Steal This Recipe® Pacific Black Cod Nabe | KOKO Restaurant & Bar, Opus Hotel, Montreal

This delicious recipe calls for a Japanese cooking method called Nabe.

This delicious recipe, 'stolen with permission' from Felix Turianskyj, Executive-Chef of Opus Montréal and Koko Restaurant + Bar, calls for a Japanese cooking method called Nabe. Nabe cooking was traditionally used in Japan as a symbol of friendship – cooking the dish in a large bowl which then becomes a communal serving dish.

Located just steps away from the vibrant Montreal entertainment district, thirty minutes from Pierre-Elliott Trudeau Airport and within walking distance of both Old Montreal and the "Plateau" Mont-Royal, Opus Montreal provides guests with a unique boutique hotel experience. The hotel's avant-garde structure, built in 1914 by Joseph-Arthur Godin, was originally created in an Art Nouveau style and the building featured little ornamentation except for a signature curving staircase.

Koko Restaurant + Bar blends "urban glamour with modern Asian cuisine, in a theatrical 9000 square foot setting". A dramatic silver and black backdrop and glittering chandeliers set the stage for Montreal's hottest dining, drinking, and socializing space. To set the mood, resident DJs spin the latest electro-house rhythms. Outside, the expansive terrace offers a sanctuary for basking in the afternoon sun or flirting in the moonlight.

About the chef: born and raised in Montreal to a Taiwanese mother and French/Ukrainian father, Chef Felix Turianskyj studied at the Institut de Tourisme et d'Hôtellerie du Québec. He began his career in the countryside in 1993 as Sous-Chef at the Manoir des Érables. After learning about modern country cuisine and working with products from the region, Chef Felix was appointed Chef for the Délégation du Québec in New York.

Upon his return to Quebec, he moved to Mont-Tremblant to head the upscale restaurant Aux Truffes. Chef Felix's talent has also lead him around the world - from exotic locales like the Sheraton Club des Pins in Algiers, Algeria, to the deserts of Qatar at the Intercontinental in Doha and to India, at Q'BA, New Delhi's pre-eminent dining establishment. His culinary experience ranges from catering events in the desert to planning dinners for princes and heads of state.

Eventually Chef Felix felt the need to return home to Montreal where he set his sights on creating new culinary experiences. At Koko Restaurant + Bar Chef Felix found the perfect venue for his creations.

Chef's note: this recipe calls for some unusual ingredients such as kombu seaweed, white miso paste, mirin, bonito flakes, umeboshi plums, shitake and shimeji mushrooms and shiso leaves which can all be found at an Asian market. It also suggests you marinade the fish for 1 – 2 days ahead of time in the refrigerator and the kombu seaweed for 6 hours.

KOKO Restaurant + Bar
Opus Hotel
10 Sherbrooke Ouest
Montreal, Québec H2X 4C9
514 843 6000/Toll Free: 866 744 6346

Pacific Black Cod Nabe is served at KOKO for $36.
This recipe makes 6 restaurant servings.

Pacific Black Cod, 'Nabe' Ingredients:
6 pieces black cod, 4-6 oz each

Miso Marinade Ingredients:
3 1/4 Cups sake Japanese rice wine
3 1/4 Cups mirin Japanese cooking wine
4 Cups white miso paste
2 1/2 Cups sugar

*Dashi Ingredients (Soba Dashi is a combination of *Dashi and *Keashi):
4 1/4 Cups water
2 ¼ oz Kombu seaweed (wipe salt off with damp towel)
1 Small handful bonito flakes

*Keashi Ingredients:
31/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
31/2 Tablespoons mirin sweet cooking wine
31/2 Tablespoons sugar

*Soba Dashi (A Mixture of *Dashi and *Keashi)
4 1/4 Cups Dashi
3 Cups Keashi

Pacific Black Cod Nabe Ingredients for Plating:
6 Small pieces grilled tofu
6 Umeboshi plums
6 Shiso leaves
1 Pickled ginger stem, finely diced
6 Shitake mushrooms
6 Shimeji mushrooms

*Soba Dashi
6 Baby turnips cleaned, blanched
31/2 oz Edamame cleaned, blanched
6 Lime leaves

Steal This Recipe® Step by Step Instructions for the Miso Marinade:
Bring sake and mirin to a boil in a medium sauce pan over high heat.
Boil for 20 seconds to evaporate the alcohol.
Turn the heat down to low and add the miso paste, mixing with a wooden spoon.
When the miso has dissolved completely, turn the heat up again and add the sugar, stirring constantly to insure that you do not burn the bottom of the pan.
Remove from the heat and let cool.

Steal This Recipe® Step by Step Instructions for the Fish:
Portion the fish and pat dry with a paper towel.
Slather on the miso, place in a zip lock bag and place in your refrigerator for 1-2 days.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F, lightly wipe the miso paste off the fish.
Place the fish on a non-stick baking surface (sheet or pan) and cook in the oven for about 5-7minutes, then flipping the fish over and cooking for another 5 minutes.

Steal This Recipe® Step by Step Instructions for The *Soba Dashi:
*Dashi:
Soak kombu in water for at least 6 hours; then place into stock pot and bring to a boil; then add the bonito and simmer for 20 minutes; adjust taste with bonito if needed.
Strain the stock.
*Keashi:
Place the soy, mirin and sugar in a sauce pot and bring the mixture to a boil, make sure that all the sugar are dissolved; skim any impurities or foam created by the soy sauce; adjust the saltiness and sweetness to taste with sugar and soy if needed; make sure there is a balance.
*Soba Dashi:
Place the dashi back onto the heat; bring to a boil and add the Keashi little by little; checking for color and taste.

Steal This Recipe® Step by Step Instructions for Plating:
In the Nabe Bowl, place Soba Dashi and all ingredients except the shiso and ginger root, umeboshi and lime zest.
Bring the baby turnip, shitake mushrooms, and tofu to a simmer – this can also be done in a pot on the stove and then transferred to a large serving bowl if you don't have a Nabe Bowl.
When the fish is cooked place on top of ingredients in broth, garnish with the shiso leaf and ginger, lime zest, umeboshi plum and edamame.