Best Bomba Rice: The Makings of a Great Paella!

What’s the best bomba rice? And just what is bomba rice anyway . . . and why is it so great in paella or arroz con pollo?

Bomba rice is shaped like a, well, bomb—short and round, with a pearly sheen.

Grown in the eastern regions of Spain, bomba rice is famous for its ability to absorb moisture—it can absorb nearly three its weight in liquid! Hence it is a favorite for paella and other Spanish dishes.

Thanks to a good amount of starch, bomba rice isn’t sticky . . . and remains firm in texture when it soaks up liquid. It does expand in width, so it appears round when cooked.

Here’s what bomba rice looks like when it is uncooked:

 

Best Bomba Rice uncooked

To find the best bomba rice, we cooked up batches of arroz con pollo and then started tasting. Here is what that looked like:

Best Bomba Rice arroz con pollo

Yes, it was delicious. After all that food, here are the winners of our bomba rice taste tests!

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