Rice ala Paella

I cooked this dish yesterday, I don’t know what should I call it but when it was fully cooked, I noticed that it looks like Paella and moreover…it taste almost like Paella too, lol :) .  When I checked in Wikipedia this morning about Paella, this is what I’ve got:

Paella is generally cooked in a paella pan, which is a large, shallow, flat pan. First the meat, and then the vegetables are stir fried in olive oil; subsequently water is added and brought to a boil, and left boiling for half an hour or so. (This, however, is not the sole method utilized in the preparation. Many chefs add the water, allow it to come to the boil and at that moment add the rice. Otherwise the water may evaporate leaving not enough liquid in which to cook the rice.) Later, after checking the obtained broth flavour and adding salt if required, the rice is added. Real paella rice is never stir-fried in oil, as pilaf. Once the rice is nearly done, the paella is removed from the heat and left to absorb the remaining water. Traditional paella has a crispy, caramelized, toasted bottom (called socarrat in Valencian) that is considered a delicacy. To achieve a socarrat, one needs only to turn up the heat to high and listen to the bottom of the rice toast. Once the aroma of toasted rice comes from the pan, the heat is removed once again. The paella is ready to be served after having cooled for several minutes.

So after reading that, I finally found a name for my dish…and that’s the reason why I called it Rice ala Paella!

Ingredients:
2 cups rice, washed ( I used jasmine rice)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, minced
2 thumb-sized ginger, crushed and minced
3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
10 pcs. medium size shrimps, peeled leaving tails on
500 g chicken, sliced into serving portions
3 1/2 cups meat broth/water
2 crabs, boiled and flaked
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1/3 tsp. black pepper powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
salt and pepper to taste
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
3 tbsp. olive oil

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a casserole, saute garlic, onions, ginger and tomatoes until tender.

2. Stir fry  shrimps and chicken, season with salt and pepper, then cook until shrimps are done. Take out shrimps from the casserole, transfer to a plate, then set aside.

3. Add broth or water, let it boil then add rice, stir to mix well. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium. Add black pepper powder and paprika, adjust the seasoning and simmer until liquids are absorbed by the rice. (You can adjust the amount of broth depending upon the kind of your rice)

4. Cover the casserole, adjust the heat to very low. Cook for 15  minutes. Stir every 5 minutes to avoid scorching. However, if you want crispy rice on its bottom like me, then don’t stir.

5. After 15 minutes, turn off heat, stir in crab flakes, shrimps and bell pepper strips, mix well. Let it stand for at least 5 minute before transferring to a serving dish.

6. Garnish with hard boiled eggs. Serve with salads.