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Featured Comment:
“this is your second recipe I tried and this seafood doria also is absolutely delicious!!! Thank you so much I will cook myself through your recipes from now on Greetings from the other side of the world ☺️”
– Dee
What is Doria?
Doria is a popular Japanese oven-baked dish of seasoned rice topped with béchamel sauce and grated cheese. It’s most commonly made with seafood or meat and has many kinds and flavors.
It is commonly found in Japanese family restaurants and “yoshoku” (Western) style restaurants and is even sold as ready-meals in supermarkets and convenience stores. It’s also an easy dish to make at home and great for meal prep. I often make Doria in advance and store it in the fridge or freezer. That way, I’ve got an easy and convenient meal that I can throw in the oven anytime!
How I Developed This Recipe
In my quest to create this seafood doria recipe, my ambition was to craft a dish that stood out as unique and incomparable. I was especially meticulous about the pilaf at the heart of the Doria, experimenting with various spices to find the perfect blend to elevate the dish to new heights.
After numerous trials and a dedication to perfecting every detail, I can confidently say that this recipe has met my expectations fully. The result is a seafood doria that’s rich, comforting, and bursting with layers of flavor. I’m truly 100% satisfied with how it turned out!
Please give it a try and enjoy the unique taste of this special Doria!
Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
Rice (Seafood Pilaf):
- Olive oil – for frying and subtle flavoring.
- Garlic – Finely diced and fried in the oil helps carry garlic flavor throughout the dish. In this case, I don’t recommend using premade garlic paste or garlic powder.
- Shrimp – shrimp is the most common seafood choice for seafood doria, but it’s also fine to use things like mussels, squid, scallops or a mixture.
- Button mushrooms – adds an earthy flavor and pleasant texture.
- Lemon juice – the acidity and zesty flavor highlights the best parts of the seafood and brings balance to the dish.
- White wine – the zesty notes of white wine compliment the briny flavors in fish and seafood. I recommend using a dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc or unoaked Chardonnay. If you don’t want to use alcohol in your cooking, you can substitute with a little extra lemon juice.
- Soy sauce – for saltiness and umami. If you want to know more about soy sauce used for Japanese cooking, please see my 20 Most Useful Condiments and Seasonings for Japanese Cooking post.
- Fresh parsley – another perfect partner for seafood that adds a vibrant peppery flavour.
- Unsalted butter – adds richness to the rice. Unsalted makes it easier to control the saltiness in your cooking. If you use salted, reduce the salt or soy sauce amount accordingly.
- Onion – for sweetness and texture.
- Cooked rice – Japanese short-grain white rice is typically used to make doria, but generally most kinds of rice work for this recipe. I recommend using rice that has been cooked and chilled, since freshly cooked rice tends to lose its texture and get a bit mushy when fried.
- Chicken stock cube – I use Knorr’s chicken stock cube.
- Cumin powder – adds depth and warmth to the rice.
- Cinnamon powder – a powerful flavor, just a touch for extra depth!
- Paprika powder – adds a slightly fruity and sweet flavor.
- Turmeric powder – adds color and a slightly bitter flavor.
- Ketchup – for sweetness and balance.
Béchamel Sauce:
- Unsalted butter – to make a roux.
- Plain flour – to make a roux.
- Whole milk – no cream required, just whole milk to give it a richy and creamy texture and flavor.
- Chicken stock cube – again, I use Knorr’s chicken stock cube here to create harmony between the sauce and rice.
- Nutmeg – just a pinch to give the sauce more depth.
Remember to sprinkle cheese on your doria before baking it. You can use any melting cheese, such as Gouda, Cheddar, Mozzarella or Gruyere. For a crispy and brown effect, bake the Doria on the top shelf of the oven at a high temperature. If you want an extra cheesy flavor, sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on top.
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Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Seafood Doria at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
1. Seafood pilaf
Heat a pan on low to medium-low and add the olive oil and finely diced garlic. It’s important to use a low heat here to prevent burning; burnt garlic will make the dish bitter.
Once the garlic becomes fragrant, add the seafood of your choice and the sliced button mushrooms. Stir fry for a few minutes until the mushrooms are slightly softened.
Add white wine and lemon juice to the pan and simmer until the liquid is almost gone. If it’s taking too long to reduce, feel free to increase the heat slightly.
Season with soy sauce and freshly chopped parsley and stir fry for about 1 minute. Once done, remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
Take a wok and heat it on medium. Add butter, and once the butter has melted, add finely diced onion. Fry until softened and slightly translucent.
Next, add the chilled rice and stir fry them together for a few minutes until the rice is warmed through.
Add the cumin, cinnamon, paprika, turmeric, and crushed chicken stock cube. Mix until all the spices are evenly distributed throughout the rice.
Add the ketchup and mix well.
Add the contents of the frying pan to the wok and mix until the seafood is evenly distributed throughout the rice.
Remove the wok from the heat and set aside for now.
Jump to Full Recipe Measurements2. Béchamel sauce
Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.
Add the flour and mix thoroughly to make a smooth roux.
Pour half of the milk into the saucepan along with the salt and crushed chicken stock cube. Whisk until smooth.
Once the mixture becomes a thick ball of paste, add the other half of the milk and whisk vigorously to break up the lumps. Lift the pan off the heat from time to time to prevent the sauce from thickening too fast.
Once the mixture is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, turn off the heat and add a pinch of nutmeg. Whisk once more and remove the pan from the heat.
3. Assemble and bake
Preheat the oven to 220C/420F. While you wait for it to heat up, assemble the Doria. Take an oven-proof dish and make a layer of rice.
Coat the rice with an even layer of béchamel sauce.
Next, sprinkle with the cheese of your choice.
Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the top is slightly browned.
Enjoy!
