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How to Ramen-ize Dried Pasta and Rice

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Re: How to Ramen-ize Dried Pasta and Rice

#71

Post by eps »

kazinator wrote: post #62

The "ramenize" process they describe turns pasta and rice into something that resembles instant ramen. Clearly, they haven't had normal ramen (from non-instant dried pasta noodles) or even fresh noodles. The verb "ramenize" seems rather ill-conceived. Properly made ramen does have noodles with "al dente" texture, not mush. Some of the cheaper instant noodles turn into mush that practically falls apart on your tongue;…

Pasta pre-soaked in alkaline water will have "al dente" texture, no mush. That's just lateral take on alkaline ramen noodles.

So pretty much all your rant doesn't apply. Thanks for playing, try again next time.

Re: How to Ramen-ize Dried Pasta and Rice

#72

Post by aruggirello »

jmnicolas wrote: post #70
ramses0 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will try using this technique next time I make carbonara. Carbonara is simple: cook bacon, reserve grease, pour in hot pasta + cheese + milk + egg. If I'm on the ball, I can cook and crumble the bacon a day in advance, but then the full pasta boil is easily the longest part of the process. If I have the bacon already prepped and can reduce the "bring-to-boil + wait ten minutes", it's actually a very nice time savin…

Milk or cream were not in the original carbonara recipe.

BTW Carbonara is named after minced black pepper which should make it look like carbon - YMMV though. Oh, and don't forget to add grated pecorino cheese!

Re: How to Ramen-ize Dried Pasta and Rice

#73

Post by dagw »

jessaustin wrote: post #63
dagw wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My local Asian supermarket sells the alkaline McGee is talking about as "lye water". Check if yours does as well. A lot easier to just buy a bottle rather then screwing around with baking soda in the oven.

Yeah but sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), which McGee is baking up in his oven, isn't as dangerous to use and have around as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is.

The stuff sold as "Lye Water" in Asian supermarkets isn't actual lye (NaOH), but rather a dilution of potassium carbonate or a mixture of sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate.

Re: How to Ramen-ize Dried Pasta and Rice

#74

Post by carlob »

logfromblammo wrote: post #41
carlob wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't waste your money on electric and get the $60 manual thing. http://www.amazon.com/CucinaPro-150-Imperia-Pasta-Machine/dp...

A word of warning, though--that pasta roller will be nearly useless to you unless you have a very heavy table or countertops with a right-angle edge. If you have a rounded edge, you can't clamp it down properly, and won't be able to turn the crank. When we use ours, it has to be clamped to a wooden TV-tray table, and I have to hold it down with my legs as I crank, because both hands are occupied with the pasta, and t…

Most people I know use a wood board to clamp it. These boards are usually made of untreated birch, beech or basswood and are available on the european amazons.

http://www.amazon.it/Kesper-2012-2-Spianatoia-pasta-68x48/dp...

http://www.amazon.it/Asse-pasta-betulla-100x60x1-E2011/dp/B0...

http://www.amazon.de/Nudelbrett-aus-Birkenholz-100-E2011/dp/...

http://www.amazon.fr/Planche-pâtes-bouleau-100x60x1-E2011/dp...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beechwood-counter-board-100x60x1-2-E...

Re: How to Ramen-ize Dried Pasta and Rice

#75

Post by semperfaux »

eps wrote: post #71
kazinator wrote: post #62

The "ramenize" process they describe turns pasta and rice into something that resembles instant ramen. Clearly, they haven't had normal ramen (from non-instant dried pasta noodles) or even fresh noodles. The verb "ramenize" seems rather ill-conceived. Properly made ramen does have noodles with "al dente" texture, not mush. Some of the cheaper instant noodles turn into mush that practically falls apart on your tongue;…

Pasta pre-soaked in alkaline water will have "al dente" texture, no mush. That's just lateral take on alkaline ramen noodles. So pretty much all your rant doesn't apply. Thanks for playing, try again next time.

And in the actual context of the way "ramen" is misused in the article, your snarky response misses the point of the GP. Thanks for trying, play better next time.

