Paella is a popular Spanish rice dish that has stood the test of time. It is a dish that is notoriously difficult to perfect. Many chefs admit that cooking rice in general, and paella in particular, is an extremely technical process. In this article, you’ll learn the importance of using the right pan, rice and broth to perfectly prepare the classic paella from Spain.
The right pan
Paella is named after the dish in which it is prepared: a shallow and extremely wide pan, traditionally equipped with two handles and made of steel. The unique and special shape of the paella pan has a specific reason.
The large surface area allows a thin layer of rice to cook in a liquid that evaporates much faster than in a conventional pot. This unique cooking process gives the paella its dry, crispy texture.
Preparing paella without a paella pan is a difficult challenge, but one that can be done. The best substitute is a cast-iron skillet, casserole or frying pan.
However, a paella prepared in the right pan is almost always better than a paella prepared with a substitute. This is mainly due to the evaporation process.
Using the wrong size paella pan will also affect the unique cooking process that is critical to making a perfect paella. For example, the rice should not be more than a finger’s width deep.
Crowding a small paella pan to feed more people may seem reasonable, but it’s not the best choice. The perfect paella turns into a pile of undercooked rice. To avoid this, you should only use a paella pan that is the right diameter.
The right rice
Rice is a difficult ingredient to cook with. To prepare an excellent paella, you must first use the right type of rice.
Only Spanish medium-grain rice can be considered, the most popular being Bomba rice. This type of rice is indispensable because of its absorption properties. When submerged in water, it absorbs three times its volume and expands only in width. This prevents the paella from becoming mushy and allows the rice to absorb the maximum flavor from both the added ingredients and the broth in which it is cooked.
If you replace the varieties of rice grown in Spain with cheaper, more readily available alternatives like basmati or arborio, the quality of the paella you can prepare can plummet.
If you do decide to use it, be sure to reduce the amount of broth you use. Long-grain rice varieties such as basmati usually absorb only one and a half times their volume.
The right broth
If the rice is the building block of the paella, then the broth is its mortar.
This liquid is responsible for allowing the rice to develop its flavor and determines the final quality of the paella. Simply put, a bad broth guarantees a bad paella.
The reason people think it’s so important to make your own broth is the lack of quality control in store-bought cubes or concentrates.
Boiling the heads and tails of shellfish is an easy way to make a tasty broth for seafood paella. On the other hand, if you want to prepare more of a meat broth, it is recommended to mix bones with different vegetables to obtain a tasty broth.
For both broths, it is advisable to use only a little water, as overfilling with water will result in a weak and tasteless broth.
If you opt for store-bought broth, you can still make a tasty paella by boiling it with a little water.
Conclusion
In summary, paella is a dish that requires precision and attention to detail to be perfect. Using the right pan, rice, and broth, as well as avoiding common mistakes, are crucial to making delicious, authentic paella. So the next time you’re craving this Spanish classic, take these tips to heart to impress your guests with the true taste of Spain.
Stev
In my spare time I like to cook and try to visit different places in the world to experience foreign food with my own palate. With this blog I try to share a part of these experiences with you.
