About using shallot instead of onion, Adam mentions in a few of his videos that he often uses it in place of onion when he's making smaller portions so he doesn't have chunks of leftover onion hanging out in his fridge, he can use up the entire shallot all at once.
Not only is saffron expensive, it’s also a really powerful flavor, and a “little dab’ll do ya.” Adam didn’t add an obscene amount, but I’ve had a few dishes where people went heavy on the saffron to be “fancy,” and it was almost inedible.
Yep. Less than $2 worth of saffron is enough to flavor 1 portion worth of rice so it's not really all that expensive when you take into account how much you actually need.
Yes it can be very intense and floral, which is fine for certain types of desserts that call for it, but a copious amount in paella becomes overkill and pretentious.
Adam is really great, he does his research and he's very pragmatic, he'll always try different approaches and mess around to see what works and what actually impacts the end result instead of just taking for granted that you have to cook something a certain way. Most of all he isn't a snob and won't say that his is the only correct way to do something or claim that he's doing something authentically when he's not absolutely sure about it
I like his no non-sense approach, reasonable video lengths, and explaining WHY some things are done the way they are. Even if he doesnt always get things right or 'authentic'.
Been living in Spain now for over 45 years. I've even been known to cook things on occasion. His version of a paella is one of the best I've seen, no extraneous ingredients or weird methods. Plus your comments are spot on.
Adams my favourite cook on UA-cam. A variety of dishes that are mostly healthy, affordable, convenient and excellently presented. Much like Kenji and Ethan Chlebowski. It's not pretentious and insufferable (Weissmann lol). I've made a multitude of his dishes. Far more than I normally would follow recipes, also his non-cooking episodes much like the series on malt and the processes of how your food reaches your supermarket's shelves are often invaluable and show a real commitment to teaching aspiring cooks. Subbed! Really binging your stuff right now James
Hey Shakey! thank you! yes, I agree with you, Adam does an excellent job at making things easy for everyone and explaining as well. I do like Weissmann, but many of his recipes are not affordable, healthy, or practical. Let me know if you have any questions! most of my older videos I would like to redo as I did not have any video skills then! haha
I don't know if you've seen Glen and Friends, but he's got a really good series of videos of his "old cookbook show" where he makes recipes from cookbooks from anywhere from the 17th century up through the early 20th century. He does a really good job going into the history of recipes. For instance, he did a video looking at the history of key lime pie and how the recipe changed over time. Glen has a history of working with different brands and doing commercials (e.g., he's done commercials for KFC in the past). His production quality as a result is extremely high, but he's very much not pretentious. He's done some themed series, like trying to recreate the original KFC recipe or trying to make an old Coca-Cola recipe. But, I think it's his old cookbook series that's probably his best work.
Adam is a really good middle ground for chefs transitioning from beginner to level 2. I stated with Babish and a few others then landed on Adam, I now rely on chef John from food wishes and Chef Jean Pierre but often go back to Adam or Kenji for day to day things. Oh and Adam's three day lasagna is the best and has activated my love for making fresh pasta.
I did his recipe but skipped the wine, used home made chicken stock + 1 stock cube, 3/4 tsp of high quality smoked paprica powder, a pinch of cayenne and real saffran and I fried all veggies in stages. I must say i'm damn pleased with the results. I can taste all spices, the stock, the rice, the garlic, the scharlottes, and the chicken individually. I also got a nice socarrat, had it on very low heat (burns easily) for like an hour.
I like Adam. Ideal for aspiring chefs. And like you said, does his research and is technical. Brian Lagerstrom is fun on the home cooking front too. Also like Cooking with Shereen. Good editing/ flow on their videos. And so many more come to think about it. Connecting, getting ideas, suggestions etc via internet is such a beautiful thing when it comes to cooking. Looking forward to more dishes from you too!
I don't know about traditional paella, but something that is a must (in my house) when you use sweet paprika is to do what my grandma used to call the "sofrito" (I know , it's different), that is taking a couple spoons of oil, heating that in a pan, and quickly toss the paprika into the hot oil. it takes a couple of seconds, and then you put that into the dish you are cooking. That is what my family calls "sofrito". The other thing, where you cook the onion, garlic, etc slowly, we call it "pochar el ajo y la cebolla".
Adam likes to get into the science of why we cook certain dishes and foods the way we do, as per tradition. One of the reasons I like AR! Good to know what he did correctly and what a chef in Spain would've done to improve.
for me, the biggest differences between this and, say, a jamie oliver garbage is 1) adam explicitly (and repeatedly) states he is not going a traditional dish and why where oliver couldn't be bothered and 2) where he diverges even a little, he not only explains why but his reasoning, and, most importantly, 3) he still makes an effort to stick to the traditional CONCEPT of the dish while making it his own where oliver just..... i don't know, throw a bunch of shit against a wall and guess.
I'll be honest, I don't understand this sensitivity behind "traditional dishes". I'm descended from a culture (North Indian) with 'westernized' versions of our traditional foods as well. It's fine. It's ok that the Chicken Tikka Masala is a UK invention that most people consider to be "indian food". I've had it, it tastes good. I haven't tried Jamie Oliver's paella inspired dish, but I'd probably like it (I like most food). Si c'est bon, c'est bon. In my personal opinion, the people who got enraged at a Jamie Oliver video need to find better uses of their time. It's just food. Also, not to put too fine a point on it, but paella is literally a traditional pilaf that was modified in the middle ages. Gasp! How dare they!?!?! Food evolves, just like language and culture. People try stuff and keep trying the stuff that tastes good.
@@Sertifi Yeah but I think the hows and whys are to explain why the process is being streamlined; I,e X would be traditional but here is an easier way to get a similar effect.
I've made this and liked it a lot. I was not so keen on the chicken wings (have remade using chicken thigh pieces, which to me were better). I got the socorrat and everything and it was tasty, like a lot of his dishes are. I love your suggestion re: green beans. I put in later and that solved the soggy beans, but to me they are better less cooked.
I was soo worried when you said "hope this is better than the past two videos" because i thought you might jave reviewed two of adams other videos and found them lacking. I was so glad when i realised you meant paella videos, and not adam videos! Hes really my favourite yt chef.
