Paelya () or paella (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

) is a

Philippine The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

dish adapted from the

Valencian Valencian can refer to: * Something related to the Valencian Community ( Valencian Country) in Spain * Something related to the city of Valencia * Something related to the province of Valencia in Spain * Something related to the old Kingdom of ...

paella Paella (, , , , ; ) is a rice dish originally from the Valencian Community. ''Paella'' is regarded as one of the community's identifying symbols. It is one of the best-known dishes in Spanish cuisine. The dish takes its name from the wide, sha ...

''. However, it differs significantly in its use of native

glutinous rice Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated plants or domesticated animals. Domesticated animals tend to be smaller and less aggressive than their wild counterparts; they may also hav ...

(''malagkít''), giving it a soft and sticky texture, unlike the ''

al dente In cooking, al dente (, ; ) pasta or rice is cooked to be firm to the bite. The term also extends to firmly-cooked vegetables. In contemporary Italian cooking, it is considered to be the ideal consistency for pasta and involves a brief cooking ...

'' texture favoured in Spanish ''paella''. It is also characteristically topped with sliced eggs. Filipino ''paelya'' does not use

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...

, but is instead coloured with ''atsuete'' (

anatto Annatto ( or ) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree ('' Bixa orellana''), native to tropical parts of the Americas. It is often used to impart a yellow to red-orange color to foods, but sometime ...

), ''luyang diláw'' (

turmeric Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...

), or ''kasubhâ'' (

safflower Safflower (''Carthamus tinctorius'') is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant in the family Asteraceae. It is one of the world's oldest crops; today, it is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds. ...

). ''Paelya'' is also a general term for similar dishes in the Philippines, regardless of the ingredients used. It includes ''

arroz a la valenciana Arroz a la valenciana (''Valencian-style rice''; in Valencian, ''arròs a la valenciana'') or Valencian rice is a name for a multitude of rice dishes from diverse cuisines of the world, which originate from the rice-cooking tradition of the Valenc ...

'' (usually made with chicken and ''

chorizo de bilbao Chorizo de Bilbao, also known as Chorizo Bilbao, is a type of Philippine pork and beef dry sausage. It was originally produced by Spanish Filipino Vicente Genato of the Genato Commercial Corporation in Manila and the name is a genericized trade ...

''), ''

bringhe Paelya () or paella (Spanish) is a Philippine rice dish adapted from the Valencian ''paella''. However, it differs significantly in its use of native glutinous rice (''malagkít''), giving it a soft and sticky texture, unlike the ''al dente'' ...

'' (made with

coconut milk Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingred ...

), and ''paella negra'' (made with squid ink).

Etymology

The name is derived from Spanish ''

'', but is pronounced with lleismo. Like most occurrences of the ll

digraph Digraph, often misspelled as diagraph, may refer to: * Digraph (orthography), a pair of characters used together to represent a single sound, such as "nq" in Hmong RPA * Ligature (writing), the joining of two letters as a single glyph, such as " ...

Philippine languages The Philippine languages or Philippinic are a proposed group by R. David Paul Zorc (1986) and Robert Blust (1991; 2005; 2019) that include all the languages of the Philippines and northern Sulawesi, Indonesia—except Sama–Bajaw (language ...

, it is pronounced with jrather than the Spanish � Hence the nativized spelling of "''paelya''".

Description

Filipino ''paelya'' is prepared similarly to its ancestors, the

'' and the

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

'', but consists of more indigenous ingredients. Instead of ''arroz bomba'', ''paelya'' favors high-quality, local

heirloom In popular usage, an heirloom is something that has been passed down for generations through family members. Examples are a family bible, antiques, weapons or jewellery. The term originated with the historical principle of an heirloom in ...

rice varieties, like

Ifugao Ifugao, officially the Province of Ifugao (; ), is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Lagawe and it borders Benguet to the west, Mountain Province to the north, Isabela t ...

''tinawon'', which has similar characteristics to ''arroz bomba''. Imported

long-grain rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much less commonly, ' ...

