Steal This Recipe® Silver Cod in Hosho Paper | Megu Restaurant, NYC

From Executive Chef Yoshio Shinohara

This recipe was stolen with permission from Yoshio Shinohara, Executive Chef and his team of chefs at Megu, NY. Meaning “blessing” in Japanese, Megu presents modern Japanese cuisine, sushi, and sumibi aburiyaki (a grilling technique using bincho-tan, a special charcoal found only near Kyoto and prized for its superior purifying properties.) 

Megu has several locations throughout the world, with more opening soon and the concept of the restaurants is to combine organic food, excellent service and a sophisticated ambiance with traditional Japanese elements. The Megu team has carefully selected the best American Kobe Beef available in the U.S, as well as the best Japanese Satsuma Beef from Kyushu and specializes in highly refined selections of hand-made Tofu, fresh organic edamame and authentic smelts, flown in from all parts of Japan. Other Japanese condiments such as salt, soy sauce and 6 varieties of miso are also carefully selected.

In contrast to the celebrity chef trend Megu does not employ the idea of one star chef; instead, it has a collection of chefs who work as a team and they hope to make the ingredients the stars.

An impressive wine list, unusual for a Japanese restaurant has ensured that the restaurant has won the Wine Spectator award two years in a row in 2006 and 2007 and they also offer 60 varieties of sake from Japan, each available by either glass or bottle. 

The restaurant itself is a two-tiered, 13,000 square-foot space. Blending ultra-modern design with ancient Japanese details, the end result is astonishing: white porcelain columns—made of over 5000 interlocking rice bowls and sake vases—greet guests upon entry and line the upper walls overlooking the main dining room. In the upstairs Kimono lounge, stacked bolts of over 450 rolls of antique kimono fabric cover the walls, while white leather banquets with soaring eleven-foot backs provide an intimate setting for pre-dinner cocktails. The Kimono lounge also features floor to ceiling glass walls overlooking the dining room. Below, a giant temple bell, or bonsho, weighing over 800 lbs. is suspended from the ceiling and provides the centerpiece in the soaring main dining area. The centerpiece also features a signature ice Buddha sculpture, elevated over a pool of water that is rebuilt every night to provide the customers with a spiritual and purifying experience. 
Please note: this recipe calls for Hosho paper, a special Japanese paper, but if you can’t find it, parchment paper is a good substitute.

Megu
62 Thomas Street, NY, NY 10013
(Between Broadway and Church Street)
212 964 7777

Silver Cod in Hosho Paper is served at Megu for $29.
This recipe makes 4 restaurant servings.

Silver Cod in Hosho Paper Ingredients:
1 pound Black Cod 
4 sheets Hosho paper 

Ingredients for the Marinating Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce 
2 tablespoons Mirin 
2 tablespoons Sake

Ingredients for the Mixed Miso:
1 cup white miso 
2 tablespoons sugar 
½ cup Shimeji Mushroom 
2 teaspoons Yuzu citrus peel 
4 very thin lemon slices, quartered

Steal This Recipe® Step by Step Instructions:
Cut the cod into 4 pieces, 4 ounces each.
Mix the marinating ingredients together.
Marinate cod in marinating sauce for 30minutes.
Put ½ tablespoon of mixed miso on the back of each cod.
Place ¼ of the Shimeji mushrooms in the center of Hosho paper and put the cod on top.
Make sure to place the back side down.
Put the rest of miso (2 ½ tablespoons each) on top of cod and sprinkle with yuzu peel.
Put the sliced lemon on top.
Wrap the cod with Hosho paper, folding the edges to make a parcel and bake it in an oven at 500 degrees C for 25min.