Eating paella is to eat this kind of "crispy", dry, crispy is the unique charm of paella. The theory of the Spanish chef is that eating half-raw rice can taste the original flavor of raw rice, but also the flavor of seafood soup. And authentic paella, must be produced in Valencia, Spain, Bomba rice, soft and hard, chewy, cooked for a long time not rotten. (The picture above shows the rice packages that can be found everywhere in Spanish supermarkets. The brands are different but the shapes of the rice are similar. Basically, every family cooks PAELLA with this kind of rice.)
Interesting story about Spain's "national rice":
Long long ago Columbus was attacked by a hurricane during his voyage, and almost died. After fighting with the storm for four days and four nights, he fled to a small island in Spain. The local fishermen invited him to eat seafood rice, due to continuous days of hunger and tiredness, suddenly ate a meal never eaten seafood rice, he felt is the most wonderful, the most sumptuous meal in his life. Because this meal saved Columbus' life, the local people still call paella "life-saving rice". (Does this remind you of Zhu Yuanzhang's pearl, jade and white jade soup?)
Later, Columbus in the King of Spain held a grand banquet for him, with the king about this matter, the king immediately ordered to reward the fishermen on the small fishing island, and ordered the palace chef immediately to the island to learn to learn to do seafood rice, and later on the royal palace with seafood rice to entertain the most honored guests. From then on, paella became the Spanish "national meal".
Things come to an end here, since it is called paella, it is natural to have seafood, but back to the beginning of the birth of paella, paella is not seafood.
To solve the problem of the rice sandwich, we look at another national misperception:
PAELLA = seafood fried rice? NO NO NO
In fact, if we look for the English translation, it is not difficult to derive the meaning of PAELLA is not only the meaning of seafood.
PAELLA paella originated in Valencia, the third largest city in Spain, and it is also a transit hub for many tourist routes between Madrid and Barcelona.
This city is adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea, the coastline is beautiful, summer is also the British, Europeans love one of the beaches; at the same time, the harbor here is also an important port of goods duck, but the lack of nearby fishing grounds, so the seafood prices are not cheap. In the old days, even at the time of celebration, the best ingredients were just rabbit and mallard duck, and occasionally chicken. The usual staples were also pro-meat or snails.
So the "paella" with prawns, scallops and oysters is not the standard Spanish paella, but rather a seafood-related meal, as the Chinese translation suggests. Authentic Valencia paella is made with rabbit, chicken, lentils and snails. Of course, the PAELLA that we now know as prawns with oysters and other ingredients is also a later variant.
Spaniards love paella as much as the Chinese love dumplings, whether it is at the king's state dinner, or at the table of the common people; whether in the high-class hotels and restaurants, or the streets and alleys of the snack bar, you can eat a variety of seafood rice everywhere. The cuttlefish rice shown in the picture below is also a very authentic Spanish food, although the appearance of the black paste is not quite dare to enter, but it is a very high click rate of the plate duck restaurant a dish; with the local special sauce, full of flavor, you may have the opportunity to go to try.
To make paella, it is important to use a round pan with a depth of no more than three centimeters in both ears, and the paella cooked in this kind of pan can produce a burnt texture at the bottom, so it can be said that because of this pan, the paella has been accomplished, and then the name of the pan named this dish, in China, we all know that paella means paella, but in fact, this word in Latin is "" pan "" meaning a pan. The word paella is known as paella in China, but in fact the word is Latin for "pan", which shows the importance of the pan.
With this pan, the paella has already taken shape, and saffron can give the whole dish a soul!
The essence of paella lies in the saffron, without which the rice would not be yellow, and a golden paella would not be possible. Saffron not only enhances flavor and color, but also provides significant relief from headaches, toothaches and loss of appetite. Countries that are as passionate as fire also love this bright and colorful flower. Spanish people love saffron is well documented, foreign medical research, Spain, heart disease patients are much lower than in other countries, is related to the Spanish people generally eat saffron. Saffron is an indispensable seasoning in Mediterranean cuisine, not only is all kinds of rice, stews, stews and soups the best companion, but also put into the desserts and wines, became the Spanish kitchen in the hundred spices.
The Origin of Saffron
Many people mistakenly believe that saffron comes from Tibet because it has the word "Tibet" in its name. In fact, saffron is produced in Europe and East Asia, and then from India, Iran and then spread into Tibet.
Saffron enjoys three of the world's most:
First, it is the world's most expensive medicinal plants;
Second, it is the world's best dyes;
Third, it is the world's most high-grade spices.
Well, through the above we have a certain understanding of the background knowledge of paella, and now to look specifically at the process of making paella!
Pictures from OJOWORLD Cultural Studies - Spanish private custom (Board duck family guests of the hand to do authentic paella)
Preparation of ingredients are:
The main ingredients? One squid / 100 grams of shrimp / 100 grams of clams / a cup of rice
Ingredients? Onion, tomato, diced red persimmon pepper / minced garlic / olive oil / peas / parsley / lemon
Seasoning? Saffron/salt/pepper/white wine/broth
On low heat, add the oil, onion, tomatoes, diced peppers, and garlic
Add the saffron, salt, and pepper and sauté
Add the rice and sauté, then add the white wine
Add three cups of broth and simmer for 25 minutes
Add the seafood and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes
For a decent meal, add the saffron, salt, and pepper, and add the white wine. >
A decent PAELLA is ready.