Re: How to Ramen-ize Dried Pasta and Rice

#76

Post by carlob »

tptacek wrote: post #38
carlob wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> [fresh pasta] isn't shelf stable. You can freeze it. I use something like this [1] to make pasta very often. Ok, making ravioli is something that takes at least 30 minutes (and up to 4 hours if you're making an elaborate recipe for a large party). But you can make tagliatelle for four in the time the water boils. [1] http://www.amazon.com/CucinaPro-150-Imperia-Pasta-Machine/dp...

See definition of "shelf stable". :)

And you can cook without thawing it first :)

Re: How to Ramen-ize Dried Pasta and Rice

#77

Post by fit2rule »

Steuard wrote: post #33
tptacek wrote: post #2

To me, this feels like part of a cooking change we'll remember in 20 years. We were all taught to cook dry pasta in a giant pot full of boiling salted water, the more water the better. No! Not optimal! A trivially simple change fundamentally alters the process for the better: soak the pasta in cold water for a couple hours (as far in advance as you like, for convenience). The pasta rehydrates and takes on the texture…

Honestly, I'm not sure that I get the value here. Is it just the ability to do some of the prep in advance? Why is (2hrs + 4min) better than (10min)? When I'm cooking a meal, getting the pasta done is rarely the limiting factor on any axis: it's dead simple, predictably timed, and requires very little attention beyond an occasional stir. If you're looking for a different taste or texture and this is a way to achieve…

Restaurants can benefit from this knowledge. They have the down-time to prepare the noodles in advance, and can gain immensely by having shorter processes on the serving side.

Re: How to Ramen-ize Dried Pasta and Rice

#78

Post by beardicus »

kazinator wrote: post #62

The "ramenize" process they describe turns pasta and rice into something that resembles instant ramen. Clearly, they haven't had normal ramen (from non-instant dried pasta noodles) or even fresh noodles. The verb "ramenize" seems rather ill-conceived. Properly made ramen does have noodles with "al dente" texture, not mush. Some of the cheaper instant noodles turn into mush that practically falls apart on your tongue;…

From the article: "They were springy, chewy, and resilient. They were ramenized."

How do you go from that to assuming they're talking about mushy overcooked instant ramen? Given the authors' previous work on their blog, I suspect they're aware of fresh ramen and its properties.

They probably could've used the term "alkanized" instead, but that's pretty dry and technical.

Re: How to Ramen-ize Dried Pasta and Rice

#79

Post by kbart »

tptacek wrote: post #2

To me, this feels like part of a cooking change we'll remember in 20 years. We were all taught to cook dry pasta in a giant pot full of boiling salted water, the more water the better. No! Not optimal! A trivially simple change fundamentally alters the process for the better: soak the pasta in cold water for a couple hours (as far in advance as you like, for convenience). The pasta rehydrates and takes on the texture…

"soak the pasta in cold water for a couple hours"

What's new about that? Even my grandmother used this technique as long as I can remember. That also works with rice, buckwheat, green peas, beans or pretty much any grain and seeds that are highly dehydrated.

Re: How to Ramen-ize Dried Pasta and Rice

#80

Post by weeksie »

lobster_johnson wrote: post #69
weeksie wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think this article is about regular pasta (e.g. for use in Italian dishes), I think it's specifically meant for ramen noodles, hence the added baking soda to make the water alkaline. There isn't any real advantage in adding so much to your prep time otherwise. Besides, if you're cooking Italian pasta just get the fresh stuff, it'll take 4 minutes to cook and it'll taste better anyway.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but you seem to think that fresh pasta is "normal pasta made fresh", therefore it's "better" -- but that's not true. Fresh pasta is technically a dough; it's made with eggs. Dried pasta is made of durum wheat only. Fresh pasta tastes completely different and won't just work in any dish; works best for the more delicate dishes such as Alfredo.

Okay, perhaps? Not sure I've ever had a pasta that didn't taste better fresh. Can you name an example? I'm no expert but I'm not a complete noob either.
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