I love the knowledge u bring to the videos! Ive always thought that paella was a seafood dish. Love your channel and will definitely have to try to make it.
What I would suggest anyone trying to make paella with socarrat. Don't turn the heat to high or you'll burn the bottom, socarrat must be done at a low temperature for all the sugars and starch to caramelize. Once all the water has consumed from the pan the rice will not overcook so take your time with the socarrat.
I love your reactions so straightforward and unemotional this is an art and a skill and its flexible lol u only freak out when something is bery wrong which adam would never do
I just made this recipe, though I didn't have saffron so I used the paprika sub Adam suggested. It came out fairly close to what it appears in the video (I didn't get the same browning on the wings, but pretty good for me). I even got the (I know I'll spell this wrong) saccarut. It was really tasty, and not hard to make, it will be made again in the future.
I really liked this one, Adam was careful to stress that this was not authentic, but close enough. I've found that Spanish recipes when I've done them get the most criticism. I guess the Spanish are very proud of there cuisine? These are really useful video James, looking forwards to more mate.
They are, just look at Jamie and the paella incident. but not just Spanish. Really I haven't gotten any criticism from the Spanish, mostly from others who "think" they know what they are talking about. I have no problem when someone has a valid point of view or constructive critique, but when its nothing but personnel attacks or nonsensical comments like another one yesterday that said "Rabbit has 33% intramuscular fat, it's not a lean meat!!!" just makes me laugh and he deleted it just after I saw it! I wanted to save it!
@@ChefJamesMakinson Speaking of alioli, Adam has another very interesting video where he goes more in depth into just how the just garlic and oil version works and how much it can emulsify versus a version with egg in it. Might be a good one to check out
Adam is the man. Like you said he does his research and he’s also very technical with his dishes. Though I liked your comment about the rice not being cooked evenly.
Yeah, I really like this kind of cooking channels that explain why something is done the way it's done. I'd also recommend Chef Todd Mohr's channel as well as Ethan Chlebowski's and America's Test Kitchen.
Putting butter beans in it is a good idea! I'll have to try that. I was wondering if anyone knew a good substitution for peppers. One of my family member has a bad reaction to peppers of all sorts and I haven't yet found anything that is even remotely close and I miss them. It seems like if I ever want to cook a Spanish dish I'll have to plan a completely different dish for her!
Hi James. Great vid. You said to let you know when I tried the "fun sized paella" . Watching this got me in to action. Turned out great for first attempt. My son ate half of it!! I did the pre-prep. I used chicken thigh cut into large mouth size pieces and a few frozen prawns. I used some pasatta for the tomato element. Got the liquid ratio wrong and had to dribble water in now and then 'till the rice was cooked. Really enjoyed making it, this'll be on my regular list and get better at it too
I usually just smash a handful of cherry tomatoes into the pan as I'm cooking them into soffrito. You get a feel of some the tomato in there too, without it being overpowering. It doesn't require a grater, it doesn't require dirtying a blender or immersion blender. That's my lazy way of getting tomato in there.
Some fake saffron can be made of dodgy stuff but Ive heard most of it is made from Safflower which is pretty much harmless and a good cheap saffron substitute if you're looking for colour rather than flavour (buy your safflower as safflower though don't look for fake saffron)
14:30 he mentions that it‘s usually covered with a towel. And that‘s what you should use with basically every rice dish that you cover after it‘s done. The reason for that is that with a lid you have loads of condensation building up and it will eventually start dripping back onto the rice. This can lead to patches where the rice gets mushy. What I do is I take a kitchen towel aka touchon, spread it tight over the pan, pot or whatever, and then I put the lid on. This way you don‘t have the issue with dripping condensation and also you don‘t risk the towel falling into your dish.
That socarrat was actually on point. The wine stock is the only thing that was a but weird but I wonder how that would taste, maybe not so bad? Although adding more water with wine at the very end like he did is very risky because the alcohol will not evaporate that well (because I assume that by microwaving the wine you don't evaporate all the alcohol as well as if you cook it)
I didn’t know that about saffron wow!! Fun size sounds fun lol. Oh cool on using hand blender for tomato sauce I will do that cause I would have done the tomato paste and maybe use too much. I can’t believe how many artificial is out there wow. I find all this so interesting James. Makes sense about the thickness of rice. I have made that mistake before and I didn’t like how uneven the rice was cooked lol. This was great James! You are one awesome teacher James
Hey, @ChefJamesMakinson, It's funny, earlier today, in response to an Italian Fried Rice response you did after this one, I literally mentioned how my dad made what he called "Spanish Rice," with the basic, full recipe, only I failed to mention, he did it in a 2L pot, with a lid, and didn't stir. He put in enough rice to feed him, mom, and three kids (two of us teens). The rice didn't really crisp too much on the bottom, but it did some. Like I mentioned, it reminds me of what a tajin looks like, but apparently he was kind of aiming for a paella, and we didn't know what that was. It never occurred to me, dad had been making a cousin of that all along. Now that I know better how it can and should go, I realise, I had already "improved" on his recipe by using canned, diced/stewed or crushed tomatoes, fresh onions to sautee, and likely bell peppers. I just put what I felt went together for Mexican food, actually. Of course, mine had no meat. I think I tried it once with veggie crumbles, and it was okay, but I miss the richness of his recipe. I can't bring myself to add so much fat. Anyway, I like Adam, and am glad to have seen your kind critique of his work. He does a lot of Vegan or vegetarian dishes, aiming for better health. I know it's not your thing, but if you spoke of your professional recommendations for potential Vegan substitutions for essential ingredients that are normally animal products, you would gain SO many fans, and you would seriously be doing our world a huge favour in many ways. Thanks for what you do. Be well.
Thank you for this, I really like Adam, but it is always good for a novice like me, to get other knowlegable input and advice from the professionals like you.
In 2016 I went on a two week long school trip to London, Paris, Barcelona, and then Rome. We had absolutely wonderful food every night in each city, but probably my favorite meal was having some Paella in a little hole in the wall restaurant in Barcelona (wish I could remember the name). They offered us chicken or shrimp Paella, and my friend and I were the only two out of 15ish kids who opted for the seafood version. I absolutely loved the Paella and always tell people about it!
