How to Prepare Paella – Chicken Rice, Tips From Spain Style 🥘
🐨 Why Kids Love This Dish
This chicken rice recipe is a guaranteed hit with kids due to its mild and delicious flavor. You can easily customize it by swapping out the green beans for vegetables they prefer. With this recipe, even picky eaters will ask for seconds! 🎉
Tips for Perfect Chicken Rice
- The broth is the key: A good homemade broth with authentic paella seasoning makes all the difference in the final flavor.
- The lid is essential: During the resting time, it helps the flavors blend and keeps the rice moist.
- Irresistible socarrat: Turn up the heat at the end to create that crispy layer everyone loves. 💕
How It Differs from Authentic Paella
While many call this dish “chicken paella,” it’s actually chicken rice, as the original Valencian paella has specific ingredients and preparation methods protected by its designation of origin. However, this rice dish is a delicious, easy-to-make alternative, perfect for enjoying with your family.
Conclusion
Chicken rice is a flavorful, traditional dish perfect for sharing on any occasion. With our complete paella kit, which includes a lid and traditional seasoning, you can prepare this recipe and many more with spectacular results.
Try cooking this delicious rice dish and make it a family favorite, especially for the kids! 🍴
🥘 The Best Paella with chicken 🍗 (Gluten Free!)
Description
Do you think all rice dishes are called "paella"? In the Valencian Community, the birthplace of authentic paella, rice dishes like this chicken rice are not referred to as paella, but that doesn’t make them any less delicious. This recipe combines simplicity and tradition, making it perfect for the whole family, especially the little ones. With the secrets I’ll share, you’ll achieve a flavorful rice dish with that coveted socarrat (the crispy, golden crust) at the end of the cooking process. Let’s get cooking!
Ingredients for the Perfect Chicken and Rice for 4 Persons
2 tablespoons olive oil
800 g (1.75 lbs) chicken pieces
8 flat green beans
4 garlic cloves
2 ripe tomatoes, grated
400 g (2 cups) round rice
1.2 liters (5 cups) hot chicken broth
8-10 saffron threads
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Salt to taste
Instructions:
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Sear the chicken: Heat the olive oil in your paella pan and sear the chicken pieces with a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes until golden brown.
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Heat the olive oil in your paella pan and sear the chicken pieces with a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes until golden brown.
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Add the vegetables: Move the chicken to the edges of the pan and sauté the green beans in the center for 1 minute.
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Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute.
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Prepare the sofrito: Push the vegetables to the edges and add the grated tomatoes to the center of the pan. You don’t need to add anything else, not even a special sofrito sold online. With paella seasoning spices, you’ll have everything you need to achieve the best paella scent & flavor.
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Cook on medium-low heat until it forms a thick, concentrated sauce.
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Incorporate the rice: Add the paella seasoning spices and quickly stir to prevent burning.
If you don’t have traditional paella seasoning, you can add saffron, but you won’t be able to achieve that rich, flavorful, aroma and slightly gelatinous texture that forms on top of the finished rice.
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Then, add the rice and mix it thoroughly with the rest of the ingredients.
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Add the hot broth. Once it starts boiling, never stir the rice. Rice should never be stirred until it’s fully cooked and ready to serve.
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Cook on high heat for 5 minutes.
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Final cooking: Reduce the heat to medium and cook the rice for another 15 minutes.
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To achieve the typical socarrat, increase the heat at the very last moment before turning it off for a few seconds. When you hear that signature sizzling sound, the socarrat is ready. Be careful not to burn it!
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Rest with a lid: Remove the pan from the heat, cover it with the lid included in your Tips From Spain paella kit, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
This step is essential for perfect rice.
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Nutrition Facts
Servings 4
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 865kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 9g14%
- Saturated Fat 3.5g18%
- Total Carbohydrate 83g28%
- Dietary Fiber 2.8g12%
- Sugars 2.5g
- Protein 50g100%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Note
Why Kids Love This Dish
This chicken rice recipe is a guaranteed hit with kids due to its mild and delicious flavor. You can easily customize it by swapping out the green beans for vegetables they prefer. With this recipe, even picky eaters will ask for seconds! 🎉
