Miso Marinated Black Cod (Sablefish). Black cod is available around my area from time to time but not often. Here I just used fresh Atlantic salmon as a replacement and it worked out very well. Some day I’ll try it with black cod and some day I will visit a Nobu but until then, this copycat recipe will do.

The marinade adds a subtle sweetness and umami. I might use a little less sugar next time but that is because I generally prefer savory over sweet.

Bonus: the Carolina Gold, Japanese style, seasoned rice is fantastic. If you can’t find Carolina Gold rice you can use any rice but ideally not instant.

Bonus: the copycat Power Greens recipe from Panda Express is also fantastic.

Ingredients for Miso-marinated Salmon

• 4 salmon filets
• 1/4 cup white miso
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 1/4 cup sake
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1-2 green onions to garnish

Recipe for Steamed Super Greens (Panda Express Copycat)

Ingredients for Japanese Rice

• 1 cup Carolina Gold rice
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 TBLS rice wine vinegar
• 1 TBLS Mirin
• 1 -2 pinch of salt
• 1 TBLS toasted sesame seeds

How to make Miso-marinated Salmon

1. 1-3 days ahead of serving, mix miso, mirin, sake and sugar until fully combined.
2. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer that handles liquids, use a zip top plastic bag. Add salmon and miso marinade. Remove as much air as you can. Fold the bag to force the marinade to coat the flesh of the salmon.
3. Place in the refrigerator and let it set for 1-3 days. The longer the better.
4. 20 minutes before serving, place a sheet pan in the oven, on the bottom rack and set it to 450F.
5. 10 minutes before serving, remove the sheet pan, add aluminum foil to the sheet pan and spray with non-stick spray.
6. Change the oven to broiler.
7. Remove the salmon from the marinade and place on the sheet pan.
8. Place the sheet pan in the middle rack of the oven, under the broiler.
9. Allow to cook. In the last few minutes, place the sheet pan to the top rack and continue cooking until the salmon is cooked through and slightly browned.

How to make Japanese Seasoned Carolina Gold Rice

1. 30 minutes before serving, place the rice, water, rice vinegar, mirin, salt and sesame oil in a medium pot.
2. Heat over high until boiling. Reduce to a simmer and cover for 15 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow to set, covered, for another 15 minutes.
4. Before serving, add sesame seeds and fluff the rice with a fork.

Did you try either the Miso Salmon or the Seasoned Rice? Let us know in the comments. Please consider following us on IG, X, FB, PI or TT.