From what I got from your video you are in Barcelona so I wanted to ask you about a paella in particular that I tried there what your professional opinion on it is. I tried it at Enrique Tomás, the one close to the Sagrada Familia and it was the Paella con Jamón. I know it might not be the traditional one, but I really liked it! Great video btw!
Paella con Jamón thats a new one for me. haha When made well just like any other dish it is very tasty, but few places make an excellent paella. However, there are a lot of other rice dishes here not just paellas.
You said in the video that the bomba rice is really forgiving and can undergo overcooking without turning into a mushy mess. Are there any other rice varieties with the same capability? And to what does this rice variety owe this property?
Calasparra is another variety used in paella it's grown also within the same region. But Bomba has a higher amylose ratio and I believe this is one of the reasons why it can absorb more water without breaking down like other types of rice, then again. I'm not an expert on the subject so I could be mistaken. If you do have to substitute with another type of rice lower the ratio of water otherwise the paella will be too watery.
I love when you review Adam's videos! I know it's a little outside the scope of this series but I would love to see your reaction to his more controversial food opinions and food science content
@@ChefJamesMakinson I'm sure you do. People are bold on the internet. Thanks for your content, it's nice to have someone who is respectful and positive and also has the professional experience to back up their opinions.
At 0:13 those green beens,we call them Bob. No one uses them anymore here in Central EU but i do still use them for purée with potatos and brown beens. It is called Matevšš
Hi James great video. I worked in a professional kitchen here but always how paella is cooked in a restaurant environment where there is a faster pace. Would you be able to make a video on this
He had a good idea about paella, but in my opinion he screwed up a little with the saffron. You want an infusion, so i would boil water, take it off the heat and then add the saffron. Many people think infusions are boiling the ingredient and in fact is putting it in recently boiled water. Saffron and microwave don't mix well in my mind.
I was a bit confused when you and adam said paprika, since paprika refers to bell pepper, the raw fruit in my country and what you call paprika is called paprika powder here
He made a good Video, at least someone who has a clue, he knows what he should be doing different but does it his way. I like it :) and you explain whatever he missed ( as always)
Can you please react to Gordon Ramsay's paella? I really want to know your opinion on it. Here in Iran saffron is an extremely popular ingredient and we are one of the main exporters of saffron. We prefer to dissolve some in water, take a little bit of rice and mix it with the saffron and then mix the yellow colored rice with plain white rice to give it a beautiful appearance of golden grains among the white. This also prevents using too much saffron which runs the risk of an overpowering flavor. We also use saffron in our tea to give it aroma and color, and in our confectionery. Just a little fun fact 😊
I agree, not a bad paella. Wouldn't have used a chile. You can use part of a red bell pepper and put the rest in a container with water and refrigerate. Thought saffron not too expensive when I lived in Spain, but it comes in .17 gram packets of 3 or 4, for 3.5 euros, but I pay $23 for 1.7 grams in USA. I have some "Golden Saffron" brand that I haven't opened yet. Yikes, used the last of my 2-kilo bag of Bomba rice yesterday. Ran out of real Spanish chorizo too, so time to Amazon and place my Spanish food order.
Here in Arizona we have tons of peppers and chilis that aren't necessarily hot or spicy. It may have looked like a large red jalapeno chili, but it wasn't. I don't know where he lives, but he obviously got his hands on one of them.
Nice review! And in fairness, even the points where he deviates are in character, like when he includes tomato paste instead of grating/blending tomatoes. He regularly makes a point of dirtying as few dishes and utensils as possible, so whipping out the food processor for half a tomato was never on the table with him.
@@ChefJamesMakinson Certainly did! Very refreshing to see actually constructive and reflected reaction videos with fair criticism. You clearly now your stuff but don't flaunt it for no reason either. Keep it up!
In the USA, it’s between $300-600USD per pound or $500-1000USD per kg. Now people don’t usually buy it in those quantities, so you can get it for around $6-8 for a gram. Yeah, it isn’t cheap. I don’t know if Adam is from America though.
@@ChefJamesMakinson No i'm from valencia, and garrofo its not lime beans its a different tiype, and i never seen in valencia the sofrito of paella made with onions or peppers. Actually we never use onion in paella cause it makes the rice bland, we only use garlic.
@@maryp94 they may not be the same Bean but many people cannot get the exact same ingredients and sometimes at home not for the restaurants they have to substitute with inferior ingredients. The Sofrito that I've used many times here in Catalonia has always been with onions, it doesn't mean it's like that everywhere but that's what I've been taught since day one with my executive chef Antonio Sáez
@@maryp94 A garrafó looks and tastes exactly the same as a butter bean (lima bean). I also live in Valencia, speak Valencian and love paella. There are many paellas and many contain onion. Paella valenciana doesn't contain onion, but that is a very specific recipe. For example paella amb costella de porc contains onion. La paella amb ceba no és necessàriament l'arròs amb coses. ;)
Thanks for doing this reaction video uncle James. Anyways, I think nephew Adam did a better job at making paella than the other videos that you reacted to. However, I would use some stock in my paella instead of wine. I’d also add some pimentón.
Hey Chef James, my name is Gabriel and I am a 20 year old HRM student (cheaper substitute course for the culinary arts) in the Philippines, and I was wondering what can you substitute stock with ? Cause here it can be a little hard to find and SO MANY recipes require it. We do have bouillon cubes, can that be used instead of stock ? That's all, love your channel and would love to reach the heights you have in cooking one day :)
Here are a few! Restaurants in Barcelona El Nacional Barcelona - 1920's style area with multiple restaurants Antigua - good food but better with the 50% discount with the Fork app Mirablau - good views, not the best food. 7 Portes - local Catalian food and good paellas Botafumeiro - is famous for their seafood Michelin stars restaurants ABaC - Chef Jordi Cruz, 3 stars Lasarte - 3 stars Enoteca - Chef Paco Pérez, 2 stars Disfrutar - 2 stars Nectari - 1 star The Michelin guide also has many other restaurants that they rate, not just Michelin-star places. it is a very good guide to look at when visiting a new city. guide.michelin.com/en/es/catalunya/barcelona/restaurants
I know this video is 2 yrs old. But what's you're feeling on the colorante alimentario James? Saw it when I lived in Spain but it seemed to me it was literally like MSG on crack. I don't understand it.
