The doria, a rice dish that’s cooked au gratin, may seem European but actually has its roots in Japan.
It is said to have been invented at the Hotel New Grand in Yokohama — also the birthplace of spaghetti Napolitan — by the great Swiss chef Saly Weil (1897-1976), the first chef de cuisine of the hotel and the man often referred to as the “father of yōshoku,” Western-style Japanese cuisine.
One day a banker who was staying at the hotel requested something that was easy to digest, since he and his family were not feeling too well. The chef came up with a buttered pilaf topped with shrimp cooked in a cream sauce, and called it the shrimp doria (the name “doria” is thought to have been inspired by a 16th-century Italian ship captain named Andrea Doria). The dish was well-received and subsequently added to the hotel’s regular menu.