(like

jasmine rice Jasmine rice (; ; ) is a long-grain variety of fragrant rice (also known as aromatic rice). Its fragrance, reminiscent of ''pandan'' ('' Pandanus amaryllifolius'') and popcorn, results from the rice plant's natural production of aroma compounds, ...

) are also used. This is mixed with

(''malagkít'') in varying ratios, ranging from a fourth of the regular rice to equal parts, depending on how sticky the final product is desired to be. In place of

, ''paelya'' uses

annatto Annatto ( or ) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (''Bixa orellana''), native to tropics, tropical parts of the Americas. It is often used to impart a yellow to red-orange color to foods, but ...

(''atsuete''),

(''luyang dilaw''), or

(''kasubhâ''). Sometimes, a knot of ''pandán'' (

screwpine ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with about 578 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. Common names include pandan, screw palm and screw pine. The genus is classified ...

) leaves is added, infusing the dish with a

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

-like scent. Some variations will also use

tomato sauce Tomato sauce (; ; ) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes. In some countries the term refers to a sauce to be served as part of a dish, in others it is a condiment. Tomatoes have a rich flavor, high water content, s ...

in the ''

sofrito (), (), (), (), () or () is a basic preparation in Mediterranean cuisine, Mediterranean, Latin American cuisine, Latin American, Spanish cuisine, Spanish, Italian cuisine, Italian and Portuguese cuisine, Portuguese cooking. It typically ...

'' (''ginisa'') to color and flavor the dish. Meat ''paelya'' typically use

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

, and

smoked Smoking is the process of flavoring, browning, cooking, or preserving food, particularly meat, fish and tea, by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. In Europe, alder is the traditional smoking wood, but ...

spicy sausages. The sausages used in ''paelya'' can be any of the native smoked ''lóngganisa'', but it is usually ''

'' (which despite its name, is a native Filipino sausage). Seafood ''paelya'' typically include

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

s (''tahóng''),

blue crab Blue crab may refer to: * Blue Crab 11, an American sailboat design * ''Callinectes sapidus ''Callinectes sapidus'' (from the Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek ,"beautiful" + , "swimmer", and Latin , "savory"), the blue crab, Atlantic blue ...

(''alimasag''), large

prawns Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (members of the order of decapods), some of which are edible. The term ''prawn''Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature's most ...

(''hipon''), clams (''kabibì''), and

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

(''pusít''). The meat and seafood versions are commonly mixed together. The typical vegetables and spices used include

bell pepper The bell pepper (also known as sweet pepper, paprika, pepper, capsicum or, in some parts of the US midwest, mango) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in diff ...

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

es,

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild ...

green pea Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum ...

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...

scallion Scallions (also known as green onions and spring onions) are edible vegetables of various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions. Their close relatives include garlic, shallots, leeks, chive ...

paprika Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers, traditionally ''capsicum annuum''. It can have varying levels of Pungency, heat, but the peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce ...

, and

raisin A raisin is a Dried fruit, dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Afri ...

s. It is usually garnished with

calamansi Calamansi (''Citrus'' × ''microcarpa''), also known as calamondin, Philippine lime, or Philippine lemon, is a citrus hybrid cultivated predominantly in the Philippines. It is native to the Philippines, parts of Indonesia (Borneo, Sumatra, and ...

and sliced

hard-boiled egg Boiled eggs are typically from a chicken, and are cooked with their shells unbroken, usually by immersion in boiling water. Hard-boiled or hard-cooked eggs are cooked so that the egg white and egg yolk both solidify, while soft-boiled eggs may l ...

s. Other native condiments and ingredients can also be added, like

lemongrass ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, oily heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some ...

(''tanglád''), ''patís'' (

fish sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, L ...

), and '' bagoóng alamáng'' (shrimp paste). ''Paelya'' is usually cooked in a ''paellera'', a shallow and wide pan with two handles. Though it can also be cooked in a ''kawalì'' (

wok A wok () is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan of Chinese origin. It is believed to be derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in Greater China, and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as being ...

