Many people barely know four or five dishes of Japanese cuisine and think that Japanese cuisine comes down to that happy and full of recipes. That's why little by little I want to introduce some elaborations and ingredients that you may not find in the typical menu of the typical Japanese restaurant on the corner.
On this occasion I will talk about Gindara, also known as black cod. But I must warn you something about black cod fish’s name, since, although its skin is black, in reality this species has no relationship with the common cod Gadus, although commercially adopts its name because it has a similar appearance, but the texture and the taste of their meat are very different.
The Japanese name of this dish would be Gindara. And so as not to get lost, I will explain point by point what it is.
The term karaage refers to a frying in abundant oil, previously coated in flour. Not to be confused with other types of fried foods such as tempura or kakiage, whose masses are mixed with water and egg, or furai, which is made with egg and breadcrumbs.
When you see the word Tosa in a Japanese dish, know that it does not refer to the bucolic town of the Costa Brava, but to an old province on the island of Shikoku, which currently corresponds to Kōchi Prefecture. That region has always been linked to the fishing of bonito, so in any recipe that contains that place name we will probably find dried bonito or katsuobushi as one of the important ingredients that will give you a lot of umami.
In this case, Tosazu is a sauce whose main ingredients are dashi broth made with dried bonito flakes and, on the other hand, vinegar (zu), which we will combine properly with mirin and soy sauce.
Finally we have the ankake or, if you prefer, "an", which refers to the use of katakuriko starch or kuzu powder to thicken some sauce. On this occasion, we have used cornstarch as a substitute ingredient to achieve the same effect in cooking black cod fish.
On this occasion I will talk about Gindara, also known as black cod. But I must warn you something about black cod fish’s name, since, although its skin is black, in reality this species has no relationship with the common cod Gadus, although commercially adopts its name because it has a similar appearance, but the texture and the taste of their meat are very different.
The Japanese name of this dish would be Gindara. And so as not to get lost, I will explain point by point what it is.
The term karaage refers to a frying in abundant oil, previously coated in flour. Not to be confused with other types of fried foods such as tempura or kakiage, whose masses are mixed with water and egg, or furai, which is made with egg and breadcrumbs.
When you see the word Tosa in a Japanese dish, know that it does not refer to the bucolic town of the Costa Brava, but to an old province on the island of Shikoku, which currently corresponds to Kōchi Prefecture. That region has always been linked to the fishing of bonito, so in any recipe that contains that place name we will probably find dried bonito or katsuobushi as one of the important ingredients that will give you a lot of umami.
In this case, Tosazu is a sauce whose main ingredients are dashi broth made with dried bonito flakes and, on the other hand, vinegar (zu), which we will combine properly with mirin and soy sauce.
Finally we have the ankake or, if you prefer, "an", which refers to the use of katakuriko starch or kuzu powder to thicken some sauce. On this occasion, we have used cornstarch as a substitute ingredient to achieve the same effect in cooking black cod fish.
Ingredients for 4 people
- 4 fillets of Gindara (black cod) without skin
- Flour
- Salt
Ingredients for Tosazuan Sauce
- 800 cc of dashi (dried bonito broth)
- 320 cc of rice vinegar
- 160 cc Mirin (halfway between molasses and sweet rice wine)
- 40 cc of soy sauce
- 4 teaspoon of sugar
- Salt
- Cornstarch
Preparation:
In a casserole, mix and heat all the ingredients of the Tosazuan sauce except the cornstarch without boiling. It is very important to find the balance between the taste of vinegar, the umami of the dashi calo, the sweetness of the mirin and the salty of the soy sauce.As soon as the sauce begins to boil, thicken with the cornstarch and stir constantly until the desired texture is achieved. No need to tell you that the cornstarch should be sprinkled with a strainer and previously mixed in a glass of water. If you throw it directly you will have soft lumps on the outside and floury on the inside.
Fry the cod fillets in the oil, passing them through salt and flour. Serve the steaks with the hot sauce on top. You might also experiment with using black cod grilled. You can search online for grilled black cod recipe. Hopefully this recipe is useful. Good luck!
