Paella

INGREDIENTS

malagkit rice

chicken thigh

tahong

white clams

chorizo, sliced

squid rings, ink removed

shrimps, peeled

red bell peppers, julienned

green peas

pitted olives

garlic, minced

onions, minced

olive oil

5 tbsp tumeric powder

10 threads of saffron

lemon wedges

salt and pepper

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place tahong in pan without water or oil, but with salt and let it steam until the shells open. Drain liquid and set aside.

2. Brown chicken, until half-cooked and set aside

3. Saute garlic, onions, bell peppers, green peas, squid, clams, shrimps and chorizo

4. Add the chicken and the rice

5. Add tumeric and saffron

6. Mix well until rice is properly coated, then add stock and cover it loosely with foil and allow to simmer until rice is cooked.

7. Embed with tahong, lemon wedges and olives

This is another one of the dishes that Bon picked for me to create and of course, I was quite pressured to perform. The ingredients said to include mussels and tahong, but I didn't get to buy some so I have chicken drumsticks, chorizo, shrimps and squid --- and I did quite well, so I am happy. Bon did complain about the lemon, so I will make sure not to embed the lemon wedges anymore and to just sprinkle some lemon juice, to add some zest.

What I love about cooking Paella is that it's so colorful and  although the preparation is quite difficult, being that you have to de-ink the squid, peel off the skin from the shrimps --- and so forth, it is quite rewarding when you see what you've accomplished to do in the end. I had to make my own batch, so I could eat it. What I did was I cooked the seafood on a separate pan, along with some of the ingredients and spices, and then combined it with the rest --- after I've separated some for myself in a smaller tupperware.