). Due to the complexity of the dish and its ingredients, ''paelya'' is rarely served in everyday meals. It is considered luxurious, reserved for special occasions. ''Paelya'' is commonly served on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

during the ''

Nochebuena Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

'' (Christmas dinner).

Variants

Because the dish is easy to modify, there are numerous variants of ''paelya'', depending on the ingredients at hand. They include the following:

Arroz valenciana

''Arroz valenciana'' or ''arroz a la valenciana'' is sometimes regarded as a separate dish. It originates from the

adaptation of ''paella''. But like other Filipino ''paelyas'', it uses glutinous rice. It primarily uses chicken and ''chorizo de bilbao'', but can also include pork or beef.

Biringi

''Biringi'' (also known as ''bringhi'', ''beringhe'', ''biringhe'', ''biringye'', ''biringyi'' or ''kalame manuc'') is a ''paelya'' variant from the province of

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...

. It is similar to the original Valencian dish, but uses rice and glutinous rice mixtures cooked in ''gata'' (

) with saffron or turmeric (''ange'' in

Kapampangan Kapampangan, Capampañgan or Pampangan may refer to: *Kapampangan people, of the Philippines *Kapampangan language Kapampangan, Capampáñgan, or Pampangan, is an Austronesian language, and one of the eight major languages of the Philippines. ...

), giving it a distinct flavour and colour. It typically uses chicken, along with bell peppers, green peas, carrots, raisins, and ''chorizo de bilbao''. However, it can also be made with seafood and other meats. It is also characteristically topped with sliced boiled eggs. It is sometimes cooked in

banana leaves The banana leaf is the leaf of the banana plant, which may produce up to 40 leaves in a growing cycle. The leaves have a wide range of applications because they are large, flexible, waterproof and decorative. They are used for cooking, wrappin ...

for added aroma. Pulpul_Kapampangan6

''Biringi'' is

precolonial Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

in origin, and while the name is a

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...

of those for

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

biryani Biryani () is a mixed rice dish originating in South Asia, made with rice, meat (chicken, goat, lamb, beef) or seafood (prawns or fish), and spices. To cater to vegetarians, the meat or seafood can be substituted with vegetables or pane ...

dishes, it has since merged with the Spanish ''paella''. The original version made without the chorizo, eggs, or other ''paelya'' ingredients is differentiated as ''nasing biringye'', which is more similar to the ''nasi briyani'' of

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Paella al horno con queso

A baked variant of ''paelya'' topped with cheese, chicken breasts, and roasted

Paella de adobo

A relatively modern adaptation, developed by Alba Restaurante Español, a notable Spanish-Filipino restaurant in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

established in 1954. It is a fusion dish, combining Spanish ''paella'' with Filipino ''adobo''.

Paella parillada

This variant, named for the word for “grill”, is topped with grilled or barbecued meat or seafood.

Paella negra

''Paella negra'', also called ''arroz negro'', is a variant that uses

squid ink Cephalopod ink is a dark-coloured or luminous ink released into water by most species of cephalopod, usually as an escape mechanism. All cephalopods, with the exception of the Nautilidae and the Cirrina (deep-sea octopuses), are able to release ...

and

calamari Squid is eaten in many cuisines; in English, the culinary name calamari is often used for squid dishes.''Oxford English Dictionary'', 3rd edition, 2002''s.v.''/ref> There are many ways to prepare and cook squid. Fried squid is common in the ...

. The dish is characteristically black, hence the name. It is most similar to the Valencian and Catalan dish ''

arròs negre ''Arròs negre'' or ''arrós negre'' (, ) is a Valencian and Catalan dish made with cuttlefish (or squid) and rice, somewhat similar to seafood paella. Some call it ''paella negra'' (''"black paella"''), although it is traditionally not called ...

'', but like other Filipino ''paelyas'', it uses glutinous rice.

Paella sotanghon

A Chinese-influenced variant of ''paelya'' using glass noodles (''sótanghon'') instead of rice.

