Ingredients

  • 4 black cod (sablefish) steaks or other cod as available
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup sake kasu (see notes)
  • 2 ¼ tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • ½ to ¾ cup water

The garnish:

  • 1 cup ocean salad or 4 nori leaves, toasted (see notes)

    Four servings

    Preparation

    1. Rinse the steaks and pat them dry. Salt on both sides.
    2. Using a fork or a food processor, mash the sake lees with sugar and water to make a thick paste. Place a third of the paste in the bottom of a plastic bag, put two of the steaks on top of the paste and cover them with another third of the paste. Repeat with the remaining two steaks, covering them with remaining paste. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 24 hours.
    3. When ready to broil or grill the steaks, scrape off the paste (which can be reused if refrigerated) and broil the fish close to the heat for four minutes on one side, three minutes on the other.
    4. Garnish the steaks with pickled seaweed or toasted nori leaves, cut into julienne strips.
    • Kasu is the lees, or dregs, left by the fermenting process that produces sake. It is available by the pound at Japanese specialty stores.
    • “Ocean salad” is made from fresh edible seaweeds and agar marinated in sesame oil, chilis, mirin and soy sauce. An alternative garnish is nori, a dried seaweed commonly found in health food stores. Buy roasted nori, or toast it yourself, waving it over a burner on low heat until the sheet turns burnished green.

    Dining and Cooking