Today's Big Decision

Today we were told by the head office that we could leave early. There was a typhoon, and students from private and public schools had been sent home before noon.

However, when we were allowed to go home at 3:00 PM, the sun decided to show its face. I took the opportunity to go to Trinoma to do some shopping, as I was already running out of food. I asked my officemate Bennie to come with me.

After doing my errands, Bennie & I passed by the kitchenware section of the department store. I decided to check out how much a heavy iron frying pan costs. I was thinking that it could double as a paellera. Turns out the store was having a sale. I held on to the pan, turning and twisting it as I pondered on whether I would buy it or not.

"Ate, bilhin mo na," Bennie butted in.

"Oo nga, mura naman," I thought aloud.

"Para saan ba 'yan, Ate?"

"Pwede frying pan, pwede paella pan."

"Maliit yata 'yan, Ate. 'Yung mas malaki na kaya bilhin mo para kasya sa atin," Bennie interjected.

As I continued to look at the iron pan in every angle, one thought kept nagging me: am I seriously considering making paella in the near future?

The one time I ever made paella was during Christmas of 2007. My sister-in-law insisted that I make some for noche buena. I was hesitant to say yes because I have never made paella before. I've done arroz valenciana. I've done callos. But never paella!

I frantically searched for a recipe that would suit my taste. At last, I found one that seemed authentic. The "author" of the recipe had been a cook in Spain for 40 years. I think that's enough experience.

So, I asked my sis-in-law to buy the ingredients, and come Christmas Eve, I got myself busy with the recipe. I used the Spain cook's recipe, although I tweaked it a bit. The result? Let's just say my sister-in-law loved it!

As for the iron frying pan, I didn't buy it. Yet. But I will. I promised my friends I would make paella, and I better do before the year ends. (Also, the next time I write about frying pans and paella, that picture up there better have something in it!)

Chicken Paella

This is the real Chicken Paella recipe, an alternate way of tasting authentic Spanish recipes.

Serves: 6

Difficulty: Intermediate

Preparation time: 60-90 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup of oil
• 1 chicken, cut to 8 pieces (or use choice cuts, like chicken breast or leg, cut about 2")
• 3 pieces chorizo de bilbao, cut into 1/2" inch thick rounds
• 3 cups of uncooked rice, plus 1/2 cup malagkit rice
• 4 to 5 cups of meat broth (5 cups water plus 3 pieces chicken bouillon cubes)
• 1 big green bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 big red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1 can stewed diced tomatoes
• Saffron (or annatto/ atchuete)
• Prawns, peeled, heads removed and deveined
• Parsley
• Salt

Preparation

Start by heating half of the oil in an iron frying pan or paella pan and once warm add the cut chicken and let it cook for 15 min. Once it's brown, reserve it in a dish. Add the chopped onion. After 5 minutes, add diced stewed tomatoes. Let it braise about 5 minutes more, mashing the tomatoes with a skimmer.

Add the fried chicken. Keep stirring with a wooden tablespoon, add the meat broth and bring into a boil.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat some oil over low fire and put in the annatto seeds until the oil turns into a dark orange color. Add the oil to the boiling mixture, add the rice and cook over medium fire until the liquid has reduced. Stir occasionally.

When the broth has reduced to half decorate the paella with the green & red pepper and the peas. Let it cook about 20 minutes.

Once the rice is cooked and the broth has reduced, Add prawns and cover to cook some more. Once the color of the prawns has changed, retire the paella pan from the fire, on a wet cloth, leaving it rest for about 5 minutes.

Garnish with some big clusters of lemon, parsley and hard-boiled eggs. Serve.