Bonus Recipe: Cod & Potato Chowder with Creamy Miso Broth
A delightfully light fish chowder made with either cream or coconut milk
Hello!
Last week I got A Newsletter from Alison Roman and she shared a recipe that’s similar to the one I’m sharing here with the same justification - it’s feeling like summer-autumn out there which means it’s perfect chowder weather!
Since I already had this recipe finished and written up last week, it made me feel good to see that I was on the same culinary wavelength as Alison Roman, who has a bazillion more subscribers than I do. The reason we’re both sharing chowder recipes this month is because chowder - as long as it’s light and brothy instead of thick and heavy - is the perfect bridge between the warmer days of summer and the cooler days of fall.
This fish chowder is indeed light and brothy, with flaky pieces of cod and buttery chunks of potato. Corn adds just a hint of sweetness and can be either fresh or frozen. The broth….mmmm, it’s so good! Miso paste adds rich savory flavor and the creaminess comes from either cream or coconut milk (or both!).
Disclaimer: This photo does not capture how delicious is this chowder is and I intended to take a new one, but life got busy and it didn’t happen, so use your imagination!
Cod & Potato Chowder with Creamy Miso Broth
Servings: 4 to 5
Cooking Method: Simmer
Preparation Time: About 45 minutes for prep and cooking
I serve this chowder with baguette and butter or garlic bread. You can also add a simple green salad. You can also choose to leave the corn out of the chowder and serve corn on the cob as a side dish (or a dish of buttered, frozen corn).
This recipe is adapted from Miso Fish Chowder by Kay Chun
A printable pdf of the recipe can be found at the bottom of the page.
Questions? If you have any questions about this recipe, just ask in the comments!
Ingredients
1 tablespoon salted butter
1 leek, halved and thinly sliced (about 1 cup sliced leek)
2 tablespoons yellow miso
1 8-ounce jar of clam juice (or 8 ounces chicken stock, but clam juice taste better in chowder)
3 cups water
1 pound yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into small, bite-sized chunks
1 cup heavy cream or canned coconut milk or a combination of the two
1 cup frozen or fresh corn
¼ cup thinly sliced green onion
1 to 1 ½ pounds white fish, cut into 1 inch pieces (cod, tilapia, etc.)
Instructions
In a soup pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the leek and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. The leek should be soft and only lightly browned.
Add the miso and clam juice. Whisk well until smooth.
Turn the heat up to medium-high . Add the water and potatoes. Bring to a simmer and put a lid on the pot, cracked slightly. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
Turn the heat down to low. Add the cream and/or coconut milk, green onion and corn. Season the fish lightly with salt and add it to the pot. Simmer the fish on low until the texture is flaky and the color is white and opaque, about 5 minutes.
Ingredients and Recipe Notes
Clam juice gives this chowder its “chowder” flavor, so I recommend using it if at all possible. Jars of clam juice are sold in the same aisle as sardines and canned clams.
I’ve made this chowder three times: once using only whole cream, once using only coconut milk and once using 1/2 cup cream and 1/2 cup coconut milk. All three are good, but I think my favorite is the half cream/ half coconut milk.
If you’re using only coconut milk, the broth will have a slightly grainy look. This is from the miso paste, which is more visible in coconut milk.
A leek is the best allium to use for this chowder. Leeks have a flavor that is milder and sweeter than regular onions or shallots.
The size of the potato chunks doesn’t really matter, as long as they’re all about the same size so they cook evenly. Smaller pieces will cook faster; larger pieces will take longer than 15 minute to get soft. I cut the potatoes into chunks that are easy to pierce with fork and eat in one bite.
I think you could probably make this chowder with salmon (skinless) but I haven’t tried it yet. If you do, let me know!
