Pro Tips
**Chef's Tips & Troubleshooting:**
- Toast whole spices in a dry pan before grinding to unlock their essential oils and aroma.
- For stir-fries, have all ingredients ready before you start — the cooking process goes very fast.
- Deglaze the pan with wine or broth to incorporate the browned bits into the final sauce.
- Sear meats on high heat for color — the Maillard reaction adds depth that simmering alone cannot achieve.
Cooking Tips
Use a wide, shallow pan for paella — this maximizes the surface area for the coveted crispy bottom crust (socarrat). Do not stir the rice once it's in the pan. Let the paella rest off the heat for 5 minutes before serving. This allows the rice to finish absorbing liquid and the socarrat to release from the pan.
Ingredient Substitutions
Short on time? A pressure cooker (Instant Pot) can reduce cooking time by roughly half for most braised and stewed Filipino dishes. Reduce liquid slightly since less evaporates.
Storage & Reheating
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. The flavors often deepen overnight, making leftovers even more delicious. Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat, adding a splash of water or broth if the sauce has thickened during storage. Microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between each.
Seafood Paella
Seafood Paella — fresh seafood prepared Filipino-style with garlic, vinegar, and calamansi. Briny, savory, and deeply flavorful.
Instructions
- Gently pound the garlic using a mortar and pestle tool. Grind until the texture becomes smooth similar to a paste.
- Combine the parsley, salt, garlic paste, paprika, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in the same mortar and pestle tool (mortar and pestle is also known as almires or dikdikan) and then continue to grind using the pestle until the entire mixture turns into a paste. Set aside.
- Heat the pan. Pour the remaining olive oil on the paellera or pan.
- Fry the tiger shrimp and shrimp for 1 minute per side. Remove the shrimp and squid and put in a plate.
- On the same pan with the remaining oil, saute onion and tomato.
- Add the green peas and paste mixture (this is the mixture from step 2). Stir.
- Pour-in water and clam juice. Let boil.
- Add the saffron and paella rice. Cover and adjust the heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes.
- Arrange clams, mussels, shrimp, squid, and roasted bell pepper.Cover and continue to cook for 8 minutes or until the rice is done. You can add more water if needed.
- Arrange the lemon wedges on the side.
- Serve.
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Pro Tips & Troubleshooting
- Toast whole spices in a dry pan before grinding to unlock their essential oils and aroma.
- For stir-fries, have all ingredients ready before you start — the cooking process goes very fast.
- Deglaze the pan with wine or broth to incorporate the browned bits into the final sauce.
- Sear meats on high heat for color — the Maillard reaction adds depth that simmering alone cannot achieve.
Cooking Tips
Let the paella rest off the heat for 5 minutes before serving. This allows the rice to finish absorbing liquid and the socarrat to release from the pan.
Substitutions
Storage & Reheating
Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat, adding a splash of water or broth if the sauce has thickened during storage. Microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between each.
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