Paella

….Paella is a rice dish originally from the Valencian Community. It’s one of the best-known dishes in Spanish cuisine. I think the first time I made this dish was when my second daughter was in junior high school. She said she had to make a Spanish dish for a school homework assignment from her Spanish class. Wasn’t it a very interesting homework? Now that I think about it, I believe I was even more excited. We prepared the ingredients, and the most interesting ingredient at that time was saffron. Saffron has a strong, exotic aroma and a bitter taste and is used to color and flavor many dishes. I bought the ingredients with my young daughter and made the dish by following the cooking instructions. The golden color of saffron is the pinnacle of paella. I wasn’t familiar with the first paella I ever had before, but the flavor was explosive. That’s when I truly experienced the taste of Spain. The rich taste of seafood still lingers in my mouth. I wondered if my daughter would remember.

Servings: 5

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1. 1–2 tbsp olive oil
2. 150 g chorizo, removed casing and sliced into 1/5 inch
3. 150 g squid, cut into 1/4 inch thick rings
4. 1 onion, diced
5. 3 garlic cloves, minced
6. 1 red bell pepper, diced
7. 1 1/2 cup long rice(or Bomba, Valencia rice), cleaned and shift with a strainer for 30 minutes
8. 3/4 cup canned peeled tomato(or juicy ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced), diced without liquid
9. 200 g chicken thigh fillet, cut into small
10. 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
11. 1 tsp saffron threads, soaked with 2 tbsp water
12. 1/2 cup sweet peas
13. 12 large prawn, whole(shell on)
14. 20 mussels, cleaned and check freshness
15. fresh dill(or parsley)
16. 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Cooking Instructions:

1. Heat a pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the pan.

2. Add the chorizo to the pan and cook until browned on each side. Remove it from the pan and transfer it to a tray. Set it aside.

3. Add the squid and cook for 45 seconds on each side, then remove it from the heat and set it aside.

4. Add the remaining oil to the same pan and then add the onion and garlic. Cook them for 2 minutes.

5. Add the red bell pepper to the pan and stir for 1 minute.

6. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 2 minutes until lightly browned, ensuring it is still raw inside.

7. Add the rice and tomato and mix until the grains are coated in oil.

8. Add the chicken broth, soaked saffron, and most of the chorizo (reserving 1/4 for garnish). Stir them together.

9. Bring it to a simmer, then adjust the heat so it simmers fairly gently (avoid rapid boiling, as it may burn the rice). Simmer for 10 minutes without stirring. At this stage, some rice should be visible on the surface, but there should still be enough liquid remaining.

10. Scatter the peas over the rice and gently nestle the prawns and mussels into the mixture.

11. Cook for 8 minutes (turn prawns halfway if necessary) or until the prawns are opaque, mussels are open, and most of the liquid has been absorbed, leaving a slightly liquid consistency. Discard any mussels that do not open. Turn off the heat. If it is too firm for your taste, just add a splash of hot water (not too much) and continue cooking.

12. Scatter over cooked squid and reserved chorizo, cover with a lid then rest for 5 minutes(rice will absorb remaining liquid).

13. Scatter with dill(or parsley) and lemon wedges. Bring it to the table as is, then mix the rice with seafood before serving.

14. Serve it.

You can also view this recipe on instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs3nnujLiew/