Chinese Paella
Paella, Spain’s most famous dish is undoubtedly one of the world’s great rice dishes. The first time I saw a traditional paella pan, I thought it was a particularly shallow flat-bottomed wok. That got me thinking about how a Chinese cook would prepare the same dish. The result is this East-West hybrid that works especially well in an electric wok.
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Chinese Paella
Paella, Spain’s most famous dish is undoubtedly one of the world’s great rice dishes. The first time I saw a traditional paella pan, I thought it was a particularly shallow flat-bottomed wok. That got me thinking about how a Chinese cook would prepare the same dish. The result is this East-West hybrid that works especially well in an electric wok.
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| Servings |
| 6 |
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Ingredients
- 8 dried black mushrooms
- 12 medium-size raw shrimp
- 6 chicken drumsticks or 12 chicken wing drummettes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 12 live musselsscrubbed, beards removed, or 12 live manila clams, scrubbed
- 1/2cup water
- 3 3/4cups chicken brothapprox.
- 2tablespoons cooking oil
- 2teaspoons garlicminced
- 2teaspoons gingerminced
- 1 large onionchopped
- 1 red bell pepperseeded and chopped
- 1/2teaspoon turmeric
- 2cups uncooked long-grain ricerinsed and drained
- 2 Chinese sausagescut into 1/4-inch thick diagonal slices, about 2 oz. each
- 1 small whole bamboo shootcut lengthwise into thin wedges
- 12 snow peasends and strings removed
- 1/4cup cilantrochopped
Instructions
- Soak mushrooms in warm water to cover until softened, about 30 minutes; drain. Remove and discard stems and slice caps in half. Set aside.
- Remove shrimp legs, leaving shells and tails intact. Cut along backs of shrimp with scissors; rinse out sand veins. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and five-spice powder. Set aside.
- Bring mussels and water to a boil in a 2-quart pan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until shells open, about 5 minutes. Discard mussels that don’t open. Lift out mussels and set aside; pour liquid into a 4-cup measuring cup. Add enough chicken broth to make 4 cups of total liquid.
- Place a wok over medium-high heat until hot. Add oil, swirling to coat sides. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 5 seconds. Add chicken and cook, turning as needed, for 10 minutes or until well browned on all sides. Add 2 tablespoons chicken broth. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside. Add onion and cook for 1 minute. Add bell pepper and turmeric; cook for 1 minute. Add rice, sausages and the reserved 4 cups chicken broth. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, until broth evaporates and crater-like holes appear, about 10 minutes.
- Arrange chicken, bamboo shoot and mushrooms over rice. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Push shrimp into top of rice and scatter snow peas on top. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Push mussels into rice. Cover and cook until rice is tender to the bite, about 5 more minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro before serving.
Recipe Notes
Recipe from A Wok For All Seasons, Publisher: Doubleday.