Introducing a flavor-packed bowl of Asian cod with shaved zucchini and brothy tomatoes – a healthy, 30-minute meal that’s perfect when you need a no-fuss meal that doesn’t feel like a no-fuss meal. Today’s recipe is bursting with irresistible Asian flavors like ginger and soy, this dish is guaranteed to satisfy your takeout cravings.
Nothing is better than a dish that’s bursting with flavor, and here it is: The best pan-seared cod recipe. Piping hot bowls loaded with shaved zucchini and tangy tomatoes basking in zingy gingery and funky gochujang. The buttery, flakey, mild but hearty fish is the perfect canvas. Say goodbye to boring and plain fish recipes and hello to your new, simple pan-seared cod recipe.
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Why You’ll Love This Asian Cod Recipe
- Ready in 30 minutes or less. When you’re short on time, cod – or any fish really – is a great way to serve your family a healthy, home cooked meal. If you work a bit faster than me, you could probably get this on the table in 20 minutes. Cod really only takes 8-10 minutes of actual cook time.
- Adaptable. This recipe is for up to 6 servings of cod, but I’ve also halved the amount of cod and zucchini I’m using and just had a bit more broth when it’s just my husband and me for lunch. You could also swap veggies for whatever you have on hand. No tomatoes? Top with diced avocado instead. Maybe some shaved fennel. Broccoli instead of zucchini. The possibilities are endless.
- Flavorful. This dish is so well seasoned and full of texture – it’s got loads of zingy ginger salty, slightly sweet heat from the gochujang. Flaky fish, in smooth broth, bite from the zucchini and bright, silky tomatoes that buckle into every bite. Bonus if you add a generous scoop of rice to this. *Chef’s kiss.*
- Make-ahead. Make the broth in advance if you’re looking for a way to speed this dish up even more!
Tips for How To Make the Best Pan-Fried Asian Cod
- Make sure the oil is hot prior to adding the fish to the pan.
- Do not overcrowd the pan (unless you’re more of a steamed fish kinda person).
- Allow the fish to brown on one side before flipping or moving around in the pan.
- Actual cook time will vary based on the thickness of your cod filets.
- Your cod is done once it starts to flake and turns opaque (inside temperature should be 145°).
Ingredients for Fish Recipe
- Cod fillets: I like working with small, tender cod filets here. Size matters when you’re trying to get dinner on in a hurry. If you can’t find or don’t like cod, you can substitute with tilapia, sea bass, haddock, pollock, etc. Just we aware that changing the fish, even for another white fish, may influence texture, taste, and cook time.
- Zucchini: I have been loving the ‘zoodle’ effect of adding zucchini to this dish, but you could totally replace zucchini with some shredded white cabbage or bok choy.
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Fresh ginger: sliced for the pan-fried cold and grated for the broth.
- Green onions: I divide the green onion between the pan I use for cooking the cod and the broth. Then I toss a little extra over the tops of our bowls for presentation and another hit of herbaceous freshness.
- Chicken stock: Swap with veggie stock if it’s what you got.
- Light soy sauce
- Gochujang: A fermented chili paste from Korea. You can find this ingredient at most asian markets, and at the time of writing this post, the international section of most grocery stores, too.
- Brown sugar: You can replace the brown sugar with maple syrup, honey, or even granulated sugar.
- Fresh lime juice: In a pinch, you can replace fresh lime juice with fresh lemon juice or rice vinegar, but I don’t recommend using lime juice from concentrate.
- Salt and black pepper: You won’t need much salt and pepper in this recipe, certainly way less than normal because of the soy sauce and the gochujang, but you’ll still want some on hand so you can get it juuuuuust right.
Asian Cod: Step-By-Step Instructions
- Use a mandoline slicer to slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin ribbons and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. If you don’t have a mandoline, you can thinly slice them by hand. I do that when I get to the last ¼ of the zucchini (I’m not interested in losing any fingers and we lost the safety guard so…)
- Heat a medium non-stick skillet and the 2 tablespoons olive oil for the fish to medium high. Optionally, you can add up to 1 teaspoon of sesame oil to the pan at this time as well. Add the slices of ginger. Then gently place the cod into the pan. Nestle half of the chopped green onion in with the cod.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes (adjusting the heat as necessary to keep from burning – I have a large gas burner I often have to turn down after a minute or two) and then flip and cook for 4 minutes on the other side or until the middle part of the cod is fully cooked and flakes easily. Remove the pan from heat and set aside.
- To make the broth, I like to use a rondeau, but you could also use a large frying pan or a stockpot. Heat your cooking vessel over medium high and add a tablespoon or two of oil. Once hot, add grated ginger, the rest of the green onion, and the gochujang paste. Stir with a spatula and infuse the oil for 30 seconds. Then add the chicken broth, soy sauce, lime juice and sugar, stirring to combine.
