I didn’t plan this dish. It just happened. We were at the beach last weekend and the market was brimming with seafood, so I lost control and ended up with shrimp/prawns, mud crabs, squid, fish, etc. and decided to see if we could pull together a paella for us and the crew. Thankfully, there was a kilo of spanish short-grain rice vacuum packed in the cupboard and frozen sofritto and some fresh chorizos… We threw the paellera on the charcoal fire, started to saute the chorizo and only then realized there was no pork or chicken in the house. It was only a mild panic, as seafood and chorizo is an excellent match, but I wanted to add more “laman” or viand if possible. I spied a defrosted package of Zubuchon in the fridge and thought, “why not?” and quickly pulled off the skin and cut up the meaty pieces into large chunks of cooked pork…
…we added the lechon to the chorizo, added paprika and cooked the paella as we normally would, with lots of sofrito to flavor the rice, a chicken broth and a huge amount of seafood on top. The fire was a bit too strong, so we burned the bottom of the paella a little more than what would be described as tutong or socarrat, but it was a HUGE, HUGE hit. The lechon was flavorful in its own right and it stood up to the rest of the paella. It wasn’t overly fatty and it worked well with the chorizos, shrimp, etc.
It wasn’t planned, and I have never had a paella with bits of lechon in it, but I can tell you it’s worth trying the next time you have meaty leftover lechon pieces. And it sounds so festive and so luxurious. So maybe you saw it here first. :) While others sell lechons stuffed with paella, or lechons combined with a paella, I haven’t heard of lechon in a paella. :)
I dread my next blood test and cholesterol count…
42 Responses
Hi MM – I will pray that your lab tests come out OK! :) :).
I plan to cook this once I feel better in between my dialysis sessions! Cheers always and God bless!
Your Zubuchon is like the LBD (little black dress) – so versatile and such a life/dish saver!
tna, hahaha, actually, since we have it in stock often, it does end up in lots of experiments, many of which do work and some will never be mentioned on the blog. :) Carol, if I could grant you a day of eating whatever you wanted I would do it in an instant. Our thoughts are with you and the treatments…
wow. 2 of the most wonderful dishes together. wooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! winner!
hmmmmmmmm… (day dreaming)
Lucky Crew!
such a newbie here, been a reader day before you supposedly closing this blog, and now im so happy that you are back…the food posted was yummy..want to try some..MM hope your lab test result will be good….God Bless you and your family…more posts to come.:)
sarap sarap!!!!
WOW!! This looks so good!! :)
I am now craving for some!!
MM – do you guys ship Zabuchon to Manila ?:)
omg ang sarap nito :)
Looks so yummy! And since you mention blood work ups it might interest you and the others——–I’m reproducing the text message I got from St. Luke’s Global
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Who doesn’t want discounts and promos….whatever it is??? ;)
This post made me hungry… :)
the real challenge is finding zubuchon leftover or whats left of it. x_X
hayyyy…ginutom mo naman ako MM!! Ang sarap nito! I have to try and cook this next time! =)
Today I cooked seafood paella based on your earlier post of sofrito and paella a la marketman, absolutely a hit to my Singaporean officemates together with barbecue pork, chicken inasal and relyenong bangus. They said they didn’t know that Filipinos have such a good dish. Sad to say the Filipino restaurant here in Singapore doesn’t have the quality that can compete with Thai, chinese, Japanese, Indian and other Asian cuisine :(
Looks like a good combination, will definitely try this one out!
Genius! This is definitely a winner in my book. I love to find new uses for leftover lechon since I am actually not that big a fan of paksiw, although, as you may know, a BIG fan of lechon!
Oh. My. Word! Lechon and paella, together at last! During special occasions, we’d have lechon and paella but never together. Nonetheless, I would have them in the same plate. This looks like a great thing to try and make at home. First on the list: a very small paellera (8 inches maybe?) as there are only two grown-ups in my current household. Yes, I count. =)
Sell the paella and they will come…..
whoaa, it seems riffs on the zubuchon never end! the paella combination is such a great idea im surprised i haven’t seen it done before.
made in foodie heaven!!!
lechon pieces never looked this good hehe! ;)
Hi MM! Just dropping by to say that I’ll be in Cebu this weekend and I can’t wait to try the zubuchon! :D
hahaha! you better drink your anti cholesterol pill, MM. That is one paella that I gotta try!
it looks oh so good! am a real paella-lover. nice work MM!
I wonder what’s the difference between removing and including the Zubuchon’s skin? Would it be a bit chewy like when you cook lechon paksiw?
Vyan, yes, the skin would probably become chewy. One option is to fry the skin until crisp and serve it sprinkled on top of the paella just as you serve it. :)
That crispy skin as topping sounds better than chewy parts on the Paella. Will suggest to the cook and hope this works as yummy as what you guys had by the beach. Thanks!
i’ve always thought of paella as the Spanish fried rice so it means anything in the pantry or ref is fine to put in. Lechon with seafood sounds delicious.
Saraaaaaaap!!!!
I want that Paellera MM :)
whoa!!!! i want i want i want!!! looks great MM!! oh, what i can give just to have a taste of that! ;)
Mr.MM, THAT PICTURE LOOKS SO YUMMY!
I have tasted the Lydia’s Lechon with paella and was not too impressed about it.
Will find time to make this version next time we are at the beach!
MM,
Your recipes and photos always leave a smile on my face. Happiness on a plate! My husband is also used to my last minute meals using whatever is in the fridge too.
I haven’t been back in Cebu, so I haven’t had the chance to try the Zubuchon, but my friends swear by it! There is a Vietnamese restaurant that makes lechon Filipino style. Although it’s not very close to the flavors of Cebu lechon, it’s enough to make Pinoys here in Dallas moan in ecstasy when slices are dipped in Suka Pinakurat.
I wonder if the pork still tasted like lechon? It would be nice to have lechon AND paella.
I shall duplicate lechon paella ala marketman because it looks yummy and the ingredients seem to blend.Also, I have been researching all of your prior postings on LECHONS. Would you please give me a more detailed stuffing recipe for a 40 pound pig (18 kilos)? I am blessed to have access to practically all types of herbs and spices here in the San Francisco Bay Area.And I am going to attempt my first lechon on Sunday for a friend’s birthday.I also found a friend who owns a mechanical/automated lechon roasting apparatus and borrowed it.I am going to Durham’s farm to pick my pig.Since I am still learning how to cook I am not good at guesstimating.I have read all of your lechon articles so I have an idea on the steps.But specificity would help a rookie like me.
way back around 2004, i’ve cooked paella con lechon while i was working at the richmonde hotel, it’s a part of the cycle menu in the lunch buffet.. but we use lechon kawali instead of the roasted version
that is exactly the type of food I shouldn’t be looking at 3 in the morning an hour before bedtime.. :)
Anyway it is such a coincidence coz I was planning to make paella this weekend for the boyfee.. Unfortunately, I don’t have that paella pan you are using.. Would it still achieve the same effect if I use a wok or a thick kawali or do I really have to buy paellera?
grae, you really kind of need a flat pan… You could make it in a wide flat bottomed wok maybe but with a bit of risk…
where can i buy paella seasoning here in metro manila?