Paella in a wok
The dish is prepared without unnecessary complications. I think everyone who has ever been to sunny Spain has tried this delicious dish, as paella is practically the country's calling card. And although its ingredient list is quite long and the cooking process takes quite some time, don't be afraid to make paella at home using a wok—it's definitely worth it. With such a wonderful, aromatic, and incredibly tasty dish, you can gather your entire family around the table and have a little celebration. And to ensure your family dinner is a complete success, I offer you this recipe for preparing paella in a wok, in which I thoroughly explain how to make this dish.
1) First, we need to defrost the seafood and drain it in a colander so the water can drip off. Place saffron, cardamom, anise, and ground pepper into a mortar and grind them. Grate one garlic clove. Then place the seafood into a bowl, sprinkle with part of the spices, add the garlic, mix everything, and let it marinate for half an hour.
2) Peel and rinse the onion and bell pepper under running water. Finely chop the vegetables, and slice the remaining garlic into thin pieces.
3) Place the wok over high heat and heat the olive oil in it. Add garlic and onion to the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Then add the chopped bell pepper and frozen peas, and fry everything together for another 5 minutes. After that, add the remaining spices and salt to taste, and mix well.
4) By this time, you should have hot fish broth ready. Season it with salt and ground black pepper.
5) Now add the rice to the sautéed vegetables, spread it evenly across the surface, and pour in the broth so that it rises about 2 cm above the rice.
6) Reduce the heat under the wok to the lowest setting, cover with a lid, and let the dish cook for 20 minutes.
7) After 20 minutes, remove the lid and stir the contents of the wok. The mixture should be slightly creamy, and a thin crust should have formed on the bottom of the wok. If after 20 minutes the rice is still too raw or the dish is too liquid, leave it on the heat for another 10 minutes.
8) While the rice and vegetables are finishing cooking, place a frying pan over heat and warm some oil in it. In batches, add the marinated seafood to the pan and fry each batch for about 3 minutes.
9) Once the rice is ready, place the fried seafood on top and serve the paella directly in the wok. Enjoy your meal! The finished dish can now be served.
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