Doria: What More Do You Want To Know?

For variations on doria (which I talked about in part 2 of this post), you could use boiled macaroni or something in place of the rice, in which case you’ve got guratan (read, “gratin”). Also known as “wiggle” in many parts of America. If you were wondering why this sounds an awful lot like tuna or chicken casserole, it’s because that’s exactly what it is.

Beyond that, variation is a matter of choosing different vegetables and proteins, different proportions of the ingredients, and so on. This is not rocket science. You can even dress it up with a face!

What Is Doria?
All well and good, but you might wonder why this is called “doria.” Good question! I wish I had a really good answer. Here's what I've got.

First of all, in classical French cuisine, the term “doria” refers to turned cucumbers cooked gently in butter. In other words, you peel, seed, and shape your cucumbers into attractive, even-sized pieces. You cook these gently in butter until they’re just a bit soft and have absorbed the butter. Then you put these with something else, usually something cooked in butter as well. For example, sole doria is sole, lightly floured and cooked in butter, garnished with cucumbers cooked in butter.

When you make chicken doria, you’re generally making poulet à la crême, which is chicken sauteed in butter, to which you add some white wine and reduce it, add onion briefly, and then add cream and cook until the chicken is done and the sauce has thickened. This is then garnished with the cucumbers. There is also consomme doria, which is chicken consomme garnished with cucumber, macaroni, and little poached oblongs of tomatoed chicken puree.

Now given all this, where are the cucumbers?

I did a little digging on Japanese websites, and it appears that this dish was invented by chef Saly Weil (1897-1976), head chef of the Hotel New Grand Yokohama, some time around 1927. It was one of the first yoshoku dishes, i.e. “Western-style” dishes adapted to Japanese tastes. Weil borrowed from an older French dish created in honor of some Italian occasion or other, and named for the old Italian Doria family of aristocrats. In that version, the point was that the colors were dominated by green (cucumber), red (tomato), and white (from egg and cream). Weil’s invention was essentially the dish we know: rice topped with cucumber, tomato, and shrimp, covered in bechamel, run under a broiler. Note that she was using those three basic ingredients associated with the flag of Italy. I bet it looked something like this.

Now I bet that over time, people got used to the term "doria" referring to what's essentially a gratin over rice instead of noodles, and the part about cucumbers just vanished along the way. Weil knew her French culinary tradition -- she was a top-notch Swiss hotel chef -- but that's not exactly common knowledge even in France, much less in Japan.

I’m also betting that the modern version, with the layers, arose simply as people got used to making these things at home and had a growing number of prepackaged foods available, notably canned white sauce and shredded cheese.

Can Doria Be More?
This means that there is a better way to make doria, by reverse-engineering from French culinary technique.

First, some substitutions.

Bacon: We don’t actually want the smokiness of most American bacon, and I note that Japanese bacon is very mild. So use cured bacon instead, such as Italian pancetta.

Protein: We want a mild, light flavor. Chicken is appropriate, but shrimp is vastly superior. It should be cooked very gently in butter until just barely done. Lump crabmeat or lobster would be lovely too, of course.

Other Vegetables: We want vegetables that like cheese and shrimp. Broccoli and cauliflower stand out, but cucumbers and tomatoes are an ideal choice as well, and take us back to the roots.

Sauce: This is the big difference. We don’t want nasty canned garbage, but rather a proper sauce Mornay. And we’ll want Gruyère and Parmesan in that and on top.

High-End Doria, Just Because
So I’ve given a second recipe here. Let’s walk through it.

The first thing is the vegetable prep. Drop the tomatoes in rapidly boiling water for 30 second, remove with a strainer, and drop into cold water; they will peel easily. Then cut them crosswise and squeeze out all the juice and seeds. Core the end that has one. Now cut the flesh in 3 big chunks per half, making 12 in all from the two tomatoes. Roll one chunk into a coarse ball and wrap in a kitchen towel, then twist up the towel very hard. When you gently unroll it, you should have a perfect red ball of pure tomato flesh.

Peel your seedless cucumbers and cut them into lengths just a hair longer than they are fat. Now with a paring knife, shave around the sharp edges to make footballs. Then shave each remaining edge slightly to produce balls. Reserve these with (but not touching) the tomato balls.

Cut the pancetta into batons and the mushrooms into slices.

Now make the sauce, which takes the longest and can hold. Bring a generous 2 cups of milk to a simmer and leave it there. In a small saucepan, cook 1/4 cup butter (half a stick) and, optionally, a quarter of a very small onion, chopped fine, over medium-low heat until the onion is very soft and translucent, then add a scant 1/4 cup flour. Stir constantly until there are no flour lumps, then continue stirring and cooking about 3 minutes, until a slight nutty aroma rises from the pan. Remove from heat, add the hot milk all at once, and whisk rapidly until there are no lumps (this is harder if you’ve used the onion). Return to heat, bring to a boil while whisking constantly, then lower heat and simmer, whisking periodically, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce is medium-thick. (You now have sauce Béchamel.) Lower the heat to medium-low. Stir in a cup or so of mixed fresh-grated Gruyère and Parmesan, and add a pinch each of white pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg. Continue stirring and cooking, not permitting the sauce to come to a boil, until it is completely smooth. Thin with more butter if needed. Correct seasoning. (This is now a relatively low-cheese sauce Mornay.) Keep over a very low flame, stirring occasionally, until needed.

Render the pancetta slowly in a saute pan and add the mushrooms. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms throw off their liquid and then reabsorb it, by which time the bacon should be just thinking about browning. Add the rice and quickly stir to mix evenly. Divide the rice mixture across a number of individual greased ramekins or the like.

Saute the tomato balls and turned cucumbers gently in a lot of butter (like a stick or so) until softened, then add peeled shrimp and cook about 3 minutes until just barely done. Portion this mixture (using a slotted spoon so as not to get all the butter and make it greasy) over the rice.

Top each ramekin with a generous portion of sauce and sprinkle with more of the mixed cheeses. Run under a broiler until golden and bubbling. Serve at once.

If you have actually made this, you’re a lunatic. But it does taste pretty good.

Conclusion
I continue to muse and wonder about what to talk about next. I think it’s going to be nabe hot-pot stuff, because I think we’re going to get a pot and induction burner soon, and then I can show you what it’s all about.

Sayonara!