Similar to gratin, Doria is the savory meat sauce over steamed rice, covered with melted cheese and baked in the oven. This Yoshoku (Japanese western meal) is a comfort dish from childhood to many Japanese.
Brrr… it’s really cold in San Francisco and we might see its first snowfall tonight in more than 30 years! It’s a perfect day to enjoy some oven-baked food for cold days like these. Today I want to share Meat Doria (Rice Gratin) recipe.
What is Doria? In Japan, we call rice gratins “doria.” We saute vegetables and meat in white sauce or tomato sauce, pour over the steamed rice, and then bake it in an oven or oven toaster. Gratins and dorias are my favorite comfort dish from childhood and also my children’s favorite. Stay warm!
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Meat Doria (Rice Gratin)
Ingredients
- 2 rice cooker cups Japanese short-grain rice (2 rice-cooker-cups (180 ml x 2 = 360 ml) yields roughly 4 servings (3 ½ US cups); see how to cook short-grain rice with a rice cooker, a pot over the stove, an instant pot, or a donabe)
For Meat Mixture
- ½ onion
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 carrot
- 6 mushrooms
- 12 oz ground beef (preferably beef 70% & pork 30%)
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz, 411 g)
- 3-4 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock; You need the broth just enough to cover the ingredients, not ALL 4 cups in the recipe.)
For Seasonings
- 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 Tbsp red wine
- ½ tsp sugar
- 3 Tbsp ketchup
- 3 Tbsp tonkatsu sauce (or Worcestershire sauce)
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
- freshly ground black pepper
For Toppings
- ¾-1 cup Mozzarella cheese
- ¾-1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) cheese
- 2-3 Tbsp panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
- parsley (fresh, to garnish)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. Start cooking rice using a rice cooker, instant pot, or a pot over the stovetop.
- Finely chop the onion, celery, carrot, and parsley and slice the mushrooms.
- In a large skillet, heat oil on medium high and cook the bay leaf until fragrant. Then sauté the onion and the celery until soft.
- Add the mushroom and the carrot and cook until soft.
- Add the meat and pour red wine. Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat.
- When the meat is almost cooked, add tomatoes with their juice and the sugar. Then add vegetable broth just enough until all the ingredients are covered (Don't put too much; You will need to reduce the cooking liquid until it's almost evaporated).
- Add Ketchup and Tonkatsu sauce and bring it to a boil.
- Remove excess fat from the soup.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer (without a lid) until most liquid is evaporated. When you move the meat sauce and see the bottom of the skillet, it’s done cooking.
- Add the butter and season with salt and pepper.
- Butter the baking dish(es) and put steamed rice.
- Pour the meat sauce on top of rice. Then sprinkle 2 kinds of cheese and Panko on top.
- Set the oven setting to broil (high) and broil for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is nicely melted and turns golden color. Garnish with parsley and serve.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for a month.
Editor’s Note: Pictures and recipe updated in September 2012.
I discovered your homepage by coincidence.
Very interesting posts and well written.
I will put your site on my blogroll.
🙂
Thank you Terry for your comment and I am glad you enjoy the site!
Just try doria receipe. Smell and taste so yummy’
Hi Mira! Thank you for trying my recipe! I’m glad you liked it. 🙂 I really appreciate your feedback. I get easily motivated by your kind note. Thanks!
I love the way u teach me to cook’
Thanks again. I try to break it down to simple and detail directions so that my kids will try to cook one day by reading my recipes. 🙂
What a great meal for the beginning of Fall! Thanks for sharing. This really made my family happy at the dinner table tonight.
Hi Rachel! I’m so happy to hear that your family loved it! Thank you for letting me know your feedback! 🙂
I just wanted to say that I tried this recipe, and I couldn’t believe how delicious it was. My boyfriend also really loved it, and he’s kind of picky when it comes to trying new foods. I’m definitely going to make this on a regular basis.
Hi Sarah! I’m so happy you and your BF liked it. 🙂 It’s easy to make and very fulfilling comfort food for us! My children loves this dish all year around (but appears more often on the table in fall/winter). Thank you so much for writing and giving me feedback! You made my day!
I want to make meat doria but i don’t have red wine, tonkatsu sauce and vegetable broth.. Can i subtitute with other liquid? Can i used chicken broth instead pf vegetables broth?? I really want to try this recipe.. Looks yummy..
Tq
Hi Siska! Sure, chicken broth is okay and you can substitute tonkatsu sauce with Worcestershire sauce. Hope you enjoy it!
Tq for the reply naomi.. What about the red wine? Can i skip it? Or is there any substitute for the red wine? Tq
Hi Siska! Sorry, I forgot to mention about red wine. You can omit the red wine, but add little more stock. 🙂
Hi Nami,
Just wanted to let u know that I was so glad to be able to cook something so simple, quick & yummy straight after work & gym when I got home:D It’s something that I can always cook on those busy days. Thank u for sharing the great talented cook within u:)
Btw does red wine always go well with red meat for taste?