- Bring to a boil and then add the sliced zucchini and cherry tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes or until the cherry tomatoes soften and the zucchini is cooked through. Taste everything and season once more before serving if needed. (A splash or soy or a sprinkle of salt if needed.)
- If you make it, spoon rice into the middle of a bowl. Gently nestle the cod into the side of the rice. Distribute zucchini in each bowl and then spoon tomatoes and broth over everything. Garnish with green onion if desired and dig in!
Why is my fish sticking to the pan?
Cod is a delicate, flaky fish. So perfect when it falls apart in your mouth, but obviously we try not to have it fall apart on us in the pan. And the bad news is if your cod sticks to your pan, it will likely break apart when you go to flip it. Not the end of the world, but here are a few tips that may help prevent your fish from sticking to the pan:
- Use a non-stick pan. Although I’m a big fan of my stainless steel cookware, I still keep a couple of non-stick skillets in my kitchen for this exact purpose.
- Allow the fish to come to room temperature before cooking.
- Pat the fish fillets dry before seasoning.
- Lightly season the fish to create a barrier between the fish and the pan.
- Your pan and the oil you cook your fish in needs to be hot.
- Back away from the filets. The more you mess with your filets, the more likely the fish will stick to the pan and start to break apart.
- And finally, be gentle!
How To Serve This Asian Cod
Personally, I like to keep things simple when I make this for dinner. I serve this with a generous scoop of white or brown rice and that’s it! That’s because, although mild in flavor, cod is hearty! It’s flaky and tender and my favorite vessel for bright pops of flavor – exactly why we are serving it with a soy ginger gojuchang broth. This dish also conveniently has a generous serving of vegetables since it’s packed with zucchini and tomatoes. Of course, you could get fancy and serve it with some mantou (steamed bread), egg rolls, or cream cheese wontons. That would definitely give this dish some serious (upscale) takeout vibes. And now that I’m on a roll, you could make this dish your own by frying a few wonton strips. It would add such a nice crispy element – like soup and crackers.
Looking for other Asian-Inspired Recipes?
Try some of these:
- Korean-Style Cauliflower Bites (Air Fryer Recipe)
- Sous Vide Teriyaki Chicken Breasts
- Chinese Pork and Chive Dumplings
- Yibin Burning Noodles
📖 Recipe
Asian Cod in Gochujang Broth with Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes
Introducing a flavor-packed bowl of Asian cod with shaved zucchini and brothy tomatoes – a healthy, 30-minute meal that’s perfect when you need a no-fuss meal that doesn’t feel like a no-fuss meal.
Ingredients
Pan-Seared Cod
- 1 ½ lb cod cut into 4-6 filets
- 4 slices of ginger
- 1 green onion chopped divided in half (half for fish and half for the broth)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Optional: 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Brothy Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes
- 1.5 cups chicken stock
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoons gochujang
- 2 zucchini sliced lengthwise with a mandoline
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half lengthwise
- 2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1-2 green onions for garnish
Serving Suggestion
- Rice
Instructions
- Lightly salt the cod. (I used ¾ teaspoon and a few cranks of black pepper for 1 ½ pounds) Note: You’ll get plenty of savory umami saltiness from the broth, so season less aggressively than normal.
- Heat a medium non-stick skillet and the 2 tablespoons olive oil for the fish to medium high.Add the slices of ginger. Then gently place the cod into the pan. Nestle half of the chopped green onion in with the cod.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes (adjusting the heat as necessary to keep from burning – I have a large gas burner I often have to turn down after a minute or two) and then flip and cook for 4 minutes on the other side or until the middle part of the cod is fully cooked and flakes easily. Remove the pan from heat and set aside.
- To make the broth, I like to use a rondeau, but you could also use a large frying pan or a stockpot. Heat your cooking vessel over medium high and add a tablespoon or two of oil. Once hot, add grated ginger, the rest of the green onion, and the gochujang paste. Stir with a spatula and infuse the oil for 30 seconds. Then add the chicken broth, soy sauce, lime juice and sugar, stirring to combine.
- Bring to a boil and then add the sliced zucchini and cherry tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes or until the cherry tomatoes soften and the zucchini is cooked through. Taste everything and season once more before serving if needed. (A splash or soy or a sprinkle of salt if needed.)
- To serve, spoon rice into the middle of a bowl. Gently nestle the cod into the side of the rice. Distribute zucchini in each bowl and then spoon tomatoes and broth over everything. Garnish with green onion if desired and dig in!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
