Comments on: Arroz con Gambas a la Marketman

By: Marga

Marga — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 04:09:54 +0000

Carlrose rice is good for paella. They usually have in S&R.

By: Rona Y

Rona Y — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 16:48:58 +0000

Thanks! I guess I’ll have to hunt for some Spanish rice!

BTW, a number of posts ago, you mentioned difficulties in making crispy fried shallots or onions or garlic (I can’t remember which!). I just read Pintxos: Small Plates in the Basque Tradition by Gerarld Hirigoyen and he explains his technique for doing fried shallots and garlic. For shallots, he slices them then lets them dry for about an hour. Then he brings them and the oil to temperature together (medium-low) and lets them bubble away for about 10 minutes and when golden, remove and drain well. They shouldn’t be super crispy when you remove them, because they will become crispier as they dry.

For garlic chips, he heats the oil to medium, then adds the garlic chips. He only cooks them for 90sec-120sec until lightly golden, remove and drain. Again, they will crisp up more as they cool, so do not crisp them up too much in the pan.

By: Raymund

Raymund — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 09:22:12 +0000

Looks delicious! I have some more spare arborio so will try this out

By: Marketman

Marketman — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:31:34 +0000

Del, yes, each grain was still distinct and nice. Actually, master paella cooks, don’t do the coat with oil thing and add the broth first then the rice. The coat with oil step is more typically seen in the cooking of a risotto… mary, it’s cheaper if you cook at home, but actually, I am beginning to find some restaurant and cooked food values to be rather disappointing in Manila. There isn’t much inflation right now, but instead, your dollar is now worth 30% less in Manila than it was a couple of years ago.

By: Del

Del — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 21:36:16 +0000

Interesting… I thought the reason why the rice has to be coated with the “oil” and sauteed for a while when making paella is to prevent it from being soggy when the broth is added? Did the rice still come out nice and firm?

By: mary

mary — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 16:43:16 +0000

Really? 750 pesos for this dish to feed 10 people? Can’t wait to spend several months in the Philippines when I retire in 5.5 years. I shall experiment with all or most of MM’s concoctions. With the rate of inflation how much will this dish cost then?

By: britelite

britelite — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 13:06:01 +0000

shucks –i still can’t get my self to make a sofrito–and freeze it at that–hay –when will the day come:)

By: Anna Banana

Anna Banana — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 13:02:20 +0000

Waaa this is making me hungry! (And I just had my dinner :-( )

By: Connie C

Connie C — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 10:00:29 +0000

MM, off topic on this post but not so off topic on money and jobs.

Found this entertaining and thought provoking on the state of our economy…..when Americans sell taho in the Philippines. Watch…..

https://pinoyfood.nimrodel.net/2010/09/07/americans-selling-taho/#more-4085

By: Marketman

Marketman — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 05:51:42 +0000

Rona Y, yes bomba or calasparra, both short grained spanish paella rice. Alternatively, I use Italian arborio which is acceptable, but not totally authentic. And no, don’t use jasmine or long grain rice with this dish. You would make suman with regular rice, so I definitely wouldn’t encourage you to make this with the wrong rice. millet, served it with two kinds of adobong pusit that I was experimenting with. Unlikely pairing but they were surprisingly good together. :)