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Donburi

BON

By BON
in Japan: Cooking & Baking

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BON

BON

Posted
Posted

"Donburi" might be familiar to you if you have YOSHINOYA

in your neighbourhood, since they serve "Gyudon"(Beef Bowl).

But there are various "Donburi"s that shoul get attention.

"Donburi" literally means "a medium to large-sized bowl."

The "Donburi" is also used as the general term for rice

dishes served in this type of bowl. The bowls are filled

about 2/3 full with steamed rice and toppings such as

beef, egg, tempra, etc..are placed on top. You can put

anything, so the variation of "Donburi" is infinite.

The followings are photos of popular "Donburi"s in Japan

1) Katsudon

   It is topped with "Tonkatsu" boiled together with sliced

   onions in a broth made from stock, soy sauce, suge and

   sake and covered with an egg.

Katsudon.jpg

2) Oyakodon

   "Oyako" means parent-an-child. This donburi is named so

   since it contains chicken(parent) and egg(child).

Oyakodon.jpg

3)Tendon

  It is topped with freshly-fried tempura covered with soy-

  based sauce. Tempra donburi is too long, then it is made

 shorten.

Tendon.jpg

Which one would you like?

jhlurie

jhlurie

Posted
Posted

Katsudon seems to be most common in American Japanese restaurants, although most often I see both it and Oyakodon labeled as simply Donburi.  Then again, Beef Bowl is sometimes labeled as Donburi here as well.

Of course at least some of these "American Japanese restaurants" are actually Korean restaurants serving Japanese food--a phenomenon I'm not sure we've ever discussed here in the Japan forum.

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

anil

anil

Posted
Posted

BON, as a "gaijen" in Ngoya, I only had katsudon (because that's what I could identify easily on the

menu board). Each small place I visited on my own were so kind to me when I insisted that I had

ordered exactly what I wanted  :smile:  Tokyo on the other hand ........

anil

anil

anil

Posted
Posted

BTW, last year my airline had a triple-miles promo for JFK-NRT that I reluctantly

did not avail, since I had a 'Bond' date in Monaco [posted elsewhere in this board]

anil

BON

BON

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
Of course at least some of these "American Japanese restaurants" are actually Korean restaurants serving Japanese food--a phenomenon I'm not sure we've ever discussed here in the Japan forum.

jhlurie :

When I was in a college town in Illinois, this kind of restaurant opened. I was so thrilled, since I was hungry for Japanese taste. As you can imagine, their food was just a nightmare for me. But their TONKATSU was still acceptable. My conclusion at that time was that they did not know how to cook stock which was inevitable for Japanese cuisine or they did not know they needed it even.

BON

BON

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
BON, as a "gaijen" in Ngoya, I only had katsudon (because that's what I could identify easily on the

menu board). Each small place I visited on my own were so kind to me when I insisted that I had

ordered exactly what I wanted  :smile:  Tokyo on the other hand ........

anil :

All the 3 donburis I listed are the regular items of usual sobaya.

On your next visit, why not try other stuff? Don't forget how they are called. :raz:

jhlurie

jhlurie

Posted
Posted
My conclusion at that time was that they did not know how to cook stock which was inevitable for Japanese cuisine or they did not they needed it even.

I like Korean food--I really do.  I've had some world-class Korean food, and it's actually a very underestimated cuisine.

But I think that you are entirely correct about their inability to mimic some of the more complicated processes of Japanese food preparation.  The "stock" example is probably one of many.

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

Jinmyo

Jinmyo

Posted
Posted

jhlurie, Korean food is great. I love kimchee, have made it, but prefer what I can buy from a local shop: baby daikon kimchee, cabbage kimchee, a kimchee made with assorted greens.

One of the things that I like about Korean food is that much of it is Japanese food but with chiles.

But I think there might lie the rub with Korean renditions of dashi. A good dashi is very subtle and nuanced. A great dashi is profound. This involves so many different factors: the kind of kombu and bonito shavings, length of time in steeping, quality of the water and temperature.

My experience with Korean restaurants (whether posing as Japanese or not) and my association with owners and purveyors has indicated that the dashi used is usually a packaged mix. ("This is what the restaurant buys!" "'Des'ka?")

I have always suspected that the Korean prediliction towards chile heat has influenced a disregard for dashi.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

Jinmyo

Jinmyo

Posted
Posted

BON, the katsudon I have had always have the tonkatsu sliced and laid neatly atop the rice with sauce drizzled over top. I can't figure out the photograph. What's the white liquidy looking stuff?

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

Fat Guy

Fat Guy

Posted
Posted

Jinmyo, if I'm not mistaken, that's egg. Bon's photograph does look a bit soupier than what I'm used to, but I have no doubt that what he's posting is definitive.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

BON

BON

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
Jinmyo, if I'm not mistaken, that's egg. Bon's photograph does look a bit soupier than what I'm used to, but I have no doubt that what he's posting is definitive.

Yeah, you are right. It's egg white. When cooking Katsudon

and Oyakodon, we usually make egg remaing soft.

