TOFU-VEGGIE DON
(Tofu topping with burdock and carrots)

If you're a frequent visitor to Japanese restaurants, I'm sure you're familiar with dishes whose names end with don. This don comes from the Japanese word donburi, which means "bowl" and is often abbreviated as don.

Typically a don dish is a bowl of rice topped with prepared ingredients such as bits of meats, seafood, or vegetables. The word that comes before don describes the topping. For example: Oyako-don ? from oya-ko, meaning "parent and child" ? combines chicken and egg; Gyu-don is shortened from gyu-niku, meaning beef; Ten-don's ten comes from the tempura of prawns and vegetables. As steamed white rice is a staple in the everyday Japanese diet, it's no surprise to see a variety of dishes that couple rice with something else.

Tasty and quickly prepared, don dishes are popular amongst Japanese diners, including office workers around lunchtime. Japan boasts innumerable take out or dine-in places specializing in don dishes. Besides those mentioned above, you can come up with your own original topping combination for your "one-of-a-kind" don.

A typical don dish features juicy but high calorie toppings, such as crispy golden tempura. As tempting as they may be, the summer season may put us in the mood for a lighter taste. Thus, out of my don cards, today I'm introducing an original rice topping I often make at home, which I call Tofu-Veggie Don.

Here the main ingredients are burdock (gobo) and carrots, a popular, fiber-rich combination often served in Japanese cooking. Every time I see this healthy brown and orange pair, I can almost hear my mother's voice, "Finish it...it's good for you!" Truly, carrots and burdock play a lot of "doubles" together in Japanese home cooking, in sauteed, fried, or simmered dishes as well as salads.

This dish can be prepared very simply and in just one pot. Remembering to adjust the seasoning, you can freely add or substitute whatever vegetables are on hand in your fridge. I do this all the time, consulting with my boxy, chilly friend, and chopping up leftover veggies such as white mushrooms, green peppers, snow peas, and whatnot. In this way you can create a don du jour that suits the hot summer season ? or any other season!

Written by Ayako Akeura
A TranNet member and freelance writer/translator based in New York City

TOFU-VEGGIE DON - Recipe

♦ INGREDIENTS
(3-4 servings)

T  = tablespoon
t  = teaspoon

1 carton  tofu (Appx. 350 grams / preferably firm type)
1  gobo (burdock) (Appx. 150 grams)
2/3  medium carrot
3  shiitake mushrooms
2  scallions
pinch salt
2T  cooking oil
3-1/2 T   soy sauce
3T  sake
2t  sugar
1  egg (beaten)


♦ How to make TOFU-VEGGIE DON
1. Drain tofu and remove excess water. (To drain, break te block of tofu into several pieces and then boil in hot water or microwave for a few minutes. Drain in a strainer, cool, wrap in paper towels, and lightly squeeze.)

2. Chop vegetables. Cut scallions into small pieces. Peel the skins from the carrot, burdock, and shiitake and cut them all into strips of about the same size. (Burdock's natural fragrance lies closest to the skin, so try to preserve it by lightly scrubbing the skin with the back of a knife or a sponge instead of using a peeler. Also, soak the burdock strips in water for about half an hour to mellow the flavor; drain well.)

3. Heat oil in pan on high. Add carrots, burdock, scallions, shiitake, and stir-fry for a few minutes until the vegetables are mildly tender. Add drained tofu pieces and break them apart into smaller bits, mixing them together with vegetables.

4. Pour in the sugar and sake, stir the mixture, and then add salt and soy sauce. Mix well.

5. Add a beaten egg and stir constantly until egg is cooked.

6. Serve over a bold of hot rice.