Without wanting to dishearten anyone: creating a good rice dish is a more complicated task than it may seem. Achieving the precise point of doneness requires a certain cooking experience, and for the table to praise its flavor, good ingredients and a handful of advice.
1) The rice. The market is a great showcase of varieties but they are not all made for the creation of this dish. Don’t let yourself get carried away with exotic names that you have never had in your pantry. If you want to lock in an applause, use bomba rice, a variety that absorbs the broth very well and will not play any tricks on you if you get distracted for a few minutes while cooking.
2) The sauce. The flavor base is as important as the variety of cereal chosen. A good sauce will make the difference between a correct rice dish and a memorable rice dish. Its basic ingredients: good virgin olive oil, onion and pepper. If you want to put in something more, go ahead, but these are the key ingredients.
3) The broth. Misfortunes always come in threes. Without a good broth all your culinary efforts will go to waste. If you are going to make it yourself, always use mineral water, never tap water, however good it may seem. Thus you ensure flavor and quality. If you choose to buy it, bear in mind that you will find fumets or very successful fish broths on the market, as with meat and vegetable bases.
4) The meat, the fish, the vegetables. Whatever the rice you use, try to make sure you use fresh ingredients of the season. The fish, above all, if it is frozen, loses a lot of water and can ruin the dish. Whatever you use, take care of the pieces that you purchase. If you don’t want the price to go through the roof, ask your habitual seller for the more economic options or opt for reducing the quantity but never the quality.
