Last week I went back to Ft. St. George for lunch. I have posted about Ft. St. George in the past, in which I mentioned that I would post about a dish called doria in the future. Doria is a bit like curry (not in taste), in that it is not traditional Japanese food, but it has been in Japan long enough that it is considered to be "Japanese." Honestly I did not know much about the history of doria until reading about it for this blog post. I always though it was introduced in the past 20 years due to its use of cheese. Cheese is very rare to find in Japanese food. It is not found in any traditional Japanese foods that I am aware of and was introduced by foreign influences. It was first invented in Paris by Italian chefs and introduced to Japan in 1925 by a French chef from Switzerland.
Doria is basically Japanese gratin. It is rice covered in a white sauce, somewhat similar to an alfredo sauce, and topped with cheese and usually some type of meat such as chicken or bacon with vegetables. I have not actually had any good doria in American other than at Ft. St. George. Surprisingly, this restaurant actually surpasses what I have had in Japan. The reason is that the rice underneath is not just plain rice but is missed with finely chopped carrots and onions, which does a lot for flavor and texture. Typically I order the broccoli and mushroom combo, as I prefer to order vegetarian when I can because I used to be a pescetarian and really try to avoid bacon. There are other options that are delicious as well though if you do not share my feelings toward bacon. The dish is amazing and I always find myself wanting more, no matter how full I am. I highly recommend you try it at least once.
