Paella: How to Make Paella Valenciana II.wmv

[Dogson82]

Looks good, a very traditional paella. Where I live (south of the province of Valencia) we normally also put a little garlic, a bell pepper cut in stripes and some meatballs, but I guess slight regional variations are normal. And yes, a paella without socarrat it's not a paella. A good cook has to be able to get that slightly toasted bottom without burning it and making it black. But as in everything mastery comes with practice and everyone has burnt the bottom of his first paella :-)

[zhangruyi]

How much liquid did you add? How much rice did you use? Are there any guidelines for the amount of water for each cup of rice?

[blogleftbanker]

@zhangruyi

The liquid part is kind of tricky. I use about 2 cups of rice to 5 cups of liquid. With paella you sort of have to eyeball the amount of liquid because you don't know how much evaporates during the cooking process.

[Dogson82]

@blogleftbanker I normally put 100 g of rice per person and in the liquid department, I don't really like to meassure it prefering to put water "a ojo" (guessing) until it reaches approximately the height of the handles in the pan, and later control the intensity of the fire to make the excess of water evaporate until the paella is perfectly cooked (you'll need a special gas cooker ("paellero") for this). But how they say "cada maestrillo tiene su librillo" (no idea how to say this in english)

[ghdoneal]

si señor asi se hace una buena pallea valenciana,solo te falta el romero,

[blogleftbanker]

@ghdoneal

Gracias. A veces pongo romero a veces no, lo mismo en cuanto los caracoles. Los dos ingredientes no son imprescindibles segun mis fuentes (quienes son valencianos, por supuesto).

[begole]

Dude. Thanks for the demo. Can't wait to try it - maybe tonight!!!  How would it be with broth or wine instead of water?

[blogleftbanker]

@begole

No, just go with water. It will make a nice broth as it cooks. If I have learned one thing about cooking here it is to respect the traditions. They do it this way for a reason.

[blogleftbanker]

@begole

The thing is, if you change this recipe even a little bit you may as well just stab some little old Valencian grandmother in the heart. That's how serious they are about their traditions. What I'm trying to do is be as authentic as I possibly can. I think I accomplished that here ¡Ojalá!

[begole]

@blogleftbanker

tried it - didn't do something right. No rabbit to be found unless I gut one from the backyard - the kids would be traumatized but it would do 'em good. :-| I don't have a paella pan and used a 18" skillet. Most of it was delicious and Florence was in heaven. But as cook, I found it soggy on top and burnt on the bottom - I mean black, not that nice toasty/crunchy bottom (Florence liked the burnt bottom but you may recall she licked an ashtray for $10 back in the day).

[blogleftbanker]

@begole

For Valencianos, that slightly crusty bottom is the best part. The call it "socarrat." Paella is actually the name of the pan used in this dish so it's important if you are going to keep making them (Valencianos make this almost every week on Sundays). The pans here are really inexpensive and super high quality. The 46 centimeter pan I use in the video cost about 12€ or $16 US. If this was your first paella don't be discouraged. Important things are cooking the meat & the stock.