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What's the difference between paella and jambalaya? I did google it but results are not satisfying. (Lucky 32 has a good jambalaya on the lunch menu. Just a little greasy and a little spicy but not much.)
I think they are similar dishes, but with different spices, different ingredients. Paella is going to have different spices, saffron, paprika etc., also different type of rice — usu a short grain, no spicy sausage. Jambalaya has long grain rice, chicken, andouille sausage, sometimes crayfish or fish, but often not, spicy stuff. Risotto is another dish with similarities.
The two dishes are quite similar in that they are both rice dishes that typically incorporate a variety of proteins and get flavor from vegetables and spices.
The finished dishes are also similar visually, with comparable proportions of rice to protein. The flavors are very different, though. Whereas the seasoning combination of onion, celery, bell pepper, cayenne pepper and thyme give jambalaya its Creole/Cajun flavors, paella has a Mediterranean flavor profile owing to lemon, paprika, saffron and olives.
Totally different. I've eaten both in their respective 'homeland' and cooked both at home.
The spices are entirely different. Both include onion and garlic, of course.
Jambalaya is tomato based with thyme. You can visually see chunks of tomato, green pepper and sometimes celery. Some use cayenne to make it spicy. It's more 'soupy, than paella, and uses andouille sausage (sometimes substituted by smoked sausage - yuck) and usually shrimp.
Made properly, paella will have a crust on the bottom as a result of cooking the rice a bit 'too much'. This is called the sacarrat (spelling?) and is considered to be the special part of paella. This is why you have the wide bottom on a paella pan. Paella spicing is based on saffron, chicken broth, paprika and a base of tomato flavor, but you will not see chunks of tomato. There are hundreds of authentic variations (including black squid ink paella), but traditionally it would include bone in dark meat chicken, Spanish DRIED sausage, strips of red bell pepper or pimento and BOMBA rice (often substituted with Arborio rice for risotto), and is not spicy hot. Shellfish is often included. The final product is dry, not like jambalaya. Lemon slices are often placed on top for presentation and a bit of flavor.
The traditional and 'best' way to cook paella is over a fire. Using a stove to or oven makes it really hard to get that sacarrat. I've never gotten much of it, and plenty of restaurants don't either.
Jambalaya is not always tomato-based. Cajun Jambalaya is brown. New Orleans or red jambalaya has tomatoes. Kind of an Eastern NC vs Western NC BBQ thing. Both are authentic. It almost always has andouille or another spicy sausage. The Gumbo Pages is my favorite resource for New Orleans and Cajun cooking: https://www.gumbopages.com/food/jambalaya.html
What's the difference between paella and jambalaya? I did google it but results are not satisfying. (Lucky 32 has a good jambalaya on the lunch menu. Just a little greasy and a little spicy but not much.)
one is Spanish
one is Cajun/Creole
paella can include a wide variety of ingredients, but should have saffron.
jambalaya, when you find it spicy, is Cajun, and includes more chili.
paella should always have a certain crust to the rice, whereas jambalaya doesn't
It seems there many variations of paella, so I don't know which one is "authentic." I've had it at a Spanish restaurant in DC and a bistro in Brest, France. Don't remember much about them. My wife and I went to Second Empire recently and she ordered it. It was mainly a seafood version with some chicken and sausage. She said it was excellent. As the dish spread from Spain throughout the world, it seems there are now many regional and local variations.
Jambalaya is relatively easy for a home cook like myself, unlike paella. My Mother’s family is from New Orleans, so I grew up on the Creole version from my Maw Maw’s recipe. It had the “Holy Trinity” of onions, celery, and bell peppers, along with tomatoes, and spicy andouille sausage with long grain rice. I made a version this year for Mardi Gras that included some yellow peppers and a purple mini jalapeño. Turned out well, but took a bit more time than using a Zatarains box (which aren’t half bad, but don’t tell Maw Maw—rest her soul...). My kids still won’t eat either.
Many folks (this thread is definitely an exception here in the Triangle) seem to forget that Creole cooking is a cultural mix of French, Afro-Caribbean, and Spanish, so I guess Jambalaya could be viewed as a local variant of Paella.
Now if I can only get some momentum behind Mardi Gras in Raleigh. Its appalling what bakeries try to pass off as a proper King Cake around here.
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