Honey ginger baked cod

Looking for an easy fish dish that doesn't include breadcrumbs for a topping? Then this honey ginger baked cod should work perfectly! It combines honey, ginger and garlic for a flavourful glaze for the fish, which is paired with a simple mixed vegetable rice.

Fish can often be a very tasty, and very easy weeknight dinner for all the family. Some other ideas that use frozen fish here on the site you may like to see are my sweet potato and ginger fish cakes and Italian herb crusted cod. Both very tasty!

For a gluten free fish recipe, my almond crusted cod is easy and delicious!

Chinese-inspired fish dish

Now if you are British then you will know that when you say Chinese food the first image that comes to mind tends to be of the local take-away. Recipes full of MSG, and mostly constituting sweet and sour pork, prawn crackers and maybe dishes that have never actually been eaten in China . . .

I will confess that I thought this baked honey cod was more Thai-influenced until my good friend Sheryl of A Chronic Voice said it was actually far more Chinese in its flavours of onion, garlic, ginger and honey. As she is Chinese and obviously knows her stuff, I will grimace at my lack of knowledge of world cuisines despite being a food blogger and hide behind a cushion . . .

Ingredients

This baked cod requires a few ingredients for the marinade, many of which are pantry staples. You will need:

• Cod: this recipe uses frozen cod, but you could swap out for another fish if you prefer.
• Honey: such a staple ingredient for me, but usually for breakfast dishes! It works so well on fish though as well as meat dishes too. I like to use the Rowse organic clear honey.
• Ginger paste or fresh ginger: full of flavour, ginger really packs a punch on the taste stakes!
• Garlic: another big flavour, garlic pairs so well with the honey and ginger.
• Apple cider vinegar: in place of lime or soy sauce I use a touch of the Aspall organic apple cider vinegar. You can of course, leave it out entirely and the flavours will still be lovely, but without the 'tang' of vinegar.
• Cilantro / coriander: this flavours the rice so well, but I know some people aren't a fan, so leave it out if you prefer! The Simply Organic cilantro is a great brand for dried, or you can use fresh and sprinkle over your finished meal.

Variations on the recipe

Apple cider vinegar can also be swapped out for white distilled vinegar. For my low histamine readers, this scores 0 on the SIGHI list. I use the Heinz white distilled vinegar. Some people aren't able to tolerate this either, so make sure you are OK with it.

Step by step directions

STEP 1

Once the oven is at temperature place your cod fillets in an ovenproof dish. Combine the ingredients for the marinade and spoon over the fish. I know it doesn't look too tasty at this point, but it will be!

Bake in the oven until the fish is thoroughly cooked.

STEP 2

Cook your rice according to packet instructions.

Fry the peppers and corn with the coriander in a little olive oil until softened, with a hint of bite still to them. Combine with the rice to make an easy vegetable rice.

Fish and a low histamine diet

There are a few things to note with fish and a low histamine diet. The first is that some people may not be able to tolerate fish at all, whether fresh or frozen, and the second is that the SIGHI list recommends certain ways of eating fish and preparing it too.

Histamine forms quickly on fish, so you don’t want to eat any that has sat out for hours, maybe even days. Instead, as the SIGHI list sets out, you can eat freshly caught fish, literally fish that has come straight off the boat and onto your plate. That type of fish scores ‘0’ on their scale – the lowest score for histamine, but does have other biogenic amines and certain types of fish should be avoided. Have a look at the SIGHI list for more information.

However, most of us don’t live by the sea! Luckily frozen fish also scores as low histamine, which is far easier and I always have some frozen white fish in my freezer for a quick dinner. There are, however, some precautions to make when cooking fish. As the SIGHI list notes, even frozen fish has ‘rapid histamine formation’. For this reason, it is typically recommended that you do not thaw fish or only for a few minutes, and cook it from frozen. No leaving it laying around on the kitchen counter before you prepare the meal, just put it on a baking tray and into an already pre-heated oven.

If you have any concerns about your tolerance to fish, then speak with a dietician or doctor first. Personally, I tried a very small amount of plain white fish to begin with to check that I was ok with it, which happily I was.

More fish dishes to enjoy

Cranberry crusted cod

Baked cod with mango salsa

Sweet potato fish cakes

Honey quinoa crusted cod

White fish with a pistachio herb crumb topping

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Recipe

Honey ginger baked cod

Claire

This honey ginger baked cod is a lovely light dinner recipe that is perfect for a busy weeknight. It combines honey, ginger and garlic for a simple but flavourful glaze. A gluten-free and low histamine recipe.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 40 mins

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Dish

Cuisine American, British, Chinese

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 cod fillets frozen
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds optional

For the honey garlic marinade

• 0.5 teaspoon ginger paste or fresh grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 0.5 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 0.5 teaspoon apple cider vinegar optional

For the vegetable rice

• 1 cup rice dried weight
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ white onion diced
• ⅓ red bell pepper sliced
• ⅓ yellow bell pepper sliced
• ⅓ green bell pepper sliced
• 2 tablespoon corn
• 1 teaspoon dried coriander

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 200C. Once at temperature place your cod fillets in an ovenproof dish. Combine the ingredients for the marinade and spoon over the fish. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the fish is thoroughly cooked.
• Cook your rice according to packet instructions. In a pan, fry the peppers and corn with the coriander in a little olive oil for 7-8 minutes until softened then combine with the rice.
• Plate up your rice and fish, and sprinkle the sesame seeds over your fish if using. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Notes

• My low histamine readers will likely need to take the fish straight from the freezer to the oven. It is usually best not to leave it to thaw or stand on the counter.
• If you want a particularly flavourful fish and like a hit of spice, then use more ginger than stated.

 

Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGH) food compatibility list for histamine

All ingredients in this recipe for honey ginger baked cod score 0 on the SIGHI list, with the exception of:

• fish, see above for more details.
• sesame, which scores 1.
• garlic, which scores 1.
• ginger, which scores 1.
• apple cider vinegar, which scores 1.

 

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