Excellent content James, thank you for it. If I may offer a suggestion, I would like your take on ancient recipes as we understand them. Tasting History is a example that I also enjoy learning from. With a modern professional point of view, are there ideas or insight that can be learned or perhaps examined ? , after all, we wouldnt be where we are today without the past to learn from. Just a idea :-) I enjoy your content,keep up the work you do.
A lot of spanish dishes have a similar Caribbean dish, which is to be expected because they were colonized by Spain. The only difference with the Caribbean dishes is that they add a lot of hot peppers to the dish. Personally, I think this brings the dish to the next level. Also, if you put ''Caribbean'' in the title of your dish, no one will criticize you if it is spicy 😜
Question about fun-sized paella... there's a store near me that specializes in paella ingredients and pans. They sell some really tiny pans (5" diameter) that are shallow and look just like their big brothers. Is it truly practical to make a paella-for-one in a 5" paella pan? Or is it better to use an 8" pan and simply have leftovers?
Something to keep in mind with Adam is that he focuses on recipes for the home kitchen. So what might be practical for a restaurant chef to do Adam often throws out as being too obtuse or simply not worth it for the home cook. And I tend to agree with him.
Does turmeric work as saffron substitute? Because it's more affordable to get turmeric than saffron 🤔 Probably wouldn't be as fragrant smell wise, but the bitterness can be worn off by other ingredients.
@@ChefJamesMakinson Yeah, that's the real problem really. There are other flavors within turmeric, not just the bitterness 😅 I've never eaten Paella, but there's a rice dish in my country that is pretty much yellow coconut rice, and it uses turmeric for yellow coloring. Maybe because they add pandan leaves too, and also the added coconut milk, the resulting turmeric taste is kinda masked on and therefore isn't quite as strong 🤔 I guess if you don't want to use "artificial" colorings, turmeric is kinda okay, but there are probably other natural yellow food colorings than either saffron or turmeric 🤷♂️
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Good view man. Lol I left a similar comment to what u say here in another of your videos. You know what you are talking about.
About using shallot instead of onion,
Adam mentions in a few of his videos that he often uses it in place of onion when he's making smaller portions so he doesn't have chunks of leftover onion hanging out in his fridge, he can use up the entire shallot all at once.
Not only is saffron expensive, it’s also a really powerful flavor, and a “little dab’ll do ya.” Adam didn’t add an obscene amount, but I’ve had a few dishes where people went heavy on the saffron to be “fancy,” and it was almost inedible.
Yep. Less than $2 worth of saffron is enough to flavor 1 portion worth of rice so it's not really all that expensive when you take into account how much you actually need.
@@zorkan111 so like wagyu beef
Yes it can be very intense and floral, which is fine for certain types of desserts that call for it, but a copious amount in paella becomes overkill and pretentious.
@@degeneratebeats298 Basically the same idea. A little bit goes a long way.
@@zorkan111 Less than $2?? I don't know where you're buying your saffron but less than 20 cents will work lol
Adam is really great, he does his research and he's very pragmatic, he'll always try different approaches and mess around to see what works and what actually impacts the end result instead of just taking for granted that you have to cook something a certain way. Most of all he isn't a snob and won't say that his is the only correct way to do something or claim that he's doing something authentically when he's not absolutely sure about it
Very true!
He has become the opposite of Babish imo
*that's a very very good thing. I'm a huge ragusea fan
I like his no non-sense approach, reasonable video lengths, and explaining WHY some things are done the way they are. Even if he doesnt always get things right or 'authentic'.
@Doah nunn I'd say he's moreso the opposite of Joshua Weissman rather than Babisb.
Been living in Spain now for over 45 years.
I've even been known to cook things on occasion.
His version of a paella is one of the best I've seen, no extraneous ingredients or weird methods.
Plus your comments are spot on.
Gracias!
Adams my favourite cook on UA-cam. A variety of dishes that are mostly healthy, affordable, convenient and excellently presented. Much like Kenji and Ethan Chlebowski. It's not pretentious and insufferable (Weissmann lol). I've made a multitude of his dishes. Far more than I normally would follow recipes, also his non-cooking episodes much like the series on malt and the processes of how your food reaches your supermarket's shelves are often invaluable and show a real commitment to teaching aspiring cooks.
Subbed! Really binging your stuff right now James
Hey Shakey! thank you! yes, I agree with you, Adam does an excellent job at making things easy for everyone and explaining as well. I do like Weissmann, but many of his recipes are not affordable, healthy, or practical. Let me know if you have any questions! most of my older videos I would like to redo as I did not have any video skills then! haha
I don't know if you've seen Glen and Friends, but he's got a really good series of videos of his "old cookbook show" where he makes recipes from cookbooks from anywhere from the 17th century up through the early 20th century. He does a really good job going into the history of recipes. For instance, he did a video looking at the history of key lime pie and how the recipe changed over time.
Glen has a history of working with different brands and doing commercials (e.g., he's done commercials for KFC in the past). His production quality as a result is extremely high, but he's very much not pretentious.
He's done some themed series, like trying to recreate the original KFC recipe or trying to make an old Coca-Cola recipe. But, I think it's his old cookbook series that's probably his best work.
Haven't watched weissmann in a while but I definitely remember his videos being quite pretentious, felt like he was half joking half serious
Adam is a really good middle ground for chefs transitioning from beginner to level 2. I stated with Babish and a few others then landed on Adam, I now rely on chef John from food wishes and Chef Jean Pierre but often go back to Adam or Kenji for day to day things. Oh and Adam's three day lasagna is the best and has activated my love for making fresh pasta.
@@Cyril29a Kenji, Adam, John are excellent for usable skills and recipes. WIll check out Jean Pierre, thanks for the recommendation!
