Braised black cod with vegetable ragout

Braised Black Cod
Makes 6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sake
  
• 6 slices of fresh ginger
  
• 6 black cod fillets with skin on, 6-7 ounces (175 to 200 g) each
  
• 1 ½ cup sugar
  
• 1 cup soy sauce
  
• 1 ½ teaspoons tamari
  
• 3 tablespoons mirin
  

1. Pour the sake into a large, deep skillet or flame-proof casserole. Add the ginger and fish fillets skin-side up. Cover and cook over high heat for 3 minutes. Add the sugar and cook over medium-high heat for 3 more minutes.
   
   
2. Pour the soy sauce and tamari over the fish fillets. Cook over medium-high heat, covered, for 5 minutes. Add the mirin and cook for 3 minutes longer. Be careful not to burn the fish; glaze the fillets by repeatedly pouring the thickened sauce over them while cooking.
   
   
3. With a slotted Spatula, carefully transfer the black cod fillets to a platter. Check the fish to make sure it has no residual bones hidden in it.
   
   
4. If the braising liquid is not thick enough, keep cooking it over high heat until it becomes caramelized.
   
   
5. Garnish the cod with the julienned scallion and ginger and sprig of kinome, and drizzle with braising liquid.

• 1 Carrot, peeled and diced on an angle
  
• 1 bamboo shoot (about 8 ounces/225 g), rinsed if canned, diced.
  
• 8-inch (20 cm) piece of burdock root, peeled and diced on an angle
  
• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated, stem-cleaned, and quartered
  
• ½ yam cake, diced with a spoon
  
• 2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
  
• ½ cup soy sauce
  
• ½ cup sake
  
• 1 ½ cups chicken Stock
  
• 1/3 cup sugar
  
• Julienned Tokyo scallion and ginger for garnish
  
• Sprig of kinome, for garnish
  

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Set a large bowl of ice and water next to the stove. One at a time, blanch your vegetables for 2 minutes. Drain well. (The vegetables can be prepared several hours in advance.)
   
   
2. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet. Add the vegetables and sauté over medium heat until tender and lightly browned about three minutes.
   
   
3. Add the soy sauce, sake, Chicken Stock, and sugar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender, about 30 minutes.

Chef Masaharu Morimoto-known to millions as the star of Iron Chef and Iron Chef America-has garnered critical and popular acclaim for his seamless integration of Western and Japanese ingredients. He has effectively created a signature cuisine that has gained worldwide appeal and positioned him as one of the foremost chefs today.

Morimoto is executive chef at Morimoto Philadelphia, Morimoto New York, Wasabi by Morimoto (New Delhi), the Michelin-starred Morimoto-XEX (Tokyo) and Morimoto Sushi Bar (Boca Raton, Florida). In July 2010, chef Morimoto will open his first West Coast restaurant, Morimoto Napa, in downtown Napa's new Riverfront development, followed by the fall 2010 debut of Morimoto Waikiki in Waikiki EDITION, the new luxury lifestyle hotel being developed by Ian Schrager and Marriott Hotels.

Before earning chef stardom, Morimoto was to be drafted as a baseball catcher in Japan's major leagues when a shoulder injury ended his career. Soon thereafter, he began studying sushi and kaiseki, honing his craft for seven years at an acclaimed restaurant in his native Hiroshima, Japan.

At age 24, he opened his own restaurant nearby, and after a successful five-year tenure, the young chef sold it and traveled to the U.S. to further expand his repertoire. In 1993, Morimoto was tapped to head the sushi bar and Japanese kitchen at the Sony Club before being recruited by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa to open Nobu restaurant as executive chef in 1994.

Morimoto opened his eponymous Morimoto restaurant in Philadelphia in 2001, and in 2004, Wasabi by Morimoto opened at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai. In 2005, Morimoto-XEX opened in Tokyo's Roppongi district and, in 2007, it received one star in the first edition of the Tokyo Michelin Guide.

In January 2006, Morimoto brought his eponymous restaurant to New York City, earning him a James Beard Foundation Award for "Outstanding Restaurant Design" and other accolades such as "2006 Hot List" restaurant by Conde Nast Traveler; "New York's Top 50" restaurants by Travel + Leisure; "Top Newcomer" by Zagat Survey; and one of New York Magazine's "Best New Restaurants."

Since 1998, Morimoto has competed on the Japanese television show, Iron Chef and also appears on the Food Network's Iron Chef America. In 2007 his first cookbook, Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking, was published and won the IACP award in the "Chef's and Restaurants" category and "First Book: The Julia Child Award." It was also nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award.

Morimoto Napa
1001 2nd Street
Napa, CA 94559-3099
Phone: (707) 252-1600

>> Buy this book on Amazon: Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking