Trader Joe's Carries A Flavorful Frozen Fish That's A Total Copycat Of This Iconic Nobu Dish

If you're at all interested in the fine dining scene in New York City, you've most likely heard about the iconic Nobu restaurant. First opened in 1994 in the Big Apple, the Japanese restaurant led by Chef Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa with co-owner Robert Deniro now has a worldwide presence — with 55 restaurants and 38 hotels across the globe.

Chef Nobu calls his cuisine "Nobu style" – Japanese-style cooking with Peruvian influences, like cilantro, jalapeños, and ceviche. Among his many popular dishes, perhaps the most famous is the black cod with miso – one of the most iconic dishes from celebrity chefs. Nobu sold 40,000 portions of this signature dish — which marinates in miso for three days — at two of its most popular locations in 2021. Though it sells for $49 at one of Nobu's New York locations, you can actually mosey on over to Trader Joe's to find a pretty darn good frozen copycat version.

Trader Joe's Wild Alaskan Black Cod Sablefish with Miso Marinade costs $9.99 for two 5-ounce portions. Trader Joe's suggests three different methods to achieve ideal results. Either sear and bake or broil and bake the fish at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for around 15 to 17 minutes — or place the cod in an air fryer for the same amount of time. Serve with steamed jasmine rice, a seaweed salad, sautéed bok choy, umami pickled cucumbers, or another side of your choosing, and you've got an amazing lunch or dinner for just $10 — one that tastes a lot like Nobu's high-priced version.

Fans on Reddit can be rather particular about their food preferences. In the case of TJ's Wild Alaskan Black Cod Sablefish with Miso Marinade, the comments are overwhelmingly positive. "I air fried the cod — it was incredible. I will always get this when I see it!!" said one Redditor. Another commented that, "TJ's version is a touch below but they have used the same fish as Nobu. It's an excellent substitute to enjoy an expensive meaty regional fish. It is so good!"

Over on TikTok, one shopper gave the dish a 10 out of 10, noting that the skin and sauce caramelized beautifully when air fried, while the fish inside was moist and flavorful. YouTuber @thequeenfoodie actually compared Trader Joe's version and the Nobu original side by side. She said the two dishes were very comparable, and the sauce was "spot on" and similar in flavor. The YouTuber concluded that the Trader Joe's copycat dish is "the dupiest dupe of all the dupes." 

So, in the famous words of Omar from "The Wire" — "you come at the king, you best not miss." And Trader Joe's, by all accounts, gets pretty close to the bullseye with this dish. TJ's Wild Alaskan Black Cod Sablefish with Miso Marinade is an excellent copycat of Nobu's world-renowned dish. If you can't make it to one of Nobu's many locations, or if its price is a drawback, the Trader Joe's version does an incredible job of mimicking the same flavor and texture.