{"id":109771,"title":"Chicken Paella","modified":"2025-10-29T15:46:45+01:00","plain":"What is paella and why is it so popular in Spain?\n\n\n\nPaella is, at its core, a Spanish rice dish enriched with a mix of meat and vegetables. This centuries-old classic traces its origins to the 13th century. It was originally cooked over an open fire and, traditionally, didn\u2019t include seafood. I\u2019ll stop there before the purists come for me, because today there are hundreds of delicious variations\u2014chicken paella, seafood paella, black rice with cuttlefish ink, and more.\n\n\n\nPaella is one of Spain\u2019s most beloved dishes. The main reason? It\u2019s easy to make, and great flavor doesn\u2019t require pricey ingredients. Beyond that, paella welcomes endless combinations, styles, and flavors. Much to the purists\u2019 dismay, its versatility is exactly why it endures.\n\n\n\nHow do you make a perfect chicken paella?\n\n\n\nEven though it\u2019s simple, if you know me, I like to optimize and get the most out of a dish. The perfect chicken paella takes time, patience, and attentive cooking.\n\n\n\nEvery region of Spain has its own version, with distinct ingredients and techniques, which makes it hard for outsiders to know what \u201cperfect\u201d means\u2014each region champions its own as the one true paella. \n\n\n\nAs for me, I\u2019m focusing on Valencian-style paella, skipping the rabbit and doubling down on chicken flavor. So yes, a paella without seafood. I\u2019ll even, in my own way, work in a little chorizo (I can hear the purists clutching their pearls).\n\n\n\n\nRice: Use traditional paella rice (short-grain or \u201cbomba\u201d). If you can\u2019t find it, do not use jasmine or basmati\u2014they\u2019re not suitable.\n\n\n\nMeat: Big, meaty chicken thighs have the best fat-to-meat ratio\u2014and the most flavor. Honestly, I can\u2019t see anything else working as well for chicken paella. Good-quality chorizo is also a must.\n\n\n\nOil: Extra-virgin olive oil, lard, beef tallow, or another animal fat. Definitely not sunflower oil. If you must, in the first step you can\u2014much like with duck breast\u2014slowly render the fat from the chicken skin over low heat\u00a0\n\n\n\nBroth: Use chicken stock or pork stock\u2014better yet, both. In my experience, chicken stock brings flavor while pork stock adds body (thanks to the gelatin in both). The result is outstanding in the final dish.\u00a0\n\n\n\nThe socarrat\u00a0: The caramelized rice at the bottom of the pan. It\u2019s many Spaniards\u2019 favorite part of paella. You get it by stirring as little as possible during cooking.\n\n\n\n\nThe chorizo controversy\n\n\n\nI know it\u2019s controversial, but I think you\u2019ll appreciate my approach. In this recipe, quickly fry the chorizo to render the fat and bloom the spices, then remove it. You can snack on it as is because it\u2019s delicious, or chop it into small pieces and use it to season your chicken paella right on the plate. Trust me\u2014it\u2019s divine.\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\tChicken Paella\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\tMeat1 sliced chorizo (optional)4 chicken thighsVegetables3 artichoke hearts, quartered100 g snow peas4 garlic cloves1 grated tomato (or pur\u00e9ed)Spices1 drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil4 teaspoons paprika (ideally smoked paprika)4 rosemary sprigs1 small packet of saffron powder (about 0.5 g)Equipment and other items300 g paella rice2 L pork or chicken stock (ideally homemade)1 paella pan or a very large high-sided skillet1 roll of aluminum foilStocka few pork or chicken boneswater2 peeled onions (left whole)\t\n\t\n\t\tStockPlace everything in a lidded pot and cover with water.Simmer over medium heat for 3-4 hours.Optional: skim off any impurities that rise to the surface.Strain the stock.PaellaHeat the pan over medium-high heat with nothing in it.Add a generous pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil.Add the chicken thighs, skin side down. Optional: add the sliced chorizo now and remove it after 5 minutes.Brown for 7-10 minutes until deeply golden. After about 6 minutes, turn to sear all sides.Make a little space in the pan and add the snow peas. Cook for 1-2 minutes.Add the artichoke hearts and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally but not too much. Let everything brown well.Reduce to medium heat and add the garlic cloves. Stir briefly. Let brown for 1 minute.Add the paprika, stir, then add the tomato. Return to high heat and stir briefly. Let brown for 2 minutes.Add enough stock to almost cover everything. Add the saffron, stir quickly, and bring to a boil.Add the rice and stir gently to distribute it.When it returns to a boil, stir once and cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes.Reduce to medium heat and cook for another 6 minutes.There should still be some liquid, but the level should be below the rice. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes.Turn off the heat and let rest, covered, for another 5 minutes.\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\tDivers\t\n\n\n\n\n\nFor a Chinese-leaning alternative (just for fun), try my fried rice, flavor-bomb edition","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109771"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110055,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109771\/revisions\/110055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}