I'm guessing not a lot of people are going to see this since this is three months after this video debuted, but there is an easier way of making the starch gel. All you have to do is microwave the cornstarch and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until it's thick and translucent (takes less than 90 seconds total). I gave it a shot after seeing Luciano Monosilio on Italia Squisita to see if I could make the process even simpler, and it actually turned out better than I could have imagined.
Thank you so much, just tried this, actually works BUT an additional note to anyone else who tries it, wait for the gel to cool down, otherwise you risk melting the cheese and/or cooking the yokes when you put it in to mix together
@@CrossxFir3 A big part of the appeal for me is the scale of it. For enough sauce to serve two, you only need 5g cornstarch (about a tablespoon) and a shot glass of water. His original recipe is scaled for a restaurant service, far too much for normal use. Such a small amount would barely cover the bottom of my smallest pot. The end result is exactly the same, but it's faster, a little more hands-off, frees up a burner, and when you're done, you just pop a little bowl in the dishwasher instead of hand-washing a small pot.
I gotta say Ethan, this is the best you've ever been, I think. Really love the blend of food science and cooking know-how to develop a process that is much simpler to follow and execute than traditional sauce making. Kudos to you and keep up the good work.
The best thing about Ethan is explaining the science behind it to help understand why things work or don't work. Means we can develop our cooking skills across the board, not just for that one dish.
Ethan man, you're literally killing the home-cooking RUclips space rn. I don't think I've seen many others able to achieve both such entertaining videos with both good recipes and ALSO including educational food science content. Please keep it up, what you're doing is seriously amazing.
You are easily the most helpful cook on RUclips. Make ahead sauces like this are going to save me so much time and make it so much easier to resist eating out or ordering in.
Congrats my dude - many foodtubers seem to lose their purpose after a few years but you've been going from strength to new strength. Excited to see what's coming up!
@@cyan_2169 yeah I mean not only because this is a superbe country for cuisine, but also because changing environment keeps challenging him to find new ideas and concepts. 🙌 Props to him
It might sound as a weird way of coping, but thank you for what you do Ethan. My very close friend and collegue committed suicide in October of 2021, and one thing we always jokingly "fought" about was cooking. He was a very skilled home chef like yourself who really took his time to make good quality food, even showed pictures of it, trying to convince me to cook as I never really cared much for it, thinking "food is just food". He would enthusiastically tell me about his pasta and gnocchi dishes, how he prepared meat and how well he plated it. I remember telling him a few weeks prior his choice, that when we would get to the new office with a kitchen (Scheduled in december of 2021), we would cook there together so he could teach me. Sadly, he never made it that far. As weird as it is, since he was also a fit red-haired home chef, I use these videos as a cope. Some time ago I even bought a steel pan and some equipment. Today I will finally try and cook some of your recipes. I know you are just here to show home cook techniques and entertaining videos, but to some of us it means a lot more, so thank you and keep going.
I think replacing the guanciale with chorizo could be a very fitting addition to the fiery carbonara EDIT: Did it immediately after having the idea and used the rendered chorizo fat to emulsify it with the saucebase in a waterbath like you would with a hollandaise…and boy that was a feast. Can’t move as i‘m writing the edit but it was absolutely worth it.
Thanks for the suggestion, tried out yesterday the recipe of the Ethan and it was very good, but chorizo sound amazing as well :), One question for you. How much pasta did you use and for how many people did you serve it for. Did it for 1 person yesterday but was too much sauce, so I estimate 3 people should be doable.
This video reminds me of the time when I was learning how to cook. I had just bought the diet plan (created it from site named Next Level Diet) at the age of 23 and started preparing my own meals from the food I got in the plan. I was so motivated back then. I broke my barriers when it comes to amount of food I can eat in a day, resulting in noticeable gains for a newbie. I recommend everyone to take care of their diet first, the rest should come naturally.
I wanna recommend an additional, cheap and delicious recipe that goes hard in my house: butternut squash pesto with garlic and cinnamon breadcrumbs. Cut up a squash and steam it. Put in a blender with a shallot, some olive oil and some walnuts. Blend everything and add to a saucepan to let it simmer. On the side, boil some thick pasta like rigatoni. Then fry off some garlic in a pan with some butter and once it’s soft add breadcrumbs, parsley and cinnamon and nutmeg. Coat the pasta with the sauce, add a small cube of butter, then top off with the breadcrumbs. If you’re vegan you can leave it as it is, if not parmigiano reggiano is the ultimate touch. Enjoy ❤️
THIS. This is what I want to see in food tubers. Foodsience and using it to improve and make dishes simpler. Keep doing what you are doing man. You are on fire right now.
