Miso Soy Pan Fried Fish

An easy pan-fried fish recipe featuring fish fillets for quick cooking and a savory miso soy glaze. Simple, flavorful, and perfect for a busy weeknight.

If you’ve already tried my Miso Garlic Butter Sauce for Roasted Broccoli, here’s another way to use up the leftover sauce.

What You Will Need

To make this miso pan-fried fish recipe, gather the following ingredients:

• White fish fillets: Any mild-flavored, white-flesh fish works here, like tilapia, cod, halibut, mahi mahi, or snapper. Even salmon will work.
• Flour (optional): Coating the fish helps reduce oil splatter during frying by absorbing excess moisture. It also creates a crispy crust. You can use any type of flour you have on hand, such as all-purpose flour, cornstarch, potato starch, or tapioca starch. For this recipe, I’m using cornstarch.
• Oil for frying: Use a neutral oil like vegetable, canola, or peanut oil. I prefer to shallow fry the fish, especially when working with delicate fillets. Shallow frying uses slightly more oil than pan frying but far less than deep frying. This method ensures even cooking and a crispy crust while minimizing the need to flip or move the delicate fillets too much. Once frying is complete, the excess oil will be drained.
• Miso soy butter sauce: The same sauce from my miso garlic butter roasted broccoli recipe. It’s salty and full of umami. It’s a blend of white miso paste, light soy sauce, rice vinegar, butter, garlic and sesame seeds. You can also add a bit of sweetness by adding honey or sugar. In this recipe, I opt without. This sauce can be made in advance to save some time.
• Fresh cilantro or green onions: Garnish with cilantro or green onions for a fresh, bright finish.

How to Make It

Step 1: Make the Sauce

In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds until melted. To the melted butter, add light soy sauce, miso paste, rice vinegar, garlic, and sesame seeds. If you like a bit of sweetness, you can add a bit of honey or sugar here. Mix until well combined and set aside.

Step 2: Prepare the Fish

Give the fish a quick rinse to remove any fish smell and pat the fish fillets dry with a paper towel. Lightly coat each fillet in flour, shaking off any excess. Set aside.

Because the fillets I’m using are quite thin (no more than 1/2 inch thick), I’m skipping marinating or seasoning them. Straight to pan frying!

Step 3: Pan Fry the Fish

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to create a shallow pool, about ¼ inch deep. When the oil is hot (test by dropping a pinch of flour—it should sizzle), add the fish fillets.

You’ll need to cook the fish in at least two batches to avoid overcrowding the pan, which can prevent the fish from developing a golden crust.

Fry the fish fillets for about 4 minutes on one side on high heat, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

Remove the fish and set aside.

Carefully remove most of the oil from the pan, leaving just a thin layer then return the fish back to the pan. You can return one fillet at a time or all at once if your pan fits.

Step 4: Add the Miso Sauce

Add the miso garlic butter sauce into the small pool of oil in the pan.

The oil helps emulsify the miso paste and spread it evenly. Stir gently until the sauce bubbles and the garlic and sesame seeds in the sauce gets toasted and fragrant (about 10 seconds).

Keep in mind the miso sauce is quite salty. If using just one fillet, like in the picture below, start with a teaspoon. If using all fillets at once, go ahead and add all the sauce.

Spoon the sauce over each piece to coat them thoroughly.

Step 5: Garnish and Serve

Transfer the fish to a plate and top with cilantro or green onion ribbons for a fresh garnish. Serve immediately with steamed rice or your favorite side dishes.

Recipe below. Happy cooking!

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