【Camping Meal Research】Challenging the difficult "Paella" with a wood stove + cast iron paella pan

Despite trying numerous times, I could never get the paella right. That's where the wood stove comes into play. If I cook it like in an oven, it should turn out crispy and aromatic. It's just an idea, but will it really taste good?

I have never been able to make paella successfully, so I’m taking on the challenge with the help of a wood stove

Until now, the difficulty of getting a good fire has hampered my efforts, and no matter how many times I’ve tried, the paella never turns out well. Therefore, I decided to give it another try using the wood stove, which allows for heating from all directions within the oven. This should prevent the rice from being undercooked and create a nice, fluffy texture. The ingredients are as follows.

Fresh scallops 5 pieces
Small shrimp 2 pieces
1/5 of a bell pepper
1/4 of a lemon
A pinch of saffron
2g of bouillon
Half a go of rice
1/2 clove of garlic
150cc of water
1 tablespoon of white wine
Salt to taste

Since there is no need to cut any seafood, the preparation involves just cutting the vegetables. The tomato is blanched and cut into small cubes of about 1cm, and the bell pepper is sliced into strips of about 1cm. Then, mince the garlic and cut the lemon.

Saffron, which adds the signature yellow color to paella, was soaked in the wine to extract its color. It has a strong flavor, and if too much is added, it can throw off the balance of flavors, so even this felt like too much.

Once this preparation is done, the next step is to ignite the wood stove.

The wood stove can be easily prepared by adding logs and using a fire starter.

The wood stove is convenient because if you put in the firewood and igniter, it easily ignites and becomes suitable for cooking. Perhaps due to the fact that I've been using it quite a lot since buying it, the oil stains are quite noticeable.

I will wait until it reaches a suitable ember state for cooking.

An 18cm cast iron paella pan is easy to use

and I've prepared an 18cm cast iron paella pan to fit the size of the stove. I like its appearance, and it seems just right for grilling hamburgers and meats in addition to paella.

First, I will sauté garlic and tomatoes on the cooking board. It's better if the raw smell disappears, so I cooked it down until it turned into a paste like tomato sauce. I found that with a thick cast iron pot, it's possible to sauté at high temperatures even with the relatively low temperature of the cooking board. This combination seems to broaden the range of my repertoire.

Once I've added all the ingredients except for the lemon, I place them inside the stove. Unlike regular rice cooking, for paella, a fluffy texture is best, so I decided it’s better not to include excess moisture. I was unsure whether to wash the rice or not, but this time I decided to add it without washing.

It was the same with other dishes, but the most challenging part is putting it in the narrow oven. If you reduce the amount of charcoal too much, the temperature drops, and if there is too much, the pot becomes difficult to fit. After making some space to place the pot inside, it started to simmer nicely within a few minutes.

I decided to take it out when the moisture was gone and a bit of char had formed on the edge of the pot.

Just placing it in the embers of the wood stove yields "astonishing deliciousness."

Once I took the pot out and added a lemon, it was complete! It looked fantastic. The biggest concern was how well the rice was cooked. Hesitantly, I decided to take a spoonful.

And the taste I was curious about was, indeed, "astonishingly delicious."

The rice was thoroughly cooked yet had a nice texture, finishing closer to al dente as you would with pasta. The aroma of saffron and the umami of the ingredients spread out, making it the best result I’ve achieved so far. If made with a strong seafood broth instead of powdered bouillon, I think it would be even more perfect.

This has a quality that ranks among the top three in the author's camping meal recipes.

When you squeeze the lemon, the acidity and aroma enhance the flavor even more. Cooking on a wood stove is fantastic! I'm really glad I took on this challenge. Bringing it to a seaside campsite and saying, "Fresh seafood in the paella," would also be amazing. Camping during the cold season with a wood stove is highly recommended.

Interview / Text by Kazuma Tanaka

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