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Tips & Tricks
- Flavor the oil with garlic; this will carry flavor throughout the cooking process.
- Cook the seafood and rice separately, then combine them. This will stop the flavors from becoming blurred together.
- Use chilled rice; this will help the grains keep their shape without becoming soft and mushy.
- When making béchamel sauce, use low heat so it doesn’t thicken too quickly.
- Use a whisk to make sure it’s smooth.
- Top with a mixture of meltable and hard cheese for the best texture and flavor.
- If the top starts to brown too quickly, move it to a lower shelf, cover it with foil, and lower the oven temperature slightly.
- If the cheese doesn’t brown, turn up the heat and cook it a little longer.
How to Store
Seafood Doria is a great dish for making in advance and then you can just put it in the oven when it’s convenient for you. If you’re baking it straight away, I recommend 220°C/420°F for 15-20 minutes on the top shelf to encourage browning on the cheese.
If you decide to save it for later, keep the assembled doria in the fridge and use within 1-2 days. You might need to lower the oven temperature slightly and cook it a bit longer to ensure it’s warmed all the way through. I recommend about 190-200°C (375-392°F) for about 20-25 minutes.
Alternatively, you can freeze it unbaked and use it within 1 month. Just keep in mind that you will need to bake it for longer when cooking from frozen. (About 50-60 minutes at 180°C/356°F) If the top starts to brown too quickly, cover it with foil to prevent burning.
FAQ
Doria is often thought to be a European dish, but in fact, the dish was born in Japan. It was invented around 1930 by Sally Weil, a Swiss chef who was the first head chef of the New Grand Hotel in Yokohama.
Weil improvised the dish for foreign customers using buttered rice, creamed shrimp, béchamel sauce, and cheese and then baked it in the oven, creating the first prototype of Doria. It was a huge hit and became one of Hotel New Grand’s specialties.
It is said Weil named the dish after the “Doria family,” a prestigious aristocratic family from Genoa, particularly “Andrea Doria,” an admiral in the Navy in the 16th century.
Since its creation in the 1930s, Doria has become a well-loved dish served in cafes, restaurants, and homes across Japan.
I hope you enjoy this Japanese Seafood Doria recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Yoshoku Recipes
Seafood Doria (Japanese Rice Gratin)
Ingredients
Pilaf (Seasoned Rice)
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove finely diced
- 200 g shrimp or mixed seafood cut into bitesize pieces
- 3 brown button mushroom finely sliced
- 2 tbsp white wine
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped
- ½ tbsp unsalted butter
- 100 g yellow onion finely diced
- 250 g cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- ½ knorr chicken bouillon cube use the other half for béchamel sauce
- ⅛ tsp cumin powder
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp paprika powder
- ⅛ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
Bechamel Sauce
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 200 ml whole milk
- ½ chicken bouillon cube
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 pinch nutmeg powder
Topping
- preferred shredded melting cheese cheddar, gouda, mozzarella, etc.
- hard cheese (optional) parmesan, pecorino, etc.
- parsley dried or fresh, optional garnish
Instructions
Pilaf
- Heat a pan on medium/medium-low. Once heated, add ½ tbsp olive oil and 1 garlic clove (finely diced).
- Once the garlic becomes fragrant, add 200 g shrimp or mixed seafood and 3 brown button mushroom (sliced). Stir fry for a few minutes.
- Pour in 2 tbsp white wine, ½ tsp lemon juice and fry until the liquid is almost gone.
- Add ½ tsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp fresh parsley . Stir fry for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- Cut a knorr stock cube in half and crush it with the back of a knife. We will add this to the fried rice later. (Save the other half for the béchamel sauce.)
- Heat a large wok on medium and melt ½ tbsp unsalted butter. Add the 100 g yellow onion (finely diced) and fry until softened and slightly translucent.
- Next, add 250 g cooked Japanese short-grain rice and stir fry for a few minutes or until the rice is warmed through.
- Add the spices (⅛ tsp cumin powder, ⅛ tsp cinnamon, ⅛ tsp paprika powder and ⅛ tsp turmeric powder) and ½ knorr chicken bouillon cube you crushed earlier, and stir fry until well combined.
- Once the spices are well distributed, add 1 tbsp tomato ketchup and mix well.
- Add the contents of the other pan (seafood and mushrooms) to the rice and stir fry everything together until the ingredients are well distributed throughout the rice.
- Remove from the heat and set aside for later.
Béchamel Sauce
- Take a saucepan and melt 2 tbsp unsalted butter butter over a low heat.
- Once it's melted, add 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and mix thoroughly until smooth to make a roux.
- Add half of the 200 ml whole milk (100ml), the other ½ chicken bouillon cube and ¼ tsp salt. Whisk until smooth.
- When it becomes a thick ball of paste, add the remaining milk one half at a time, and break up the lumps with a whisk. (If it's thickening too quickly, lift the pan off the heat from time to time to slow down the cooking process.)
- Continue to whisk until smooth. Once the sauce has thickened to a consistency that would cover the back of a spoon, turn off the heat and add 1 pinch nutmeg powder. Whisk once more and remove from the heat.
Assembling
- Preheat the oven to 220 °C (428 °F). While it heats, assemble the doria. Start by making a layer of rice in an oven-proof dish.
- Coat evenly with béchamel sauce.
- Sprinkle generously with preferred shredded melting cheese and/or hard cheese (optional)of your choice.
- Bake on the top shelf for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is browned.
- Sprinkle with parsley and enjoy!
Hello Yuto,
this is your second recipe I tried and this seafood doria also is absolutely delicious!!!
Thank you so much
I will cook myself through your recipes from now on
Greetings from the other side of the world ☺️
Hi Dee,
Thank you for trying another doria recipe! I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed both recipes! 🙂 It made my day!
Yuto