We went to the superb Patara restaurant in Soho, London to find out how to make one of the most popular dishes on their menu...
Ingredients: 300g Black Cod Fillet, 3 tbs Vegetable Oil, 4 tbs ginger, finely sliced, 3-4 pcs shiitake mushrooms, cut into strips, 1 tbs white miso paste, 1 tbs bean sauce, 1 tbs palm sugar, ½ tsp ground white pepper, 1 cup fish stock, 2 tbs tamarind water, 1 tbs corn starch, mixed with ¼ cup of water, 2 pcs long red chillies cut into strips, 1 tbs spring onions (white part only, finely sliced).
For the marinade: ¾ cup mirin (Japanese cooking wine), 2 tbs white miso paste, ½ cup dark miso paste, 1 cup sake, 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar, 1 cup water.
Method: Combine all the ingredients in a heavy base pot and cook. Simmer for 10 minutes. Leave to cool.
Method for fish: Marinate the fish with 2 tbs of the marinade. Then grill, skin side down, until the skins turns golden brown.
Method for sauce: Fry the ginger and mushrooms in vegetable oil in a pan until fragrant. Add miso paste and bean sauce, frying until fragrant. Season with palm sugar and pepper. Add the stock, followed by tamarind water. Stir to combine. Stir in the corn starch mixture until the sauce thickens slightly. Add chilli strips and spring onions.
To serve: Place the fish onto a serving plate and pour the sauce around. Garnish with fresh ginger strips.
