Aburi-Style Sablefish with Soy-Mirin Marinade | Recipe and Video
Soy-mirin sablefish with a browned finish
This Japanese-inspired preparation uses soy sauce, mirin and ginger, followed by surface browning and an oven finish. The written recipe below cooks the fillet through; a brief pass with a culinary torch is only a surface treatment.
Choose uncooked sablefish fillets of similar thickness. For an overnight miso coating instead, use our miso-marinated black cod recipe.
Ingredients for four servings
- Four sablefish fillets, about 6 oz each
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- A little neutral oil for the pan or baking dish
- Sliced green onions and sesame seeds, to serve
Marinate, brown and bake
- Mix the soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, ginger and garlic. Coat the fish in a covered container and refrigerate for 30 minutes, within its existing refrigerated storage window.
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Lift out the fish, discard the used marinade and gently blot the surface.
- For a skillet finish, warm a lightly oiled oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Place the fish flesh-side down and check after about a minute. Turn carefully once browned; reduce the heat if the coating scorches.
- Alternatively, use a culinary torch according to its instructions on an appropriate heatproof surface, away from paper and other flammable materials. Keep the flame moving and stop when the surface is lightly browned. Do not use a fixed torch time as a doneness test.
- Finish skin-side down, if skin is present, in the oven-safe skillet or a lightly oiled baking dish. Begin checking after about 7 minutes and continue until the thickest part reaches 145°F. Thickness and starting temperature affect the time.
- Serve with rice and greens, then add the green onions and sesame seeds.
If the surface darkens too quickly
Remove more marinade before browning and lower the pan heat. Do not chase a dark crust at the expense of the fish. The skillet version needs no torch; for a different glaze, try our maple-soy pan-seared sablefish.
Products You May Like
Cook fish to 145°F in the thickest part, following FDA seafood handling guidance. Browning alone does not establish doneness.
Video
Browse Sablefish or the full Fish collection.
Collections You May Like
Also in Video
Salmon Tender Monroe: Inside a Suquamish Tribal Vessel Unloading Wild Salmon
The Salmon Tender Monroe is a Suquamish Nation vessel operating in Puget Sound — collecting wild salmon from tribal fishing boats and delivering them to shore. This is the story of a living treaty right, a working vessel, and the wild salmon that have sustained the Suquamish people for thousands of years.
Vietnam Fisherman: Small Boat Leaving Lang Co Bay for the Night Catch
As the sun drops behind the Hải Vân Pass, a lone Vietnamese fisherman pushes off from Lang Co Bay and heads into the darkness of the South China Sea. This is the story of a single boat, a single night, and the ancient rhythm of fishing that still feeds communities across central Vietnam.
Lang Co, Vietnam: Inside the Coastal Fishing Life That Feeds a Nation
Lang Co is one of Vietnam’s most beautiful and storied fishing communities — a narrow strip of land between a turquoise lagoon and the South China Sea. This is the story of the fishermen, their boats, and the wild seafood traditions that have sustained this village for generations.