Paella à la Cordillera

A giant “Paella ala

Cordillera A cordillera is a chain or network of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly used in physical geogra ...

” was prepared by 10 chefs and 40 culinary students from the

University of Baguio The University of Baguio (UB; ), formerly Baguio Technical and Commercial Institute (Baguio Tech), is a private, Filipino, multidisciplinary, autonomous university in Baguio, Philippines. It was founded by Fernando Gonzaga Bautista and Rosa Ca ...

. The

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

Paelya's ingredients include 100 kilos Pasil's traditional “chong-ak” rice a variety of “unoy” with sweet, herbal aroma (recognized by Slow Food), mixed with native ingredients like

Benguet Benguet (), officially the Province of Benguet ('';'' ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the southern tip of the Cordillera Administrative Region in the island of Luzon. Its capital cit ...

's 3 kilos

oyster mushroom ''Pleurotus'' is a genus of Gill (mushroom), gilled mushrooms which includes one of the most widely eaten mushrooms, ''Pleurotus ostreatus, P. ostreatus''. Species of ''Pleurotus'' may be called oyster, abalone, or tree mushrooms, and are ...

, 5 kilos

shiitake The shiitake (; ''Chinese/black mushroom'' or ''Lentinula edodes'') is a macrofungus native to East Asia, which is cultivated and consumed around the globe. Taxonomy The fungus was first described scientifically as '' Agaricus edodes'' by ...

, 10 kilos broccoli, 10 kilos carrots, 10 kilos

green bean Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean ('' Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedali ...

, 10 kilos cauliflower, 2 kilos flat parsley, 5 kilos lemon, 30 canned tomatoes, 30 kilos onions, 10 kilos garlic, 40 kilos red and green bell peppers, 40 kilos native chicken, 10 kilos salt, 15 kilos "kini-ing" chicken from

Bakun, Benguet Bakun, officially the Municipality of Bakun, (; ), is a municipality in the province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 14,535 people. History During the Spanish Period, Bakun was a '' rancheria'' of ...

, or "kini-ing" smoked pork ("Etag"-

Igorot The indigenous peoples of the Cordillera in northern Luzon, Philippines, often referred to by the exonym Igorot people, or more recently, as the Cordilleran peoples, are an ethnic group composed of nine main ethnolinguistic groups whose domains ...

or "Kinuday"-

Ibaloi The Ibaloi (also spelled Ibaloy; Ibaloi: ''ivadoy'', ) are an indigenous ethnic group found in Benguet province of the northern Philippines. ''Ibaloi'' is derived from ''i-'', a prefix signifying "pertaining to" and ''badoy'' or house, togethe ...

) from native black pigs,10 kilos “pinunog” (

Kiangan Kiangan, officially the Municipality of Kiangan is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Ifugao, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 17,691 people. It is the oldest ...

) and “

pinuneg Pinuneg is a Filipino blood sausage originating from the Igorots The indigenous peoples of the Cordillera in northern Luzon, Philippines, often referred to by the exonym Igorot people, or more recently, as the Cordilleran peoples, are an et ...

” (Benguet), 20 kilograms Abra

longaniza Longaniza (, or ) is a Spanish sausage ( embutido) similar to a chorizo and also closely associated with the Portuguese linguiça. Its defining characteristics are interpreted differently from region to region. It is popular in the cuisines ...

, 2 kilos

button mushroom ''Agaricus bisporus'', commonly known as the cultivated mushroom, is a basidiomycete mushroom native to grasslands in Eurasia and North America. It is cultivated in more than 70 countries and is one of the most commonly and widely consumed ...

, 4 kilos

Bouillon cube A bouillon cube (also known as a stock cube) is dehydrated broth or stock formed into a small cube or other cuboid shape. The most common format is a cube about wide. It is typically made from dehydrated vegetables or meat stock, a small port ...

, a kilo of

spice and 15 liters of olive oil.

References

{{Filipino food Glutinous rice dishes Philippine rice dishes Christmas food