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–+ servings

Seafood Doria (Japanese Rice Gratin)

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 2 portions

Ingredients 
 

Pilaf (Seasoned Rice)

  • ½ tbsp olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove finely diced
  • 200 g shrimp or mixed seafood cut into bitesize pieces
  • 3 button mushrooms finely sliced
  • 2 tbsp white wine
  • ½ tsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
  • 1 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped
  • ½ tbsp butter
  • 100 g 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 powder
  • ⅛ tsp paprika powder
  • ⅛ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tbsp tomato ketchup

Bechamel Sauce

  • 2 tbsp 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.
  • fresh 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).
    frying garlic in olive oil
  • Once the garlic becomes fragrant, add 200 g shrimp or mixed seafood and 3 button mushrooms (sliced). Stir fry for a few minutes.
    stir frying mixed seafood with garlic infused oil
  • Pour in 2 tbsp white wine, ½ tsp lemon juice and fry until the liquid is almost gone.
    adding white wine and lemon juice to stir fried mixed seafood
  • Add ½ tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu) and 1 tbsp fresh parsley . Stir fry for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and set aside.
    adding salt and parsley to stir fried mixed seafood
  • 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.)
    crushing a chicken stock cube into a powder
  • Heat a large wok on medium and melt ½ tbsp butter. Add the 100 g onion (finely diced) and fry until softened and slightly translucent.
    frying onions in a wok
  • Next, add 250 g cooked Japanese short-grain rice and stir fry for a few minutes or until the rice is warmed through.
    frying rice in a wok
  • Add the spices (⅛ tsp cumin powder, ⅛ tsp cinnamon powder, ⅛ tsp paprika powder and ⅛ tsp turmeric powder) and ½ knorr chicken bouillon cube you crushed earlier, and stir fry until well combined.
    frying rice with spices
  • Once the spices are well distributed, add 1 tbsp tomato ketchup and mix well.
    adding ketchup to spiced rice
  • 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. 
    adding seafood to fried rice
  • Remove from the heat and set aside for later.
    remove from the heat

Béchamel Sauce

  • Take a saucepan and melt 2 tbsp butter butter over a low heat.
    melting butter in a pan
  • Once it's melted, add 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and mix thoroughly until smooth to make a roux.
    adding flour to melted butter
  • Add half of the 200 ml whole milk (100ml), the other ½ chicken bouillon cube and ¼ tsp salt. Whisk until smooth. 
    whisking flour and melted butter in a pan
  • 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.)
    adding milk to roux in a pan
  • 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.
    adding nutmeg to bechamel sauce

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.
    spiced seafood rice in an oven proof dish
  • Coat evenly with béchamel sauce.
    spiced seafood rice topped with bechamel sauce in an oven proof dish
  • Sprinkle generously with preferred shredded melting cheese and/or hard cheeseof your choice.
    seafood doria topped with cheese
  • Bake on the top shelf for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is browned.
    baked seafood doria
  • Sprinkle with fresh parsley and enjoy!

Notes

I used two 10x16cm (4x6") individual oven dishes for two servings.
This recipe also works well with chicken instead of seafood.