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Donburi (Rice Bowl)

A recipe for Chinese Donburi, hailed as a magical dish for clearing out your refrigerator. This version emphasizes umami, using 1.5 times more bonito flakes than regular dashi for a flavorful and satisfying dish with reduced salt. Master the techniques for cutting vegetables, cooking them to perfection, and creating a lump-free thick sauce to complete this delicious, vegetable-rich Chinese Donburi.

Steps

Prepare the vegetables. Cut the Napa cabbage (250g) into bite-sized pieces, slice the leek (1/2, 50-60g) into 1cm diagonal pieces, and remove the stems from the shiitake mushrooms (3) before slicing them thickly.
🕒 01:13
Wash the cut napa cabbage to remove any dirt and thoroughly drain the water. Rinse the leek to remove any soil from the root. Place the cut vegetables in a large bowl. [Key Tip!] Ensure vegetables are thoroughly drained; excess water will make them boil rather than stir-fry.
🕒 02:09
Cut the pork shoulder butt (100g) into bite-sized pieces with scissors if they are too large. Marinate the pork with potato starch (1.5 tsp), salt (a pinch), and cooking sake (2 tsp), mixing well. [Key Tip!] Coating the meat with potato starch helps it retain moisture and results in a tender texture.
🕒 04:28
Prepare the sauce ingredients. In a bowl, combine cooking sake (2 tbsp), oyster sauce (1.5 tbsp), soy sauce (1 tsp), sugar (1 tsp), reduced salt dashi powder (2 tsp), and water (200ml). Mix well.
🕒 05:36
In a separate bowl, mix potato starch (2 tbsp, 18g) with water (4 tbsp, 60g) to create a slurry. [Key Tip!] A ratio of 1 part potato starch to 2 parts water is less likely to form lumps when making a thick sauce with less liquid.
🕒 06:54
Heat a wok over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the cut vegetables (napa cabbage, leek, shiitake mushrooms) all at once along with a pinch of salt and stir-fry quickly. Once they start to wilt, turn off the heat and transfer them to the bowl. [Key Tip!] Heating the oil until very hot and stir-frying quickly mimics the oil-blanching technique in Chinese cooking, preserving the vegetables' texture.
🕒 08:28
Using the same wok over medium-low heat, add a little oil and quickly stir-fry the marinated pork until the surface turns white. Once the color changes, transfer it to the same bowl as the stir-fried vegetables. [Key Tip!] Avoid overcooking to maintain the tender, plump texture achieved by the potato starch coating.
🕒 09:34
Place the prepared sauce in the unheated wok and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, add the quail eggs (6) and the stir-fried vegetables and meat. Simmer gently for 2 minutes. [Key Tip!] Warming the sauce before adding the ingredients helps preserve the vegetable texture. Avoid over-simmering.
🕒 10:23
Turn off the heat. Gradually add the potato starch slurry in several portions (about 4 times), stirring thoroughly after each addition until the sauce thickens. [Key Tip!] Adding the potato starch after turning off the heat prevents the sauce from becoming lumpy.
🕒 11:41
Turn the heat back on and allow the thickened sauce to stabilize. Stir in sesame oil (1/2 - 1 tbsp) for finishing.
🕒 12:41
Generously ladle the finished Chinese Donburi topping over cooked rice. Garnish with black pepper if desired. Your dish is ready!
🕒 13:16