Paella: Tradition, Timing, and the Version I Love Anyway

During one of my Spanish lessons, paella came up—not just how to cook it, but how Spaniards actually think about it. That’s when I learned something unexpected.

Paella, traditionally from Valencia, wasn’t originally a seafood dish at all. It often included rabbit (sometimes chicken), cooked outdoors with rice, local vegetables, and whatever was available. Practical food, made by farmers, for daytime meals.

And here’s another surprise: Spaniards don’t usually eat paella at night.

My brother-in-law, who’s Spanish, casually mentioned that paella is a lunch dish. Not dinner. Lunch. That explains a lot.

When Japanese travelers go to Spain, we almost always ask, “Where can we eat paella?”—usually in the evening. And then we’re confused when it’s hard to find. Outside of tourist-focused restaurants, many places simply don’t serve it unless we search carefully.

In Japan, the story changed. Rabbit isn’t something you can easily buy here, so paella evolved into more seafood. Shrimp, clams, mussels, squid—lots of them. Purists might say it’s not authentic(but this discussion has been happening in Spain too).

Honestly? I love it.

That “wrong” version—the one overflowing with seafood—is exactly the paella I crave. Recently, I cooked paella at home with my sister under her instruction, who’s married to a Spanish. In Japan, paella can easily drift toward something like takikomi gohan, cooked rice with many ingredients, which is comforting, but not what I’m aiming for.

So I bought a proper paella pan, imagined future dinner tables while carrying it home, and committed. A little impractical. A little dreamy. Very intentional.

Food travels. Traditions shift. And sometimes the version you love most isn’t the original—it’s the one shaped by place, availability, and personal taste. That tension is what makes food culture so fascinating, and it’s exactly the kind of story we share on our Tokyo food tours and in my cooking classes.

The paella still needs practice.

But the pan is ready.

And lunchtime is officially reserved.