Doria, Japanese Western-Style Dish, Made with Fresh Seafood to Enhance Flavor

By Yukako Oishi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

13:25 JST, March 29, 2026

Seafood doria rice gratin is a dish chef Yoshinaga Jinbo, who specializes in Italian cuisine, remembers from his schooldays. He has shared his special recipe, which uses a bechamel sauce to concentrate the umami flavor of the seafood.

Jinbo was born and raised in a coastal area of Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture. His father, who died about 20 years ago, ran a cafe that was always bustling with local residents, students and workers from nearby factories. The cafe’s most popular dish was seafood doria.

“My grandfather was a fisherman. My father used to cook doria with a generous amount of fishes and shell fishes that my grandfather caught,” said Jinbo. “I often stopped by the cafe after school and ate it for dinner.”

The secret of making the doria is to saute the seafood in white wine before combining the resulting broth with the bechamel sauce. The broth is infused with the seafood’s umami, creating a rich, savory base. During the process, it is important to not overcook the seafood, as it could result in a loss of texture and flavor. “Heat it up until the the shells open,” said Jinbo.

When making the bechamel sauce, turn off the heat after it starts gently simmering so the sauce is smooth rather than thick. Saute the rice with butter and add a small amount of soy sauce. The soy sauce is the secret ingredient as it goes perfectly with seafood and harmonizes the bechamel sauce and butter rice, bringing out the flavor. Bake in the oven until the cheese browns, and then serve while it is simmering.

The aroma of cheese whetted my appetite. The bechamel sauce was enhanced by the saltiness and umami of the seafood, complementing the subtly sweet butter rice, which added flavor to the dish. The squid and shellfish coated in the sauce were tender, and each seafood ingredient had a standout presence. You can use a frozen seafood mix, but fresh seafood is recommended to experience a truly luxurious doria.

Seafood doria

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

• 6 shelled shrimp
• 6 mussels
• 4 scallops
• 10 asari clams (after washing out the sand)
• 1 whole squid
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 onion
• 5 mushrooms
• 1 bunch spinach
• 80 grams broccoli
• 80 milliliters white wine
• 60 grams butter
• 10 grams flour
• 200 milliliters milk
• 400 grams cooked rice
• 120 grams pizza cheese
• Italian parsley (finely chopped) to taste
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• A pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil



Directions:

1. Wash the shrimp, mussels, scallops and asari clams. Filet the squid and cut into bite-sized pieces. Finely chop the garlic and onion and thinly slice the mushrooms.



2. Boil the spinach in salted water, and then cut them into 5-centimeter-wide pieces. Boil the broccoli in salted water, and separate into small florets.

3. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and add the garlic. Quickly saute the shrimp, scallops and squid. Add the mussels and asari clams, and turn the heat to high. Pour in the white wine and saute until the shells open.

4. To make the bechamel sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over low to medium heat, and add sifted flour. Add milk heated to about 50 C in three parts, and stir constantly with a spatula while heating until smooth. Strain the seafood broth to add to the bechamel sauce, then bring to a simmer while mixing with a whisk, then turn off the heat.



5. For the butter rice, melt butter in another frying pan, then stir-fry the onion and mushrooms. Add the cooked rice and mix everything together. Season with soy sauce, salt and pepper.

6. Use butter to coat the inside of a gratin dish or ovenproof pot. Add the butter rice first, followed by the blanched vegetables and then the sauteed seafood in that order. Then, pour in the bechamel sauce, and add cheese, parsley and olive oil. Bake in an oven at 250 C for about 5 minutes until the cheese is golden brown. Garnish with parsley.