Hi Jasmine! Thank you so much for your kind feedback, and I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. 🙂 Yes, wine goes well with red meat, especially with tomato-based sauce. I have Meat Sauce recipe (https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/spaghetti-meat-sauce/) that I use red wine too. Thanks for stopping by to leave a comment. 🙂
Hi. I love your website! I was wondering, since I don’t use red wine much in my dishes, what type of red wine do you suggest for this dish and for other steak dishes in general?
Hi Cindy! Happy New Year! I’m so happy to hear you like my site. 🙂 You can’t keep the wine too long, so anything that you like to drink after you use in cooking would be good. Especially we use small portion in cooking, you may want to think drinking is primary and cooking secondary. 🙂
Nami, my significant other and I were blessing you this evening as we were eating. This doria is now one of our staples. I’ve been reading your blog for about a month now and have tried many of your recipes and loved them all. Your blog is fantastic and I’m so grateful for it. It’s tiding me over until I can fulfill my lifelong dream of visiting Japan!
Hi Alex! Thank you so much for your kind words and I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed meat doria. This picture definitely needs an upgrade as I love this recipe but the photos are not well-taken… *sigh* Despite the bad photo, thank you so much for trying this recipe and many others from my site. I hope you get to visit Japan one day! By then, you will be very familiar with Japanese cooking. 😉 Thanks again!
Looks tasty!
I’m making this for dinner tonight and I can use up a ton of left over meat and veggies I have! Will need to get some more cheese though.
and funny story i ended up coming here after reading the Kingdom Hearts 2 manga where one of the characters was microwaving some Doria and I thought, “That sounds really delicious and I have no idea what it is.”
and thank you for saving this poor little college girl with your sobboro don.
Hi Kristina! I hope you enjoy(ed) the doria! I haven’t watched manga for a long time but am so glad to know you found my doria recipe through a scene from manga. 🙂 Oh soboro is a fantastic recipe, easy and quick!
Is there anything that I can replace the red wine with? Or can I not include it? I am a minor in college and can’t access alcohol easily 😛 but this looks amazing
Sorry, I did not see one of the above comments.
Don’t worry you can omit but add more stock. 🙂 Hope you enjoy! Thanks for checking previous comments. 🙂
My family has spent 10 wonderful years on the beautiful island of Okinawa and we love Japanese food! My youngest son, who was born on-island, tells everyone that he is Japanese. We are preparing to return to the states in a few months, and so I am trying to gather recipes that will ensure that my son and the rest of us will not have to do without our favorites dishes! A search for Doria led me to your wonderful website!!!! Wonderful recipes! Thank you so much!
Hi Belinda-Marie! Welcome to my blog! I have a lot of people who lived in Japan and enjoyed the Japanese food while living, but now they are back in their home country and use my recipes. I hope you find some of your favorite recipes on my site. Enjoy the rest of your stay in Okinawa! I’m from Yokohama but I haven’t had a chance to visit Okinawa yet… maybe I can squeeze in a short trip when I go back this summer. 🙂
Thank you Nami San for this nostalgic recipe! Do you also have a Gratin recipe that you can share? I absolutely love all of your recipes!!!
Hi Naoko-san! I actually should share more gratin recipes – thanks for your suggestion! It’s not a typical Japanese style but I only have this one so far… It’s delicious though. 🙂
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/potato-leek-gratin/
Nami,
Thank you for this recipe! My toddler boy loves rice and cheese. I cannot wait to try this!
Hi Lu! My children like this a lot! I hope your son will like it. 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight and I grabbed my frozen bag of prepared green bell peppers instead of the celery! Whoops! Still tasted amazing though! I couldn’t believe how easy this was to make. Thank you so much for sharing!
Ah, forgot to mention! I was stationed in Yokosuka for a few years and I miss the food terribly much! I discovered you through Pinterest about 8 months ago and I try to make your recipes as often as I can so I won’t forget. Japan is an amazing country and although I cannot go back and live there, it’s a definite country to visit and cherish.
Hi Kari! I’m happy to know you found me on Pinterest. Thank you for trying my recipes! I’m happy to know you enjoyed your stay in Japan. I really miss food in Japan too, and the best I could do is to re-create those dishes at home… 🙂
I’m glad yours came out well! Thanks for trying this recipe. It’s very easy and my children loves rice dishes, so this veggie + meat in one dish is great! Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
Hey Nami,
I omitted Panko the first time I made this, but added it on top the next time I had made it and it burned under the hot broil setting. Is there a way to avoid that? I used slices of cheese to cover the meat sauce and that did really well.
