Monday 12 December 2016

Mad Cooking 6 : Paella Bodo


It's been a while since I did some experiments with not so favorable results. Those cooking disasters or dishes that bombed will not be wasted and they make it to my Mad Cooking Hall of Fame. So welcome to my latest edition of Mad Cooking. Episode 6. 

Paella. The Spanish rice dish that I fell in love with when I ate it at El Cerdo. Paella is cooked in a paella pan but no, I was not rushing out to buy one. I mean, how often am I going to cook paella and besides, I am incapable of cooking rice on the stove. So.


Into the periuk nasi it went. Easy peasy.


From the color of the rice, you can tell that I was super stingy with the saffron. Yes, I actually bought saffron. How much did it cost me? Don't ask.

There are many things wrong with my paella. Among others, I used long grain rice, namely Basmathi (my favorite) instead of short grain rice. As I understand it, the rice to use is Bomba rice. 

But still, as I was cooking it, it smelled like paella and it did taste somewhat like paella


But it doesn't look like paella. It looks like your regular nasi goreng bodo with prawns to make it look better. But you know me. I don't give up so easily. 

So I will be back with a good rice cooker paella. I still have some of that expensive ingredient.


Till then, I will eat this paella with kari chap.

44 comments:

  1. sedapnya sis. so simple of making it

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    1. Walaupun tak jadi, still can eat lah. Not bad hee..hee..

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  2. Hi PH
    Paella dari dulu memang macam nak try masak sendiri..tapi belum ada chance & kerajinan nak cuba..satu hari nanti mesti nak cuba..
    guna saffron ya..:)

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    1. Hi Ayu! Dah sekian lama baru PH cuba dan gagal hah..hah... Rugi beli saffron mahal2.

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  3. Nice try. You're being flexible using the tools that you have. The best part of paella for me though, is the caramelized rice that sticks to the edges of the paella pan.

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  4. I'm sure we can always have our own invention. Yes how often we do cook paella ? Definitely I won't invest in the special pan either. But your bowls of paella look nice.

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    1. They were quite nice to eat, so not a total loss.

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  5. I also like long grain rice, but my mum don't like, so only bought once...

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  6. Asal masuk blog PH ni kan mesti perut saya berkeroncong huhu...
    Lapar tengok setiap yr posting

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    1. Hi Lina! hah...hah...lain kali makan dulu sebelum masuk :)

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  7. I can't believe you bought saffron...must have cost a bomb! Where did you manage to get it? From what I know you can't use basmathi rice....long grain rice = failure. And yes, the rice they use is Bomba rice...but if you intend to recook this paella with Bomba rice...it's gonna cost you a bomb too! Bomba rice is very expensive. Even some Spanish restaurants here I heard substitute Bomba rice with some other cheaper short grain rice! :O I dare not even think of cooking paella at home (not that I know how anyway) as it needs a cast iron pan to achieve those crusty rice bits at the bottom (like our claypot rice). But I wish you best of luck in your second attempt! ;)

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    1. Yup, cost me a bomb. I got it from Cold Storage and recently spotted it at Aeon. From the looks of it, yeah, long grain rice doesn't cut it for this. Maybe I just use regular rice, as long as the paella taste good. I don't like the crusty bits, so I often wonder why people fight over it hah..hah...

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  8. Cantik! Nampak menyelerakan, ada masa nanti nak try. Thank you for sharing PH.

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    1. Thanks, Amie :) Nak try sekali lagi sebab yang ni tak berapa jadi.

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  9. Does not look like paella because not in a paella pan but still looks very tasty because the rice looks soft so the rice does not look like nasi goreng because fried rice usually looks oily and not as wet. From your photos, I believe your rice is very tasty! I would eat it definitely!

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    1. I must say that it did taste quite nice. Next attempt will be better.

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  10. Saffron, can substitute with kunyit or not. Never tasted paella so would not know same or not. With prawns, sure nice lah. Can't go wrong with those.

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    1. Can't substitute because saffron has its own unique aroma. But I suppose it is OK if one is not too concerned about authenticity. My brother cooks his with kunyit and it still tastes good.

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  11. A clever way to cook paella in rice cooker and looks really delicious! Thanks for sharing Phong Hong!

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    1. Thanks, Ann! I must improve it in my next attempt.

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  12. Waaaaaa so luxurious with saffron!

    Though at first glance, nampak macam nasi goreng. Hihi Sorry! I guess it's due to everything campur-campur, ya?

    I looooove paella too.

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    1. hee..hee..it's ok. Looks like nasi goreng to me too :D

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  13. Your paella looks delicious. Anything that tastes great is good for me!

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    1. Thanks, Nancy! Though it did not turn out spot on, it was still edible.

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  14. Nice photo of the Paella with the decoration of the flower, I have never heard of Paella before, just google for it.

    Anyway, the name of the dish doesn't matter to me as long as it tastes nice and yours looks good to me

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  15. As i remember spanish paella it should be a bit more wet but still, the taste is the more important😀

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    1. Yes, it is more moist and mine is on the dry side :(

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  16. Prawntastic paella!!😋😋😋 Quality saffron is expansive (the ones from Old Dubai come in different grades but one get top quality from here). We get the rubbish here.

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    1. It will be awhile before I buy anymore saffron. Quite heart stopping the price :(

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  17. It does not look like paella but yours is sure beautiful. Your very own creation.

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    1. Thanks, Rose! Luckily still quite good to eat.

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  18. Aah, it does look like nasi goreng but not bodo la, ada udang bagai tu.
    Nice.

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    1. Thank you, ticer Azimah. At least still boleh makan lah, tak bazir.

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  19. Mana boleh with rice cooker? Lack the charred bottom leh. I think this one more like, paella inspired steamed rice... :P

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    1. Can one lah, I didn't do it right. Nanti I try again.

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  20. Nice try!! I love paella, I have each time I visit my relatives in Spain. Yours really looks yummy

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    1. Thank you! Wow, it's great that you get to eat authentic paella :)

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  21. Haha.....betullah PH mcm nasi goreng udang! Kalau i buat pun belum tentu jadi haha....
    Tak pe, yg penting u rajin mencuba tu....

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  22. As long as edible, then is not consider fail attempt for my standard :P

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