Doria is a Japanese-invented gratin. Pour béchamel sauce with prawns over the butter rice, then brown the surface with cheese on top. Prawn Doria (Rice Gratin) is a gorgeous looking dish and so tasty.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 160g / 5.6oz fresh prawns peeled, deveined and tails intact if possible (note 1)
- 4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- 20g / 0.7oz butter
- ½ onion (medium) finely diced
- 70g / 2.5oz mushrooms thinly sliced (note 2)
- 3 tbsp flour
- 350ml / 0.7pt milk
- 100ml / 3.4oz prawn broth (or water, note 3)
- ½ cube chicken stock (note 3)
- ½ tsp salt
- A pinch of white pepper (or black pepper)
- 2 cups cooked rice (loosely packed 2 cups)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 30g / 1.1oz carrot finely diced to about 5mm / 3⁄16"
- 30g / 1.1oz onion finely diced
- Salt and pepper
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Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat.
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Add carrot and onion, sauté for a minute or two until the onion becomes semi-transparent.
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Add the rice and mix, breaking up the lumps. Season with salt and pepper.
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When the rice grains are well coated in butter and the vegetables are mixed evenly, transfer the butter rice to two individual gratin baking dishes.
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Heat the frying pan used for the butter rice over medium high heat. Add a small amount of butter if the pan is too dry.
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Add prawns and cook for a minute, then turn them over and cook further 1 minute.
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Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
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Add onion and mushrooms, sauté until the onion becomes transparent.
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Reduce the heat to low, add flour and mix well for a couple of minutes.
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Add about 1/3 of milk to the pan and mix well to incorporate until lump free (you may need to whisk it). Add the remaining milk, prawn broth, chicken stock cube, salt and pepper.
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Increase the heat to medium. As the sauce heats up, it thickens. Stir regularly at first, then constantly as it thickens.
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Once the Sauce is thick enough (note 5), transfer the prawns to the béchamel sauce. Mix and remove from the stove immediately.
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Preheat broiler (note 6).
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Pour the béchamel sauce over the butter rice in the baking dishes, covering the rice completely.
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Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the sauce.
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Place the baking dishes on the rack not too close to the heat (about 10cm / 4” away). Bake for a few minutes or until the sauce starts bubbling around the edges and the top becomes golden. Serve immediately. (note 6)
1. I used medium size prawns, 12 prawns in total. Smaller prawns are OK too.
If you only have large prawns, I’d recommend cutting them half or even smaller so that many prawn pieces are scattered in the béchamel sauce.
Instead of prawns, you can use chicken pieces, seafood mix or fish fillet pieces such as salmon.
You can also replace prawns with vegetables such as zucchini, capsicum, eggplant and varieties of mushrooms.
2. I used button mushrooms but you can use other mushrooms including Asian mushrooms.
3. I bought fresh prawns for today’s dish and boiled the heads and shells to make the broth. I removed blackish/brownish organ inside the heads so that the broth became clear.
You don’t have to have prawn broth but it gives the béchamel sauce a stronger prawn flavour.
Alternatively, replace 100ml prawn broth and ½ stock cube with 100ml / 3.4oz chicken broth.
4. Peas and corn kernels are also good alternatives.
5. Test: draw a path with finger on the back of the wooden spoon. if it stays, it's thick enough.
6. If you don’t have a broiler, heat the oven to 230°C / 446°F and place the dishes on the highest rack. Bake for 6-8 minutes.
7. Nutrition per serving.
serving: 603g calories: 612kcal fat: 22g (34%) saturated fat: 13g (65%) trans fat: 0.7g polyunsaturated fat: 1.4g monounsaturated fat: 5.9g cholesterol: 162mg (54%) sodium: 1655mg (69%) potassium: 751mg (21%) carbohydrates: 73g (24%) dietary fibre: 2.5g (10%) sugar: 4.1g protein: 29g vitamin a: 71% vitamin c: 11% calcium: 31% iron: 18%