Canned Tuna Paella

Canned tuna paella was first launched by San Marino.  Then, Century Tuna launched their own version of canned tuna paella.  So which is better?

I’ve been curious to try this canned tuna paella in the market.  However, it set me back not to try it because I can’t imagine eating canned rice.  I told myself that maybe it was just a hype, but to this day, canned tuna paella is still in the market.  So maybe, it’s worth to try these canned tuna paella.  There is another brand of tuna paella in the market that comes in a pouch.  I think it was 555 brand.  Anyway, I will just be reviewing the canned version and Century Tuna and San Marino Tuna comes into my mind or they are just the ones who had this product.

Century Tuna Paella

Century Tuna Paella contains cooked rice, tomato sauce, tuna flakes, vegetable oil, soy protein concentrate, onion, green peas, carrots, bell pepper, sugar, iodized salt, seasonings and spices.  It comes in an easy to open can, which is a plus factor for me.  If you’re like me, I prefer the easy to open canned food than the traditional canned food.  It’s less hassle and no need to exert too much effort to open it.

When I opened the can there was these three strips of tuna on top of it.  To be honest, it does not look appetizing.  It also has this light red orange color and it looks oily.  As I start to dig in my fork, it has this stiff jelly-like texture, which is maybe due to the starch content of the rice.  The feeling is very unpleasant and it had me thinking is this really edible.

So these canned tuna paellas are advertised as ready to eat meal, right?  So I took my first bite and it had be cringed a bit.  The rice is somewhat undercooked.  The center of the rice bits is somewhat still crunchy which I think affect the real flavor of the food.  There is a subtle hint of fishy taste which is to be expected since it has tuna as main ingredient.  You can also taste a subtle flavor of tomato sauce.  The flavor in terms of the seasonings is fine.  I can see lots of green peas and the carrots are hardly noticeable.

San Marino Canned Tuna Paella

San Marino Tuna Paella was first in the market.  It contains rice, water, tuna flakes, soya oil, green peas, soy protein concentrate, carrots, spices and seasonings.  Both canned tuna paella contains similar ingredients.  The battle here would be their spices and seasonings.  It also comes with an easy to open can which is great.

When I opened the can, I saw these strips of tuna flakes on top and a few visible splashes of oil.  San Marino Canned Tuna Paella is oilier than the Century Tuna.  It has also a bit darker color than Century Tuna.  Then I started to dug in and yes, San Marino Canned Tuna Paella felt worse.  It has a stiffer jelly-like texture than the Century Tuna.  I can see almost same amount of green peas and there were visible number of carrots in it.  I took my first bite and yes, the rice has the same texture as that of Century Tuna.  However, the taste is much better than Century Tuna.  It has a lesser fishy flavor which I really like.  It is more flavorful and has the right of saltiness compared to Century Tuna.

I was thinking, both canned tuna paella has this undercooked rice, maybe, there is a need to cook it or a simple reheating will do the trick.

I prepared our non-stick pan and reheat it.  I did not add oil so not to affect the flavor and besides, they are oily as is.  I also added a scrambled egg since I think it would taste better and it would balance the rich flavor of the canned tuna paella.

Verdict

After I stir fried the canned tuna paella, voila!  The rice bits are much softer and felt cooked compared eating it up straight from the can.  The egg just balanced the warm flavor of the dish.  Yeah it much more edible compared before.

So, which is better?  I find San Marino Tuna Paella to be better than Century Tuna.  It is much more flavorful and it does not have the fishy aftertaste that Century Tuna has.  I asked my dad to taste both tuna paella and he prefers the San Marino Tuna Paella.  The one thing he does not like about it is, it’s too oily for him.