Corvina Glazed in Mirin, Ginger, Soy Sauce
A few days prior to my visit at the Vietnamese 168 Market just off of Spring Mountain Road, I had replenished a few urgently needed ingredients at the area SF Korean Market. Mirin, fresh ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, gochujang.
The SF is likely to become another of my happy places in the Las Vegas area, but on that brief visit my sister Carolyn and I were hurried to be somewhere shortly thus requiring an essential beeline to quickly identify the few ingredient placements before making way to the cashier and rushing along our way.
Having to wait on choosing a protein option for my newly acquired necessities following the brief Korean market visit I was very curious perusing a supermarket fish counter the following day with a beautiful fresh white fish labeled ‘Corvina.’ Hm. I only knew Corvina as the tiny fried whole fish served rather as a muse if you will, on a small white plate at Dubu my favorite Korean restaurant on the Philadelphia border street line into the suburbs.
Further research on Corvina indicates a generic name for a large 270 species family of fish called Scalenidae thus accounting for a vast body of variations but that’s all the detail related clarity I’m able to provide.
The just cooked flavor slightly resembles fresh crab meat with a texture and sweetness not unlike sea bass. You can’t go wrong with this delicious fish pick. Of course, if Corvina is not available in your area you can easily substitute today’s sauce with any type of fish. You could even use thin cuts of chicken breast.
The recipe combination is quite flavorful producing a lovely depth of complexity and is especially perfect if you prefer dishes combining only a limited number of ingredients.
As for me, it provided a delicious complement between favorite familiar flavors such as mirin, ginger, and soy sauce while familiarizing with these newly introduced happy places throughout the Las Vegas area Asian markets.
Corvina Glazed in Mirin, Ginger, Soy Sauce

Ingredients
- 1 pound Corvina fish filets
- 1/3 cup mirin
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup water, distilled or bottled
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 scallion cut in half, then sliced into lengthwise strips
- 1 inch piece ginger, peeled, sliced into quarter inch pieces
- few grinds of cracked black pepper
- roasted sesame seeds and sprigs of fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Lightly rinse Corvina filets and pat dry with paper toweling
- Into a wide shallow saucepan add the mirin, soy sauce and water
- Stir in the sugar then add in the scallions, ginger, and pepper
- Heat mixture on medium low heat, stirring to fully dissolve sugar
- Set Corvina pieces into the pan, spooning some of the sauce onto the top of the fish
- Cover the pan and cook fish for 4 minutes, turn fish over and return lid to pan to cook another 4 to 5 minutes until Corvina is cooked through
- Transfer cooked fish to a plate and cover lightly with aluminum foil
- Increase heat to medium high and reduce sauce halfway until sauce has slightly thickened
- Spoon sauce onto each plate then top with a filet
- Sprinkle fish across with a good pinch of sesame seeds and top with a sprig of cilantro
One Comment