The point when you trust your skills enough that you can come up with a recipe and see it through, confident from the conception of the idea that the end result would be amazing. *that's a wonderful place to be as a cook*
Tried the fiery carbonara for the first time tonight - 10/10, easily the best pasta dish I've ever made, and I have more sauce left for tomorrow. This technique is honestly an instant gamechanger. I'm late to the party on this one but Ethan this sort of content is why you're up there with the top foodtubers. Keep up the great work!
tried the spinach sauce this week - really enjoyed it, very pleasant, lasts well for the next night if you wanna prepare it in advance, and the added veg helps me feel less guilty about eating pasta. gonna keep that one in my repertoire for sure, thanks!
Thanks Ethan! These easy to prepare and able to make beforehand things are perfect for me. Definitely going to try these, I think they'll be game changers! Also thanks for the principles behind these, that'll allow me to make up my own once I got the hang of it.
Honestly man, you’ve helped me learn a lot more about cooking. I just wanna thank you for the amazing work you do man, seriously. Because of the special techniques you teach, we get to make good food for the people we love. You’re brilliant! Not only that, but your videos are well edited with great visuals.
Hey Ethan, I really love videos like this where you're creating recipes that follow up on a technique established in a previous video. It goes to show how that technique is used for multiple dishes and why it's important to add it to your repertoire. Like, you aren't just showing me how to make the best version of a specific dish, you're showing me how to cook stabilized pasta sauces for any occasion by prepping me with multiple, varied examples. Reminds of me when I first started getting into cooking and I was watching so many Chef John videos, I started to pick up on certain things he'd mirror from one recipe to the next and thats the stuff that stuck with me in the kitchen (even if I never made his recipe). Speaking of which, out of all the food RUclipsrs I've seen you're right up there with Chef John in my book. He rarely collabs with anyone but it would be amazing if y'all met up and made a video together. Even if it's just to talk about food.
@@jonathankowalsky3143 bell peppers shrink alot when you roast them. I’d say depending on the amount but for a 230ml jar I would use at least two big bell peppers
i did the spinach one, just over a week ago. I didn't have any lemons, so subbed in bottled persian lime juice. I only had 120g spinach, and used tapioca starch, instead of corn starch, as that's what I had... I didn't use bronze cut pasta, just cheap dry linguine... best damn pasta I've ever had, and so, so, riduculously simple. Absolutely going on my regulae rotation,
I've used the cacio e pepe mix to make Cacio e Pepe Flammkuchen Pizza today, with the paste as a bianco sauce, topped with pre-sauteed bacon and onions. Turned out really well 😁. I'll definitely try the carbonara version some time.
Made a riff on the Fiery Carbonara tonight. I used Gochujang instead and doctored up the flavours for a more korean taste. Made some pickles for side dishes. 10/10. A really great basis for a recipe
I appreciate the introduction of food science into the recent videos. Just went to the store today to get some parmesan and pecorino romano to try my hand at the Cacio e pepe. Also love that you are creating video regarding dishes that arent necessarily currated and highly tested, but things you think of trying day to day. It helps drive my own inspiration in the kitchen. Thanks
Ethan, this is a killer technique. I made a spinach-artichoke variation that ended up being one of the best pasta dishes that I've ever had. The silky smooth consistency perfectly coated the cascatelli that I used. Same recipe from the video, but with the following modifications: - 30 g artichoke hearts / 70 g spinach - 50 g pecorino / 50 g parm reg. Can't wait to play around with it some more!
Thanks for explaining the different ways we can customize the spinach sauce using different types of vegetables and recipes that are easy to store for leftovers.
Changed my life for sure. I'll never make it again. Followed the recipe exactly and the sauce split the second I put it in the pot (which wasn't even on the heat at all) and was completely unsalvagable. Was left with a watery bland pasta and cheese stuck to the bottom of the pan. One star, literally inedible
As an Italian, I gotta say: well done, Ethan, well done. You took a Carbonara and you made something out of it that is not only delicious but also very, very smart.
That spinach pasta is a fantastic side with grilled chicken or fish. Lemony, garlicky, bright green and wonderful. So easy! Even people who don’t think they like spinach will like this.