Would love to see more reactions to Adam. He seems to do good research and makes tasty looking food
Remember Adam Ragusea is or was a university professor i mean his paella is night and day difference with jamie oliver
I did his recipe but skipped the wine, used home made chicken stock + 1 stock cube, 3/4 tsp of high quality smoked paprica powder, a pinch of cayenne and real saffran and I fried all veggies in stages. I must say i'm damn pleased with the results. I can taste all spices, the stock, the rice, the garlic, the scharlottes, and the chicken individually. I also got a nice socarrat, had it on very low heat (burns easily) for like an hour.
I like Adam. Ideal for aspiring chefs. And like you said, does his research and is technical. Brian Lagerstrom is fun on the home cooking front too. Also like Cooking with Shereen. Good editing/ flow on their videos. And so many more come to think about it. Connecting, getting ideas, suggestions etc via internet is such a beautiful thing when it comes to cooking. Looking forward to more dishes from you too!
I don't know about traditional paella, but something that is a must (in my house) when you use sweet paprika is to do what my grandma used to call the "sofrito" (I know , it's different), that is taking a couple spoons of oil, heating that in a pan, and quickly toss the paprika into the hot oil. it takes a couple of seconds, and then you put that into the dish you are cooking. That is what my family calls "sofrito". The other thing, where you cook the onion, garlic, etc slowly, we call it "pochar el ajo y la cebolla".
Adam likes to get into the science of why we cook certain dishes and foods the way we do, as per tradition. One of the reasons I like AR! Good to know what he did correctly and what a chef in Spain would've done to improve.
for me, the biggest differences between this and, say, a jamie oliver garbage is 1) adam explicitly (and repeatedly) states he is not going a traditional dish and why where oliver couldn't be bothered and 2) where he diverges even a little, he not only explains why but his reasoning, and, most importantly, 3) he still makes an effort to stick to the traditional CONCEPT of the dish while making it his own where oliver just..... i don't know, throw a bunch of shit against a wall and guess.
I'll be honest, I don't understand this sensitivity behind "traditional dishes". I'm descended from a culture (North Indian) with 'westernized' versions of our traditional foods as well. It's fine. It's ok that the Chicken Tikka Masala is a UK invention that most people consider to be "indian food". I've had it, it tastes good. I haven't tried Jamie Oliver's paella inspired dish, but I'd probably like it (I like most food). Si c'est bon, c'est bon.
In my personal opinion, the people who got enraged at a Jamie Oliver video need to find better uses of their time. It's just food. Also, not to put too fine a point on it, but paella is literally a traditional pilaf that was modified in the middle ages. Gasp! How dare they!?!?! Food evolves, just like language and culture. People try stuff and keep trying the stuff that tastes good.
Adam doesn't make showy videos he's mostly about streamlining things for home cooking.
He does a very good job!
I don't know about streamlining, he explains a lot of why's and how's and gives alternatives.
@@Sertifi Yeah but I think the hows and whys are to explain why the process is being streamlined; I,e X would be traditional but here is an easier way to get a similar effect.
He did a good job but def not streamlined. Personally cooking the meat traditionally in one pan is easier
@@dom6140 he did cook it in one pan
You deserve more views and followers chef. Just continue with what you are doing right now. You'll e eventually get there.
Thank you! I will try! :)
I've made this and liked it a lot. I was not so keen on the chicken wings (have remade using chicken thigh pieces, which to me were better). I got the socorrat and everything and it was tasty, like a lot of his dishes are. I love your suggestion re: green beans. I put in later and that solved the soggy beans, but to me they are better less cooked.
I was soo worried when you said "hope this is better than the past two videos" because i thought you might jave reviewed two of adams other videos and found them lacking. I was so glad when i realised you meant paella videos, and not adam videos! Hes really my favourite yt chef.
😉
I love the knowledge u bring to the videos! Ive always thought that paella was a seafood dish. Love your channel and will definitely have to try to make it.
Thank you so much! yeah a lot of people do. haha
What I would suggest anyone trying to make paella with socarrat. Don't turn the heat to high or you'll burn the bottom, socarrat must be done at a low temperature for all the sugars and starch to caramelize. Once all the water has consumed from the pan the rice will not overcook so take your time with the socarrat.
Very good advice for beginners!
I love your reactions so straightforward and unemotional this is an art and a skill and its flexible lol u only freak out when something is bery wrong which adam would never do
😉
I just made this recipe, though I didn't have saffron so I used the paprika sub Adam suggested. It came out fairly close to what it appears in the video (I didn't get the same browning on the wings, but pretty good for me). I even got the (I know I'll spell this wrong) saccarut. It was really tasty, and not hard to make, it will be made again in the future.
I never knew Chris and I watched the same UA-camrs.
@@nikcantsnipe lol, my other hobby is cooking
I really liked this one, Adam was careful to stress that this was not authentic, but close enough. I've found that Spanish recipes when I've done them get the most criticism.
I guess the Spanish are very proud of there cuisine? These are really useful video James, looking forwards to more mate.
They are, just look at Jamie and the paella incident. but not just Spanish. Really I haven't gotten any criticism from the Spanish, mostly from others who "think" they know what they are talking about.
I have no problem when someone has a valid point of view or constructive critique, but when its nothing but personnel attacks or nonsensical comments like another one yesterday that said "Rabbit has 33% intramuscular fat, it's not a lean meat!!!" just makes me laugh and he deleted it just after I saw it! I wanted to save it!
@@ChefJamesMakinson Speaking of alioli, Adam has another very interesting video where he goes more in depth into just how the just garlic and oil version works and how much it can emulsify versus a version with egg in it. Might be a good one to check out
Adam is the man. Like you said he does his research and he’s also very technical with his dishes. Though I liked your comment about the rice not being cooked evenly.
i highly recomend watching adam's videos , it's not just yuor cooking channel , it's more like a food science thing
Yeah, I really like this kind of cooking channels that explain why something is done the way it's done. I'd also recommend Chef Todd Mohr's channel as well as Ethan Chlebowski's and America's Test Kitchen.
Putting butter beans in it is a good idea! I'll have to try that. I was wondering if anyone knew a good substitution for peppers. One of my family member has a bad reaction to peppers of all sorts and I haven't yet found anything that is even remotely close and I miss them. It seems like if I ever want to cook a Spanish dish I'll have to plan a completely different dish for her!
if that's the case I would leave out all the peppers and just use tomato, onions, etc. for the sofrito.
