A Better Way To Cook Pasta? | Techniquely with Lan Lam

We lived on a sailboat for a couple of years, traveling in remote places where propane and water were hard to come by, and expensive. When I made pasta for my husband and I, I boiled a small amount of water, put the dry pasta in a large thermos, covered with boiling, lightly salted water, and closed up the thermos. Let sit for about 15 minutes or so, and the pasta was cooked just fine. You learn to adapt when resources are scarce.

This is my favorite cooking series on youtube, and it's because Lan is the best teacher I've seen on here. There's other people with know how like hers, but no one is as good at getting to a granular level of detail while explaining things in a simple and engaging way. Please keep this series coming ATK, I've learned a ton from it!

This is most instructive cooking series available. Lan Lam is a great teacher. It's incredible that this is free!

Lan Lam is the best thing about this channel! Love the way she presents all these technical details.

Lan Lam is such a gastronomical technician it's fantastic. I ALWAYS learn something important while watching her videos.

Your presentation style is as close to perfect as it can get. Clear, concise, informative, engaging and straight to the point. Understanding the 'whys' is one of the most important aspects - if I forget a specific I remember the 'why' an adapt accordingly!! Thanks

I always get excited when there's a new upload featuring Lan Lam. <3 She's the best!!

I'm curious for you to try the soak method... You soak the dry pasta in cold water for a few HOURS in advance of cooking. It rehydrates the pasta but is supposed to be more forgiving in terms of under-/over-absorption. You can then cook it entirely in your sauce, or for carbonara/pesto, you can cook it basically like fresh pasta. A lot of the starch is in the cold water so you can just use that depending. I've tried it and I really like it! It's less good for larger shapes - cooking rehydrated rigatoni, they end up flat and don't hold their shape entirely. For spaghetti, buccatini, linguini, orzo.. It works very well.

Hell yes I'm commenting before even watching. Lan Lam is always a must click.

Italian here, learning about pasta from an American genius of SE Asian descent, and loving it Let’s break some rules

I love her diction. So calm and clear.

As a longtime fan of ATK, as much as I love their recipes, the techniques you learn are the absolute gold. This video is a perfect example.

Love how you teach Ms Lam ❤

There is a valid Italian method of cooking pasta called Pasta Risotatta, which is basically pasta cooked like risotto, where the water is added a bit at a time to toasted pasta, until all of it is absorbed and all the pasta is done. I don't think of this alternative way as "breaking the rules", it's just a different set of valid rules. If this is even a method found among Italian cooks, I say it is totally valid.

The measuring cup in the strainer tip is brilliant!

Lan's presentation is the best. I really enjoy her videos.

When it comes to pasta Lan really uses her noodle

I used to do cold start pasta but I've mostly gone back to boiling start for two reasons: it's more predictable when I need to be ready to stir to avoid sticking, and it's more predictable when the pasta will finish. With cold start, unless you use the same quantity of water and pasta every time, the time it takes to cook will vary because it will come to a boil faster or slower. Sometimes that's fine, but usually I'm running around the kitchen prepping the sauce and sides and I want to know exactly when the pasta will be done in advance so it can go on the table within a minute or two.

Yay! There's lots of times when I'm using salty ingredients where I skip adding salt altogether. You need to consider the amount of salt that's already getting incorporated into your dish before you start tossing in more salt. Thank you, Lan, for addressing this issue.

Wow, Lan Lam, this episode of Techniquely blew my mind! Your innovative approach to cooking pasta challenges everything we thought we knew about achieving the perfect dish. I loved how you fearlessly experimented with different cooking methods, showcasing how even small tweaks can make a huge difference in texture and flavor. Your passion for pasta and dedication to finding the best techniques truly shines through in this video. I can't wait to try out some of these unconventional methods in my own kitchen and see just how much they elevate my pasta game. Keep breaking those rules and inspiring us all to think outside the pot!