Why You Should Try Chef Jung Ho-young’s Unique Miso Fish Recipe: 3 Essential Cooking Tips

Most people automatically think soy sauce when they imagine braised fish. But try swapping it for miso — just one spoonful can lift the whole dish. Chef Jeong Ho-young shared a comforting, Japanese home-style miso-braised fish recipe on his YouTube channel, Jeong Ho-young’s Today’s Cooking.

In Japan, this dish is called sakana no misoni (魚の味噌煮). It’s a home-cooking staple: miso’s earthy, nutty depth mutes any fishiness and adds a rounded, mellow flavor that keeps people coming back. The mackerel version, saba no misoni (鯖の味噌煮), is especially famous and shows up both at family tables and on restaurant menus across Japan.

The recipe stars pomfret. Chef Jeong pairs two pomfrets with ginger, burdock, green onion, shiitake mushrooms and shishito peppers, then seasons the braise with water, sugar, cheongju and cooking wine plus Japanese miso. If pomfret isn’t available, mackerel or Spanish mackerel are perfect substitutes — Jeong notes that pomfret, mackerel and Spanish mackerel all work beautifully with miso braises.

The technique is straightforward. Place the fish in a deep pan and add about 500 cc (roughly 17 fl oz) of water — you only need enough to help the braise, not to cover the fish completely. Add sliced ginger and burdock, 30 g (about 2½ tablespoons) of sugar, 150 cc (about 5 fl oz) of cheongju and 150 cc (about 5 fl oz) of cooking wine, then bring to a vigorous boil. Don’t peel the burdock too aggressively; its skin holds much of its characteristic aroma and flavor. The ginger helps neutralize fishiness while adding a subtle fragrance.

When the liquid foams, skim that foam off immediately — leaving it in will transfer off-flavors into the sauce. Keep the lid off and maintain high heat to drive away any lingering fishy smell; that’s the trick. Once it’s boiling well, pass the miso through a sieve and dissolve it into the pot. You can use Korean doenjang instead of Japanese miso, but because doenjang contains soybean solids, push it through a fine sieve for a smoother, more even sauce.

Chef Jeong highlights three key points. First, add the sweet elements before the miso so the sweetness soaks into the ingredients — if saltiness goes in first, the flavors can end up flat or heavy. That’s why he adds the sugar and lets it boil before introducing the miso. Second, skim the foam thoroughly to remove off-flavors. Third, keep the heat high through the end; reducing over high heat helps the sauce glaze the fish and lets the seasoning penetrate evenly, producing a glossy finish.

After you stir in the miso, add the shiitake mushrooms and the green onions that have been lightly scored, and continue to simmer. Use the green onion two ways: put the scored pieces into the braise for flavor and texture, and finish the dish with thinly sliced green onion on top for brightness. Using only the white part of the scallion keeps the plating clean. Add the shishito peppers near the end so they retain their color. While the dish reduces, spoon the sauce repeatedly over the fish so the seasoning is even. When the sauce reaches a thick, clingy consistency, it’s done.

Plating matters. Gently lift the fish with a ladle onto a plate, arrange the shiitakes and scallions to give height, top with the thinly sliced scallion, and spoon just enough sauce to give the dish a glossy, appetizing sheen.

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