@@ChefJamesMakinson Thank you! I give it a shot :)
Very good stuff, James. Your channel is criminally undersubscribed!
I appreciate that, it means a lot!
Actually I quite like what he did. Better than the professional chef
Hi James. Great vid. You said to let you know when I tried the "fun sized paella" . Watching this got me in to action. Turned out great for first attempt. My son ate half of it!! I did the pre-prep. I used chicken thigh cut into large mouth size pieces and a few frozen prawns. I used some pasatta for the tomato element. Got the liquid ratio wrong and had to dribble water in now and then 'till the rice was cooked. Really enjoyed making it, this'll be on my regular list and get better at it too
Sounds very good! it will take some practice, the video i just reviewed from Omar Allibhoy is very good, I have a few recipes as well!
Yeh, I'll definitely look at yours. Cheers
I usually just smash a handful of cherry tomatoes into the pan as I'm cooking them into soffrito. You get a feel of some the tomato in there too, without it being overpowering. It doesn't require a grater, it doesn't require dirtying a blender or immersion blender. That's my lazy way of getting tomato in there.
Some fake saffron can be made of dodgy stuff but Ive heard most of it is made from Safflower which is pretty much harmless and a good cheap saffron substitute if you're looking for colour rather than flavour (buy your safflower as safflower though don't look for fake saffron)
It's nice to see this dish done properly and an excellent reaction review Chef!!!!!
Thank you kindly!
Excellent video! I never knew to toast the saffron. Also, to use so little, lol. Your dad used to put a lot of saffron in the rice.❤️🌺
14:30 he mentions that it‘s usually covered with a towel. And that‘s what you should use with basically every rice dish that you cover after it‘s done. The reason for that is that with a lid you have loads of condensation building up and it will eventually start dripping back onto the rice. This can lead to patches where the rice gets mushy. What I do is I take a kitchen towel aka touchon, spread it tight over the pan, pot or whatever, and then I put the lid on. This way you don‘t have the issue with dripping condensation and also you don‘t risk the towel falling into your dish.
yes it can help but it not covered with a towel normally here I live here and have made it many many many times.
That socarrat was actually on point. The wine stock is the only thing that was a but weird but I wonder how that would taste, maybe not so bad? Although adding more water with wine at the very end like he did is very risky because the alcohol will not evaporate that well (because I assume that by microwaving the wine you don't evaporate all the alcohol as well as if you cook it)
Alcohol cooking out is kind of a myth anyway, some does cook out, but not that much, and certainly not all of it.
I dont even cook much but i love watching Adam.
Would love to see more ragusea reactions.
will do!
Keep doing reactions love them!
Thank you! Will do!
I love Adam’s videos, good to know he gets your stamp of approval!
Great channel. Sometimes, Susan still delivers.
Another good reaction James. Thanks.
wow very nice prepration.. awesome sharing dear....🌹❤️
I like watching Adam's videos and I enjoyed watching yours as well.
thank you! Glad you like them!
@@ChefJamesMakinson Hey! You might also consider reacting to Adam Ragusea's spanish omelette as well.
@@larry-mk6bc I'll take a look!
Hi James really sorry how late I am we have company staying if his until next week and it has been hectic! I am sitting now with coffee enjoying
Hey! Not a problem. I hope all of you are doing well! I’m in Cambrils trying to enjoy the weather a bit! Haha I hope you are feeling better! :)
I didn’t know that about saffron wow!! Fun size sounds fun lol. Oh cool on using hand blender for tomato sauce I will do that cause I would have done the tomato paste and maybe use too much. I can’t believe how many artificial is out there wow. I find all this so interesting James. Makes sense about the thickness of rice. I have made that mistake before and I didn’t like how uneven the rice was cooked lol. This was great James! You are one awesome teacher James
Oh nice enjoy!!!
Back again my friend supporting your most interesting and amazing content. Always a good watching. Keep it up friend. Stay connected!
Thank you! I hope you and your family are doing well!
Hey, @ChefJamesMakinson, It's funny, earlier today, in response to an Italian Fried Rice response you did after this one, I literally mentioned how my dad made what he called "Spanish Rice," with the basic, full recipe, only I failed to mention, he did it in a 2L pot, with a lid, and didn't stir. He put in enough rice to feed him, mom, and three kids (two of us teens). The rice didn't really crisp too much on the bottom, but it did some. Like I mentioned, it reminds me of what a tajin looks like, but apparently he was kind of aiming for a paella, and we didn't know what that was. It never occurred to me, dad had been making a cousin of that all along.
Now that I know better how it can and should go, I realise, I had already "improved" on his recipe by using canned, diced/stewed or crushed tomatoes, fresh onions to sautee, and likely bell peppers. I just put what I felt went together for Mexican food, actually. Of course, mine had no meat. I think I tried it once with veggie crumbles, and it was okay, but I miss the richness of his recipe. I can't bring myself to add so much fat. Anyway, I like Adam, and am glad to have seen your kind critique of his work. He does a lot of Vegan or vegetarian dishes, aiming for better health. I know it's not your thing, but if you spoke of your professional recommendations for potential Vegan substitutions for essential ingredients that are normally animal products, you would gain SO many fans, and you would seriously be doing our world a huge favour in many ways. Thanks for what you do. Be well.
Cheers mate. Might try this with your tips included
let me know when you do!
Oh nice, I am already an adam fan, interested to hear your take on his dishes mainly aimed at home cooks.
I will! Adam does do a great job!
Thing were Adam is good at is respecting and researching how it 'should' be made and what the tradition is. And explaining why he deviates from it.
Congratulations chef!👏🎉 You have reached 10k subs!!
Thank you so much 😀
Thank you for this, I really like Adam, but it is always good for a novice like me, to get other knowlegable input and advice from the professionals like you.
😉
Your reaction vids are easily my favourite, bro!
thank you buddy!
@@ChefJamesMakinson Pullin' for ya to bust through 10K soon!
@@Maplecook me too! haha
@@ChefJamesMakinson One day, we'll both be YT stars, and laugh about these days, man! haha
Fist bump! =)
I never heard of fake saffron thanks for the heads up.
My son brought me his UA-cam video for macaroons and we had a blast making them. They were delicious and a big hit!