Hi Kari! How close was it between the heat source and the top of the doria? If it’s very close, you need to use lower rack. The purpose of putting in the oven at the end is to melt the cheese and get nice golden brown char on top. Everything is cooked, so you don’t need to worry about cooking it.
My suggestion would be to put the dish a bit far from the heat source (enough to melt the cheese), or if it’s burnt too quickly, you want to take it out from the oven earlier. I do not preheat the oven for broil (unless I mention), so 2-3 minutes is perfect timing for my case. Hope that helps!
This Doria was a fantastic dinner for tonight. Like the Curry Doria, it has a great taste that is distinct from typical tomato meat sauces I have cooked before, especially for a gratin. I am really enjoying making rice gratins recently – I understand now more why you refer to it as “comfort food” 😉
Out of interest, you mentioned in this recipe post that there is also a version that uses a white sauce. I am not fully familiar with the Doria variations (I am just really getting into it), but what sort of white sauce would be made? Is it a type of cream sauce cooked with vegetables (like onions, mushrooms, courgette for example) and minced meat, and would you also topped with cheese (only with a bit less because of the cream)?
As I missed to comment on your post about the community page, I would like to give my opinion with the Meat Doria feedback:
I think it is a great idea to have a community page for JOC. You have a lot of subscribers that, like you once said in your newsletter, may know some things about food, kitchen utensils and city facilitation and that they could share their experience – not only with you but to your subscribers as well.
I may like to be in the community page but I suspect that I would have little time to follow and keep up with it. I am currently enjoying my free time before taking on my upcoming professional occupation in end of September. Spare time will be compromised so I can always have time for my hobbies – although I will always attempt to leave time for cooking. I am really not a fast food person and I enjoy home cooking, whether I create my own recipes or learning from others, like you 🙂
Again a distinct 5 stars to your Meat Doria. If one would ask me whether I prefer more the Meat or the Curry Doria then I may not give a good decision to my answer because I like them both. It really would be my mood for tomatoes or curry food for dinner that decides which one to cook 😉
ありがとうございます！ Leo
Hi Leo!
So happy to hear you enjoy Doria! Yeah, for Japanese, rice dish is a comfort food to begin with. Then in this recipe, it has curry. It might sound strange, but Japanese grow up with Japanese curry and the flavor is very nostalgic and very homey food!
The original doria is white sauce, which is Bechamel sauce. Seafood and vegetables are usually used in Doria recipe. 🙂 I’ll share the recipe sometime soon!
Thank you for cooking both doria recipes!
As for the community page, don’t worry. It’s not “required” to join. I think it’s good to have a space where people can go and grab information if they need. I’m not sure if there is a forum or community page for Japanese food/recipe in general, so I thought I could provide such page where people can come and discuss (if they want to, or just simply read all the comments to get information). I’m going to work with my designer to see if it’s possible. 🙂
どうもありがとう、Leo!
Hi Nami,
It’s interesting to hear about the rice and curry dishes and the Japanese. I did notice that some East Asian countries are really big with those two paired dishes, but I wasn’t aware that it also was that big in Japan as well.
I have made Bechamel sauce to accompany Cannelloni and Lasagne. Hearing it being used for a rice dish with seafood sounds very interesting. (I didn’t think at first that Bechamel Sauce would be used!) I’ll stay alert to hear what great recipes you have planned to cook since you returned from Japan. Hope though that the kitchen building will not get further delayed! A house without a present kitchen just doesn’t work 😉
I have a check on the community page once it’s running. I can still follow up on what everyone post would be posting – probably a lot of interesting things!
お返事ありがとう！
Hi Leo! I think Japanese Curry is top 3 favorite foods among school kids. 🙂
I will work on regular doria recipe this fall/winter. It’s pretty good! I know, it’s very difficult to live without the kitchen and downstairs. I can’t wait to cook and eat at home!
お返事ありがとう！
Hi Nami, I made this tonight, double the portion and with 4 people theres just a little left, it was fantastic!! thank you so much! Do you do cooking classes in SF?
Hi Nike! I’m so glad you liked this recipe! 🙂 I don’t offer cooking classes (and never done it before). My schedule is really packed already just for my blog/youtube channel… But thank you for your interest!! 🙂
Hi Nami-san,
I’ve discovered your site a few days ago and everyday, I, try a recipe. Yesterday, that was salmon fried rice and that was just delicious. Today, I will try this one, together with my children 🙂
I still have to practice because I’m exigent with myself but I’m glad I’m able to make it, thank you!
Melek
Hi Melek! Welcome to JOC! So glad you found my site! Thank you for trying my recipe already and I hope you enjoy this recipe as well. 🙂
Hi, I don’t have minced meat at hand but I do have about 1 pound of Swiss-style pork+beef wienerli (which is sold pre-cooked). Would these sausages be a suitable substitute?
Also, I’ve just realized that I’ve used up all my Japanese rice and have only Jasmine rice left. Would that work or do I have to make a special trip to the store?
