Easy Seafood Paella

When I started having kids, I started to appreciate more the easy and no fuss recipes that are available on my finger tips… thanks to Google search! But sometimes, no matter how easy and quick some of the recipes are, I still resort to coming up with my own recipe especially if I have certain frozen items that I want to get rid of.

This is how this Easy Seafood Paella came about! And when I say easy… I mean E-A-S-Y! It’s simple. Quick. And no fuss. It can’t get any easier than that! So let’s begin, shall we?

EASY SEAFOOD PAELLA

Ingredients:

• Frozen crab legs
• Frozen (raw) unpeeled black tiger shrimp
• Frozen clams
• Frozen lobster tail
• Uncooked rice
• Unpeeled (organic) carrots, shredded
• Chicken bouillon powder/cube
• Cilantro
• Coconut oil or butter
• Cajun (optional)
• Minced garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a deep pan, I put a “blob” of organic coconut oil enough to cook my shredded carrots. I used about 3-4 long skinny organic ones. And then I sauteed them until it’s aromatic, and then added my minced garlic. (I find that the organic carrots we buy are much sweeter than regular carrots so I always go for them if I can. And since they are organic, I don’t even bother peeling them, which SAVES me time. I just wash them and they are good to go! If you don’t have coconut oil, you can use butter for a richer taste, or just a regular cooking oil. Using coconut oil will give your paella extra flavour!). 

2. I added water once my garlic and carrots are starting to caramelize a bit. (Don’t overdo it to the point that your carrots and garlic are burnt. Otherwise everything else will taste burnt!).

3. And then I ADDED all my frozen seafood into the mix. (You read that right! No thawing required! I told you it’s going to be easy, didn’t I?)

4. I sprinkle some chicken bouillon powder (approximately an equivalent of 1 chicken cube), and then added about 2 cups of uncooked rice. Once the rice is all mixed in, I added some more water enough to cook the rice. (If you have not cooked with rice before, check  the label of your rice for cooking recommendations, and then add a little bit more water as you are cooking the rice with the seafood).

5. Cover and let it simmer under medium to low heat. About 20-25 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked. (Your seafood will be done cooking by the time your rice is done even though you skipped the thawing part. You will know if the lobster tail, crab legs and shrimp are cooked when their carapace (or shells) changes into a vibrant orange colour. For clams, you’ll know it when they begin to open). 

6. I stirred the pan and then added salt and pepper to taste. (I also added a little bit more of chicken bouillon powder and Cajun to taste. If you only have a chicken cube, you might want to dissolve it in water first if you wish to add some more of it around this time, or you will end up with a blob of chicken cube in your dish). 

7. I topped it off with some fresh cilantro. And I was done!

There you have it! A quick and easy way to make a delicious home cooked seafood paella.

Enjoy! 🙂

Disclaimer: I don’t normally use measuring spoons/cups when I cook. Unless I’m baking of course. Cooking is more of an art. So when I cook, I usually just eyeball things. The key is to taste your food while you cook, and adjust your spices as your taste buds dictate. What maybe sweet for me, may not be the case for you. Hence, the lack of measurements on my recipes. I will leave that up to you. All the necessary ingredients (and tips!) however will be provided.

Happy experimenting cooking!

<3 Zhi