That is awesome!
In 2016 I went on a two week long school trip to London, Paris, Barcelona, and then Rome. We had absolutely wonderful food every night in each city, but probably my favorite meal was having some Paella in a little hole in the wall restaurant in Barcelona (wish I could remember the name). They offered us chicken or shrimp Paella, and my friend and I were the only two out of 15ish kids who opted for the seafood version. I absolutely loved the Paella and always tell people about it!
That sounds like it was a nice trip!
It is amusing that the more "exotic" meat to children is the non-traditional one, though I doubt you two were caring about authenticity haha
Helpful commentary, much appreciated! I'll be sure to use some stock next time i do this, and keep the top as level as possible. 😋
From what I got from your video you are in Barcelona so I wanted to ask you about a paella in particular that I tried there what your professional opinion on it is. I tried it at Enrique Tomás, the one close to the Sagrada Familia and it was the Paella con Jamón. I know it might not be the traditional one, but I really liked it!
Great video btw!
Paella con Jamón thats a new one for me. haha When made well just like any other dish it is very tasty, but few places make an excellent paella. However, there are a lot of other rice dishes here not just paellas.
You said in the video that the bomba rice is really forgiving and can undergo overcooking without turning into a mushy mess. Are there any other rice varieties with the same capability? And to what does this rice variety owe this property?
Calasparra is another variety used in paella it's grown also within the same region. But Bomba has a higher amylose ratio and I believe this is one of the reasons why it can absorb more water without breaking down like other types of rice, then again. I'm not an expert on the subject so I could be mistaken. If you do have to substitute with another type of rice lower the ratio of water otherwise the paella will be too watery.
I would love you to do more videos like vincenzos plate for spanish cuisine 😊
I have a lot of Spanish recipes already up and will be making more later on!
One of your best, most helpful videos. Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Adam is one of my favourite YT cooks. I really appreciate the way he speaks to us as if we're not complete idiots.
Chef James this was a good review but I would have much preferred having you show us how to properly prepare a paella.
I have 3 videos already and I thought that I mentioned it in the video?
Like the video friend and like a lot how he prepare the paella!!! Looks really good! 🦇
Thank you so much!
I love when you review Adam's videos! I know it's a little outside the scope of this series but I would love to see your reaction to his more controversial food opinions and food science content
Thank you! but with every video of his that I review, I get a lot of flak for any and all comments that I make.
@@ChefJamesMakinson I'm sure you do. People are bold on the internet. Thanks for your content, it's nice to have someone who is respectful and positive and also has the professional experience to back up their opinions.
At 0:13 those green beens,we call them Bob. No one uses them anymore here in Central EU but i do still use them for purée with potatos and brown beens. It is called Matevšš
Bob who?
@@ChefJamesMakinson Hoskins alright??
Those green beans are called Bob Broad Bean. Try to search for them on google
Hey James. You should also react to the paella kenji Lopez alt made
Hi James great video. I worked in a professional kitchen here but always how paella is cooked in a restaurant environment where there is a faster pace. Would you be able to make a video on this
I have made a few videos but I haven't done it as I would in the restaurant, that would be a great idea for other video!
He had a good idea about paella, but in my opinion he screwed up a little with the saffron. You want an infusion, so i would boil water, take it off the heat and then add the saffron. Many people think infusions are boiling the ingredient and in fact is putting it in recently boiled water. Saffron and microwave don't mix well in my mind.
I was a bit confused when you and adam said paprika, since paprika refers to bell pepper, the raw fruit in my country and what you call paprika is called paprika powder here
its called pimenton here
Thanks for your channel, I enjoy your videos very much. Looking forward to see your subscribers and views grow, keep up the great content!
Thank you very much! :)
He made a good Video, at least someone who has a clue, he knows what he should be doing different but does it his way.
I like it :) and you explain whatever he missed ( as always)
Can you please react to Gordon Ramsay's paella? I really want to know your opinion on it.
Here in Iran saffron is an extremely popular ingredient and we are one of the main exporters of saffron. We prefer to dissolve some in water, take a little bit of rice and mix it with the saffron and then mix the yellow colored rice with plain white rice to give it a beautiful appearance of golden grains among the white. This also prevents using too much saffron which runs the risk of an overpowering flavor. We also use saffron in our tea to give it aroma and color, and in our confectionery. Just a little fun fact 😊
I can have a look!
That wasn’t to bad considering he tried to simplify for a smaller pan. Well done.
I love your videos ..
Respect from slovenia
Glad you like them!
Awesome, my friend. 😍💕 Big like. 👍 Have a nice day.🤗✨
I agree, not a bad paella. Wouldn't have used a chile. You can use part of a red bell pepper and put the rest in a container with water and refrigerate. Thought saffron not too expensive when I lived in Spain, but it comes in .17 gram packets of 3 or 4, for 3.5 euros, but I pay $23 for 1.7 grams in USA. I have some "Golden Saffron" brand that I haven't opened yet. Yikes, used the last of my 2-kilo bag of Bomba rice yesterday. Ran out of real Spanish chorizo too, so time to Amazon and place my Spanish food order.
Here in Arizona we have tons of peppers and chilis that aren't necessarily hot or spicy. It may have looked like a large red jalapeno chili, but it wasn't. I don't know where he lives, but he obviously got his hands on one of them.
Yeah Ragusea is honest (i know this is not traditional Paella- having said that he made a paella i would eat) and always does a pretty decent job
Nice review! And in fairness, even the points where he deviates are in character, like when he includes tomato paste instead of grating/blending tomatoes. He regularly makes a point of dirtying as few dishes and utensils as possible, so whipping out the food processor for half a tomato was never on the table with him.
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@ChefJamesMakinson Certainly did! Very refreshing to see actually constructive and reflected reaction videos with fair criticism. You clearly now your stuff but don't flaunt it for no reason either. Keep it up!
Fun fact, in Kashmir (India), you can get several kilos of fresh and original safforn under 10 USD (This is because they actually farm saffron there)
I guess I'm a heathen for using a pinch of turmeric for colour.
