IT’S paella time again! I made a new paella variation using the shortcut cooking method that I learned from a recent cooking class at The Cookery in Bonifacio Global City sponsored by Knorr. The shortcut is the use of Knorr Menudo Mix for the sauce of the paella. After making Paella Valenciana, Seafood Paella and Chicken Tinola Paella, I decided this time to make a 3-Fish Paella. I made it for lunch last Saturday, January 18, 2014, and enjoyed it with my husband Raff and my sister-in-law Lanie Zulueta-Marquez, who visited us in the house last Saturday. I fished out three kinds of fish from the freezer – cream dory, boneless bangus back fillet and salmon tail – thawed the fish, washed them and cubed them.
The result is the paella that you see in the photograph. It’s teeming with fish, the way I like it, but if you want less of the fish to balance with your rice, you may go ahead and lessen the amount.
1 pc. cream dory fillet
1-2 pcs. boneless bangus back fillet
1 pc. tail segment salmon
2 tbsps. olive oil
2 tbsps. minced garlic
1/2 pc. onion, peeled and chopped
2 pcs. tomatoes, deseeded and sliced into thin wedges
1 small can sliced button mushrooms
1-1/4 cups Japanese rice
1 pouch Knorr Menudo Mix
2-3/4 cups water
salt or chicken powder to taste
1. Thaw out frozen fish, wash, pat-dry and cut into cubes. Pan-fry, remove and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in 24cm. paellera or nonstick frying pan. Sauté garlic and onion, add tomatoes, then the button mushrooms.
3. Add Japanese rice, and stir to make sure all grains are coated with oil.
4. Dissolve menudo mix in water, then pour 2 cups into the pan. Mix. Let boil.
5. Lower heat to medium-low. Cover paellera or pan with aluminum foil. Let paella cook until rice is almost al dente and the liquid is almost gone, about 30 minutes. Gradually add remaining menudo mix dissolved in water. Season with a little salt or chicken powder to taste. Arrange the fish on top. Cover with aluminum foil again and cook until done.
Serves 3 to 4.