Thanks in advance for your advice, Nami.
Hi Elaine! I’ve never tried those sausages so it’s hard for me to say. Only concern that I have is that it’s pre-seasoned and cooked, so I hope it won’t be too salty or overwhelming with different flavors.
Jasmine rice is okay as long as you’re okay. 🙂 Hope this helps….
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I have been wanting wanting to make Japanese food on my own, but could never read the kanji. Thank you for making it easier to cook!
Naomi
Hi Naomi! I’m so happy to hear you liked this recipe! Haha, I know, a lot of kanji in Japanese recipes. I’m really happy my recipes are helpful. Thank you for reading my blog! 🙂
I love this dish so much. I make it all the time. Today I made this recipe with tofu instead of beef and it was still super tasty! Thanks Nami <3
Hi Rachel! Ohh with tofu! Thanks for sharing your idea. I’m so happy you like this recipe! xoxo
HI Nmai, my daughter’s comment was that it tasted like eating taco’s without the taco shell. I’m not sure that I like combing cheese and rice but it was fun to make.
Hi Darlene! Haha! You mean Mexican tacos? That’s interesting, but it has ground meat and cheese in there and some tomatoes… 😀
Hi Nami- san. I was just wondering if you have a chicken doria recipe? Instead of the ground beef?
Hi Maria! I don’t have it (yet), but I’ll add to my list. 🙂
Hi Namiko,
How much rice did you use?
Hi Tamás! Roughly 2 cups of uncooked rice (= 180 ml rice cooker cup x 2).
I like the recipe except for one minor part. The quantity of rice used in the dish. I understand that it needs to be flexible because of the size pan, but there isn’t a ‘base’ to start with. Starting from scratch I am guessing about a quarter cup uncooked rice would work. A guide to the quantity to cover the bottom (including depth) of the pan if one does not have already prepared rice.
Hi Tom! Thank you for your feedback. You would need 2 rice cooker cups (180 ml x 2) for this recipe. I’ll update the recipe. Thank you for your feedback.
Easy, clear instructions different flavors from known ingredients. For the saute part a 10″ inch pan worked just fine. I ended by using an 8 x 11 glass casserole dish for ease. Wife walked in the door saying it smells wonderful in here & she can not identify the dish. Love it when that happens.
Thanks,
Nami
Tom, your wife is REALLY lucky to have a wonderful cook like you!!! I wish I want to walk into the kitchen and there is something delicious being cooked!!! 😀
This recipe looks delicious and I can’t wait to try this out! I was wondering how much vegetable/chicken stock I should use for this recipe? The amount wasn’t specified in the ingredients list. Thanks!
Hi Jenelle! Thank you for bringing this to my attention. In the recipe, I wrote that you need to add vegetable broth just enough until all the ingredients are covered (Don’t put too much; You will need to reduce the cooking liquid until it’s almost evaporated). Next time I’ll measure – I usually do not finish using the entire broth (4 cups, 1 QT, 960 ml). I’m sorry it’s not exact…
Casseroles are always comfort food. I have never eaten Meat Doria but it looked like something my kids would love. Flavorful meat sauce. I also added a bit of soysauce to complete my salty palate. Your recipes are always consistently fabulous and your website has become my cooking bible!
Hi Renee! Awww!! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe and other recipes from my site! 🙂
Another awesome recipe! I can see why everyone likes it. I even made my own tonkatsu sauce. I wanted to post pics but it won’t let me. Thanks again for another great recipe!!😊😊
Hi Virginia!
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are glad to hear you enjoyed this Meat Doria.☺️
Thank you so much for sharing!
What do you recommend for a good substitute for the red wine in this dish?
Thank you!
Hi Bianca, Thank you very much for trying this recipe! For this recipe, you can skip the red wine.😉
Hello Nami!
I love your recipes!!! I return to justonecookbook again and again for inspiration. I made this Meat Doria last night and it was a HUGE hit! Perfect for my 4 year old’s taste buds, but also for the grownups too! I liken it to chili con carne with rice. Despite the rather hefty number of ingredients, making this dish was surprisingly easy. I found I only needed two cups of broth; I simmered for about thirty minutes before most of the liquid had evaporated. I also replaced one tablespoon of ketchup with tomato paste. This will be yet another justonecookbook I’ll return to in the future. Thank you for all your generosity in sharing these wonderful homestyle, Yoshoku Japanese recipes. They are an absolute delight.
Hi Katie, We are glad to hear you enjoyed this Yoshoku, Meat Doria! Thank you very much for trying this recipe and sharing your cooking experience with us.🙂
This was so good! Thank you for this recipe. My whole family loved it. This is definitely going to be a frequent dish. I didn’t have red wine so just added more chicken broth. Easy and delicious.
Hi Joyce, Yay! We are happy to hear your whole family loved it! Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!