1:38 idk how expensive it is over there but my grandma used to mix it in milk and make me chug it down as a kid and i absolutely hated it
In the USA, it’s between $300-600USD per pound or $500-1000USD per kg. Now people don’t usually buy it in those quantities, so you can get it for around $6-8 for a gram. Yeah, it isn’t cheap. I don’t know if Adam is from America though.
I was in Spain and they have seafood and chicken mixed up it was the best combination of both world
Paella doesnt havent lime beans nor pepers in the sofrito or any where in the paella.
Have you worked in the kitchen? because garrofons are used and la marca is made with onions and bell peppers
@@ChefJamesMakinson No i'm from valencia, and garrofo its not lime beans its a different tiype, and i never seen in valencia the sofrito of paella made with onions or peppers. Actually we never use onion in paella cause it makes the rice bland, we only use garlic.
@@maryp94 they may not be the same Bean but many people cannot get the exact same ingredients and sometimes at home not for the restaurants they have to substitute with inferior ingredients. The Sofrito that I've used many times here in Catalonia has always been with onions, it doesn't mean it's like that everywhere but that's what I've been taught since day one with my executive chef Antonio Sáez
@@maryp94 A garrafó looks and tastes exactly the same as a butter bean (lima bean). I also live in Valencia, speak Valencian and love paella. There are many paellas and many contain onion. Paella valenciana doesn't contain onion, but that is a very specific recipe. For example paella amb costella de porc contains onion. La paella amb ceba no és necessàriament l'arròs amb coses. ;)
Thanks for doing this reaction video uncle James.
Anyways, I think nephew Adam did a better job at making paella than the other videos that you reacted to. However, I would use some stock in my paella instead of wine. I’d also add some pimentón.
Thank you Dave! I really appreciate your support! :)
Hey Chef James, my name is Gabriel and I am a 20 year old HRM student (cheaper substitute course for the culinary arts) in the Philippines, and I was wondering what can you substitute stock with ? Cause here it can be a little hard to find and SO MANY recipes require it.
We do have bouillon cubes, can that be used instead of stock ?
That's all, love your channel and would love to reach the heights you have in cooking one day :)
if you cant make it yourself or buy the stock, then yes the bouillon cubes will work.
Love Adam!
I am going to Barcelona soon and would like to eat authentic paella. What are your restaurant recommendations?
Here are a few!
Restaurants in Barcelona
El Nacional Barcelona - 1920's style area with multiple restaurants
Antigua - good food but better with the 50% discount with the Fork app
Mirablau - good views, not the best food.
7 Portes - local Catalian food and good paellas
Botafumeiro - is famous for their seafood
Michelin stars restaurants
ABaC - Chef Jordi Cruz, 3 stars
Lasarte - 3 stars
Enoteca - Chef Paco Pérez, 2 stars
Disfrutar - 2 stars
Nectari - 1 star
The Michelin guide also has many other restaurants that they rate, not just Michelin-star places. it is a very good guide to look at when visiting a new city.
guide.michelin.com/en/es/catalunya/barcelona/restaurants
"He did very good i will definitely be watching his videos again" - never watches them again.
I have, I just haven't done a review of them yet.
I know this video is 2 yrs old. But what's you're feeling on the colorante alimentario James? Saw it when I lived in Spain but it seemed to me it was literally like MSG on crack. I don't understand it.
Can you put the particular dish that the video relates to earlier in the title so I can see it on the shortened title
Sure
Excellent content James, thank you for it. If I may offer a suggestion, I would like your take on ancient recipes as we understand them. Tasting History is a example that I also enjoy learning from. With a modern professional point of view, are there ideas or insight that can be learned or perhaps examined ? , after all, we wouldnt be where we are today without the past to learn from. Just a idea :-) I enjoy your content,keep up the work you do.
Hey! Thank you for the idea! he does a really good job and I would have to do a lot of research as some of these recipes like haggis go way back
@@ChefJamesMakinson Yes true, I can admit I like haggis :-) again thank you for your content. To learn is to expand the mind, and you teach alot.
James thank you for your Reaction videos The wife and I Love them.
Im glad to hear that!
I miss my abuela's cooking.
A lot of spanish dishes have a similar Caribbean dish, which is to be expected because they were colonized by Spain. The only difference with the Caribbean dishes is that they add a lot of hot peppers to the dish. Personally, I think this brings the dish to the next level. Also, if you put ''Caribbean'' in the title of your dish, no one will criticize you if it is spicy 😜
Question about fun-sized paella... there's a store near me that specializes in paella ingredients and pans. They sell some really tiny pans (5" diameter) that are shallow and look just like their big brothers. Is it truly practical to make a paella-for-one in a 5" paella pan?
Or is it better to use an 8" pan and simply have leftovers?
a bigger pan is better as the rice will cook evenly
...how about adding Curcuma as a cheaper replacement for safran...what would you say, Chef?
you can but its not the same flavor
Could you maybe review Royal Chef Darren McGrady's videos?
yes I will put it on the list!
Is it be ok(ish) to use tumeric instead of saffron?
turmeric is not that common, but give it try, it will give it a lot of color.
@@ChefJamesMakinson I tried it, and I prefer saffron more than turmeric in paella.
Something to keep in mind with Adam is that he focuses on recipes for the home kitchen. So what might be practical for a restaurant chef to do Adam often throws out as being too obtuse or simply not worth it for the home cook. And I tend to agree with him.
safran isnt that expensive it is 5$ for 1g of grade a+ here where I live in canada.
Does turmeric work as saffron substitute? Because it's more affordable to get turmeric than saffron 🤔
Probably wouldn't be as fragrant smell wise, but the bitterness can be worn off by other ingredients.
turmeric has a flavor that is not normally in paella
@@ChefJamesMakinson Yeah, that's the real problem really. There are other flavors within turmeric, not just the bitterness 😅
I've never eaten Paella, but there's a rice dish in my country that is pretty much yellow coconut rice, and it uses turmeric for yellow coloring. Maybe because they add pandan leaves too, and also the added coconut milk, the resulting turmeric taste is kinda masked on and therefore isn't quite as strong 🤔
I guess if you don't want to use "artificial" colorings, turmeric is kinda okay, but there are probably other natural yellow food colorings than either saffron or turmeric 🤷♂️