Season with just salt! Simple yet surprisingly delicious ♡ Paella-style rice & moist steamed stew recipe

Hello everyone. I am Ayumi Nakaganji, a chef.

Every day, you rack your brains thinking, "What should I make today?"

This time, we will introduce a recipe that is very simple, using only a few ingredients and just the simplest seasoning - salt - but will make you go "Ahh, that was delicious!"

1. Thoroughly delicious "Potatoes and chicken simmered with plenty of garlic"

Simply salt the meat and simmer it over low heat to create a nutritious, delicious dish. Cooking it slowly will give it a moist finish.

Image: Ayumi Chuganji

[Ingredients] (Serves 2)
Chicken breast...1 piece (300g)
Potatoes...150g
Onion・・・1/2
Garlic...2 cloves
A White wine (or sake) ... 2 tablespoons
A Water・・・100ml
Salt: 2/3 teaspoon (approximately 1.1% of the weight of the meat)
Sugar...two pinches
Black pepper...appropriate amount
Olive oil... a moderate amount
Parsley (chopped) - a little

<How to make>

(1) Cut the chicken breasts diagonally down the middle, opening them like a double door, then cut them in half lengthwise to an even thickness. Season with salt and sugar until evenly mixed.

(2) Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3mm slices. Cut the onion into thin wedges. Thinly slice the garlic.

(3) Put the potatoes, onion, garlic, and A into a frying pan, cover, and place on medium heat. When it starts to boil, reduce the heat slightly and simmer for about 3 minutes.

(4) Open the lid of (3) and place the breast meat skin side up. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes on low heat (imagine slowly cooking the meat). Open the lid and check the elasticity of the meat. When the center is still slightly soft, turn off the heat, cover and cook for about 5 minutes with residual heat.

(5) Place the potatoes and onions in a bowl, cut the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces, and place it on top. Sprinkle with black pepper and parsley, and drizzle with olive oil.

The cooking time is short, so the key is to cut the potatoes thinly so they cook easily and avoid overlapping as much as possible. Cook the chicken breast a little before adding it to soften it.

It's also nice to sprinkle a little rock salt on it when eating.

2: Full of umami: "Paella-style saffron rice with grilled mushrooms and bacon"

Without using any seasonings such as consomme, you can make a paella-style dish using the delicious flavors of mushrooms and bacon.

Adding a generous amount of black pepper gives it a spicy, grown-up flavour, and it goes well with sauteed chicken or combined with the first recipe.

Saffron isn't used very often, but it's definitely something you should try to make use of.

Image: Ayumi Chuganji

Ingredients (serves 3-4)
Rice・・・2 cups
Mushrooms (mix of shiitake, maitake, enoki, etc.)...300g
Bacon・・・120g
Garlic (minced)・・・1 tsp
Saffron...about 40 stalks
1 bay leaf
Salt...1 teaspoon
Olive oil...1/2 tablespoon
Black pepper...appropriate amount
Your favorite citrus fruit (if available) - appropriate amount

<How to make>

(1) Remove the stems from the mushrooms and break or cut them into bite-sized pieces. Finely chop the bacon. Soak the saffron in 420 ml of water (not included in the recipe) to bring out its color.

(2) In a frying pan, add the mushrooms without adding any oil, spread them out, sprinkle with salt (not included in the recipe), and place on medium heat. Cook slowly without touching the mushrooms too much to remove moisture.

(3) When the mushrooms have evaporated and their surfaces are dry, turn off the heat.

(4) Add olive oil and garlic to a rice cooker and heat. When the aroma comes out, add the bacon and stir fry.

(5) When the bacon is crispy, add the rice (no need to wash it) and stir fry quickly until the surface is coated with oil.

(6) Add all the water with the salt, bay leaves, and saffron, and when it comes to a boil, stir the whole from the bottom several times, cover, and simmer over very low heat for 13 minutes.

(7) Once cooked, add the mushrooms from (3), mix well, and steam for about 10 minutes. Finish by sprinkling black pepper on top.
*If the rice is quite hard at this point, add about 1 tablespoon of water and cook for a little longer.

(8) Serve in a bowl and add a squeeze of citrus fruit to taste.

Image: Ayumi Chuganji

The key is to add the grilled mushrooms later, rather than cooking them together, as this will give the dish a more three-dimensional flavor and texture.

Cook the rice until it is fluffy, like paella!

I often receive salt as gifts, and I often buy it myself when I travel, so I have many different kinds of salt at home. Speciality salts from various regions are a little pricey, but if you cook with your favorite slightly better quality salt, the flavor will improve dramatically. Please try cooking with special salt. (Text by Chuganji Ayumi)
*This article contains information current at the time of publication.

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