Butterfish is called that due to the buttery way it melts in your mouth. If you aren't from Hawaii, you probably call that fish, Black Cod. With a miso and sake marinade, well...you can thank me later.

Misoyaki Butterfish

Ingredients:
1/3 cup sake (Japanese rice wine)
1/3 cup mirin (Sweet Japanese rice wine)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup white miso (soybean paste)
4 pieces butterfish (black cod)

Let's get down to business. Pour the sake and the mirin into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for approx. 10 minutes to burn off the alcohol.

Put freshly washed and patted dry fish into a ziploc freezer bag. Add the cooled marinade and let sit in the fridge for about 24 hours.

Butterfish is not cheap. Nooo, it isn't. But it's worth it, and you don't need that much. Wash it by running it under cold water and patting dry with a paper towel.

Let's talk Sake. I am not a drinker, but I use it in my cooking. These are individual serving size bottles for one. The one on the right is the one I use all the time for cooking. It's less than $2 and gets the job done. The one on the left i just bought because OMG is it not the cutest shapliest bottle ever, PLUS you get a little cup to go with it! I am a dork. I will buy a few of these for Christmas gifts they just amuse me so much.

Turn down the heat and stir in the miso and the sugar. Cook until you get a lovely caramel color. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Put a tablespoon of oil into a heavy skillet. Turn heat to medium-low, too high will burn the miso and give it a bitter taste.

Put the fish in the pan. 5 minutes, then turn. Cook for another 5. You want the sugar to caramelize and get a nice golden brown color. Scroll over the picture on the right to see the caramelization action...

This is an excellent dinner. Really easy. Really fast. And man. That golden brown color? It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Yum.

While called "white" miso, it's not really white at all. More of a nice tan. Yes, this is the same stuff that makes miso soup. Which, true fact, I cannot stand. It's the way the soup forms into that little mushroom cloud, so gross...nevermind.