Jinmyo:

Actually Katsudon has several variations depending on the

region within Japan. One shown in the photo is most usual

but in Okayama prefecture (next to Hiroshima), Katsubon

is covered with demiglace sauce.

ami

ami

Posted
Posted
Which one would you like?

Oyakodon.. my favourite.  So easy to make and so good...  I've actually never had gyudon.  I don't like the flavour of beef that much.  I've been seeing beef sushi and sashimi lately, it's seems like the next popular thing..  I wonder if it would be any good.

ami.

Jinmyo

Jinmyo

Posted
Posted

Ah, egg. I've only had egg in oyakodon (which I'm not as fond of). Thanks.

Demiglace? I've only had "tonkatsu sauce" which is a kind of Worcestershire/apple/shoyu kind of blend.

ami, I'm all for beef sashimi. Sushi I'm not so sure of. But am willing to be convinced.  :wink:

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

ami

ami

Posted
Posted
ami, I'm all for beef sashimi. Sushi I'm not so sure of. But am willing to be convinced.  :wink:

I've had super rare steak before and though it was good.  I'd imagine sashimi would be similar, but I'm very curious about the sushi.. I'd like to try.

ami.

BON

BON

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
Demiglace? I've only had "tonkatsu sauce" which is a kind of Worcestershire/apple/shoyu kind of blend.

Jinmyo :

Demiglace one is only found in Okayama ana around.

With Tonkatsu saurce version is popular in Niigata prefecture.

In Nagoya, they like Tonkatsu with miso sauce.

BON

BON

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
I've been seeing beef sushi and sashimi lately, it's seems like the next popular thing..  I wonder if it would be any good.

ami.

ami

FYI, in Japan, you'll find only seafood topping at authentic sushi restaurants except omlett. Also, eating beef raw is quite rare. :wink:

ami

ami

Posted
Posted
I've been seeing beef sushi and sashimi lately, it's seems like the next popular thing..  I wonder if it would be any good.

ami.

ami

FYI, in Japan, you'll find only seafood topping at authentic sushi restaurants except omlett. Also, eating beef raw is quite rare. :wink:

BON:

Yea, I never saw any beef sushi/sashimi offered while I was in Japan.  I figured it was more of a Western thing.  I've also seen agedashi-dofu here made with avacado instead of tofu.  I'm not sure if that would be good or not...  

ami

BON

BON

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

ami:

Technically speaking, beef fat melts only at quite high emperature, on the other hand, tuna fat melts at relatively low temperature so that it melts within a mouth and help mixturing with rice. Beef fat remains unmelted in a mouth and prevents smooth texture.

This is one of the major reasons why beef is not applied as sushi topping in Japan, though it looks like tuna at glance.

jhlurie

jhlurie

Posted
Posted

This is VERY off-topic, but just this once I can't resist noticing that a person named BON is having a conversation with a person named AMI, and neither of them appears to be French.

Well, my Good Friends, I guess its a coincidence.  :biggrin:

Back to the raw beef discussion.  I'm fairly positive myself that this is a western derived thing.  Raw beef is a part of many western cultures already, and it's inclusion in sushi is a natural outgrowth of an attempt at fusion.

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

  • 5 months later...
torakris

torakris

Posted
Posted

Ok, I am only 6 months late in responding to this post, please give me some slack since I have only been a member here for a week.

I have eaten the beef nigiri here in Japan a couple of times. I think it is more of an izakaya creation than one of sushi bars. What I have eaten is basically gyu tataki (a seared block of beef thinly sliced and still very rare in the middle) on a ball of rice. I really like it but I agree with BON that it doesn't melt in your mouth the way tuna would. I would take a good piece of tor over it any day! Even one of my local sushi delivery shops had a version of it on their most popular platters. Since the mad cow scare here a year or so ago I have noticed it anymore.

But speaking of raw beef, my absolute favorite dish in the world has got to be yuke. This is a Korean dish of thinly slivered raw beef mixed with a little sesame oil, soy sauce, and garlic , mounded onto a plate and topped with an egg yolk, it is usually garnished with shiso and finely julienned cucumber and apple or nashi (asian pear). You then mix it all together and eat. I often order 2 servings just for myself, because one is not enough. :biggrin:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

  • 2 weeks later...
jhlurie

jhlurie

Posted
Posted
But speaking of raw beef, my absolute favorite dish in the world has got to be yuke. This is a Korean dish of thinly slivered raw beef mixed with a little sesame oil, soy sauce, and garlic , mounded onto a plate and topped with an egg yolk, it is usually garnished with shiso and finely julienned cucumber and apple or nashi (asian pear). You then mix it all together and eat. I often order 2 servings just for myself, because one is not enough. :biggrin:

I'm convinced I've had this under another name, but my mind is blank. Are there other similar Korean dishes?

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

  • 6 months later...
torakris

torakris

Posted
Posted

the seaweed thread reminded me of this thread and reading through it seems there is actually very little discussed about donburis.

Care to discuss donburis?

one of my non-traditonal favorites is my tomato-ginger-nori donburi (seaweed thread) absolutely wonderful!

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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