Cook Pasta Fast.
- Thread starter wahmed
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Wait...have you tested this? It sounds like a really interesting way to cook pasta. Also how exactly would this method work for rice? There's no way rice can cook in 60 seconds, regardless of how many minutes you soak it for beforehand
Rice and pasta are very different. Pasta doesn't take long to cook; fresh pasta takes about 3 minutes and dry pasta doesn't take any longer than 10 minutes. I think pre soaking could over cook the pasta which is fine if you like it that way, but I don't like over cooked pasta.
While the idea sounds intriguing, how fast do you want to cook pasta anyway? Pasta hardly takes anytime at all to cook so you'll be saving probably about 2 or 3 minutes by doing this at most.
I think I'll stick to the traditional way. I'm not even sure if it would work either if I'm honest, rice then maybe but pasta is totally different I'd have thought?
I think I'll stick to the traditional way. I'm not even sure if it would work either if I'm honest, rice then maybe but pasta is totally different I'd have thought?
This sounds like it could result in soggy overcooked pasta, while only saving a few minutes of cooking time. It may be more worth it for rice since rice takes longer to cook. I may have to pass all together because rice and pasta are probably the two most straightforward things in terms of cooking.
Pasta is really easy to cook and it would take less time just to place it in a pan of boiling water. Also, pasta should never be soggy, this only happens when it is overcooked.
I am no chief, but if you follow the timing instructions on the packet, you can hardly go wrong. (unless you loose track of time)
I am no chief, but if you follow the timing instructions on the packet, you can hardly go wrong. (unless you loose track of time)
I would add that all chefs would choke on this advice; imagine Gordon Ramsey's reaction and Antonio Carluccio might have a heart attack if you told him that's how you advise to cook pasta.
Soaking brown rice is important because of the husks and layers and pasta does not have that, so I advise against pre soaking pasta because it will ruin it. Always drain the pasta as soon as it is cooked, because if you leave it in the pan it will continue to cook itself by absorbing water and it goes mushy.
Soaking brown rice is important because of the husks and layers and pasta does not have that, so I advise against pre soaking pasta because it will ruin it. Always drain the pasta as soon as it is cooked, because if you leave it in the pan it will continue to cook itself by absorbing water and it goes mushy.
Funny, I've never seen rice being soaked either. Granted, I've only ever eaten white rice, but usually with normal rice dishes, it's just straight into the pot/rice cooker with water or stock. With risotto, I understand that you toast the rice first, just as it is (no liquid at the beginning) because that's what helps make it creamy in the end?
While I'm no Gordon Ramsey myself, i do like to think that i can cook a bit. And like i said in the previous post, i wouldnt need to cook pasta any faster then what I do now.
And to be honest pasta is pretty easy to cooks i think if somebody struggles making pasta then it's for the best if they dont go anywhere near a kitchen!
And to be honest pasta is pretty easy to cooks i think if somebody struggles making pasta then it's for the best if they dont go anywhere near a kitchen!
Brown rice is different as it does takes more time to prepare. White rice doesn't need to to be soaked that long. My father used to have a restaurant and as a child I used to help soak and cook the rice. Risotto rice does take time to prepare, and then needs to be cooked very slowly so rice and pasta can't be compared to be honest. Of course if you prefer overcooked pasta then that's fine, but it's not my favorite way to eat it.
When I cook rice, I cook basmati rice. That too long grain. It is normally eaten quite soft. In order to have it cook like a charm it is essential that it is soaked for up to an hour to an hour and a half. It softens the rice and gets it going making it oh so easy to cook. I think the best way to cook pasta is the normal way but if you have guests at the table this might be the best way to do this. I like my pasta soft so really it depends on that too.
Well, first, the rice.
I have never tried to pre-soak it before cooking. Whenever I make rice, I simply add one cup of rice and 2.5-3 cups of water to it.
I think the pre-soaking idea is interesting.. I'll try it next time I cook rice
However, I don't know if this actually applied to pasta. Your thread title says "cook pasta fast". Personally, I think pre-soaking it for 30 minutes is actually making the whole cooking process a lot longer!
The time to cook pasta is calculated (more or less) by adding the time needed for the water to boil + the 2-3 minutes pasta needs to actually boil. The time it needs to soak in water is actually making the process 30 minutes longer.
Sure, everything depends on how much pasta you cook. When I cook it for myself, I don't add a lot of water for just one portion, so less water boils faster. If you cook pasta for 10 people... well, you're gonna need a lot of water! And the time needed for it to boil is indeed a long time! But this doesn't make any difference, even if you make pasta for an entire party of people, you'd still need to wait for all the water to start boiling in order to cook the pasta for 60 seconds...
I hope that makes sense.
What I wanted to say in the end is that cooking pasta the classic way is still faster. Your friend probably miscalculated things
That's not necessarily fast at all if you have to wait 30 minutes for it to soak, plus you are wasting water - some to soak the pasta in, then another pot of water to boil it in for 60 seconds. In all that time you could have simply brought a pot of water to boil in about 15 minutes and had the pasta cooked in it in about another 10 minutes or so depending on the pasta, which is still under your 30 minutes of soaking plus one minute of cooking time in total.
The only "shortcut" I've been able to use with pasta, is to microwave it. But it doesn't work well with all forms of pasta - such as Angel Hair, which is too delicate and would stick together. But stuff like Egg Noogles and Penne work well - and take anywhere from 8-12 minutes on high.
Or I suppose if you had one of those electric tea pots or boiling hot water dispensers, you could also use them to kick start your pot of boiling water for the pasta. Another option would be to try some of the "Quick Cooking" pastas on the market. I'm not personally a fan of them because I find them to bee too soft and mushy, no matter how hard you try to not over cook them. But once again, stuff like Angel Hair just naturally cooks up fast, as done thin spaghetti or egg noodles.
For brown rice, I finally came across a fool proof way to cook it without it being gummy and chewy and gluey. Simply boil it in a lot of water (like 8-10 cups of water per cup of rice) for 30 minutes, then strain into a fine mesh strainer, then add the rice back to the hot but empty pot, and put the lid on for another 10 minutes to finish cooking in it's residual steam and heat. The excess water draws out all that excess starches and glutens, so the rice comes out light and fluffy.
The only "shortcut" I've been able to use with pasta, is to microwave it. But it doesn't work well with all forms of pasta - such as Angel Hair, which is too delicate and would stick together. But stuff like Egg Noogles and Penne work well - and take anywhere from 8-12 minutes on high.
Or I suppose if you had one of those electric tea pots or boiling hot water dispensers, you could also use them to kick start your pot of boiling water for the pasta. Another option would be to try some of the "Quick Cooking" pastas on the market. I'm not personally a fan of them because I find them to bee too soft and mushy, no matter how hard you try to not over cook them. But once again, stuff like Angel Hair just naturally cooks up fast, as done thin spaghetti or egg noodles.
For brown rice, I finally came across a fool proof way to cook it without it being gummy and chewy and gluey. Simply boil it in a lot of water (like 8-10 cups of water per cup of rice) for 30 minutes, then strain into a fine mesh strainer, then add the rice back to the hot but empty pot, and put the lid on for another 10 minutes to finish cooking in it's residual steam and heat. The excess water draws out all that excess starches and glutens, so the rice comes out light and fluffy.