Hey, I made the fiery carbonara! But since I'm looking for a recipe that I can regularly make as part of my menu, I use ingredients I already have. I use minced sausages rather than guanchale, and I used thai chilli paste instead of Harissa paste. It turns out superb, and being able to make a large batch of the sauce for later really helps my meal prep. Thanks!
I'm with you on the changes. I'd probably go bacon as that's what we nominally have on hand, but I'm loathe to take it away from my breakfast lineup. Still probably lean that way, though.
Traditional carbonara with just a pinch of extra hot chilli powder (seriously like 1/16 of a teaspoon) is absolutely incredible. Just a wee bit of spice so that it's in the background, not overpowering the deliciousness of the egg, cheese and pork fat. yummers
You’re a recipe genius bro… Love your content, I’ve gotten so many good food ideas from you. This is coming from a guy who eats Greek yogurt for lunch everyday ONLY because it’s quick, simple, and easy.
Hola Ethan! Those look really good. For Chirstmas here in México in my family is traditional to do a heaping amount of pasta with a sauce made with roasted poblano, chihuahua cheese and cream chesse. Probably the dish I look forward the most, I think you would like it. Keep up the good work.
It's funny because I am well known in my group of friends for being a great cook and always making delicious meals, but all I do is follow your recipes and add MSG everywhere, I feel like I am cheating you make it so easy.
Great video, especially how it builds from the previous one! Couple of questions: How long does this store in the fridge? Could you perhaps pack smaller doses and freeze them?
I made a variation of the carbonara one when this video came out, but it didn't work out very well. Do not underestimate the sauce, it's really thick and dense! I tried again with the spinach one, made a half-sized batch. I had to substitute half spinach for broccoli, and it worked fantastic. Great stuff.
As always Ethan, you inspire me to cook for myself rather than just buying ready made, takeaway or stuff that's practically made for you. Cooking has helped me take a drastically better outlook on life lately and you've been a massive impact on how enjoyable and easy to get into it has been. Thank you.
I'm really pleasantly surprised by the Corn Starch Gel because that's also used in chinese cooking as well to get that silky smooth but thick sauce. Dad uses it a lot whenever making...just about anything...to get a thicker sauce that mixes very well with rice. This also makes me wonder if it could be used in other cuisines as well that I just don't know about.
my mom uses it when she wraps lumpia (filipino spring rolls). compared to water or egg, this corn starch gel really keeps the wrapper closed and i have never had a spring roll open up while frying.
Starch is used everywhere in cooking to thicken sauces. That's not special to a national cuisine (It's especialy not used in some cuisines, like italien, because they often focus on a small amount of ingredients/ reducing bloat). You just don't cook alot, do you? Everyone who I know cooks, knows how to use starch.
I made both of these tonight and they tasted fantastic. I love the technique of the corn starch and water. I'm going to try a bunch of different combinations now with the corn starch and water
I’ll give a step up for the spinach sauce that I’ve coincidentally found, albeit a bit complex/containing ingredients that not everyone has. Spinach, blended almonds(yes this might sound weird but it works really well in place of the cheese while being healthier, spices of black pepper, coriander, and cardamom (all toasted then grinded if you don’t have time constraints). Olive oil stays obv, garlic can stay, then in place of lemon lime etc use pomegranate extract. Trust me this is absolutely fantastic, rich, refreshing, healthy, whatever other positive descriptors you wanna add. I realize that not everyone has cardamom and especially cardamom extract, but both of these are fantastic ingredients that you can use elsewhere you add depth and fruitiness to your dishes. Good video regardless, very compact with really easy ways to apply it to our day to day lives :)
Great video as always, Ethan. Something that I've been curious about is the threshold of cornstarch required to keep a fairly stable emulsion. I was wondering if this is something you've tested? Although probably a small difference, I think it would make sense that a lower concentration of the cornstarch gel would yield a more flavourful sauce (since it's cut less).
Perhaps use stock/broth instead of water to make the cornstarch gel? Then it would add flavor itself rather than dilute it. A basic vegetable or onion stock would probably go with anything.
Just bought a 15 quid hand blender to make the first recipe haha and it did not disappoint. Took 20 minutes and you have 3 delicious pastas for the week . Honestly tasted like reseturant grade food . Absolute legend !
Those look amazing, I'll have to try some recipes with this technique. Does anyone know if the sauces can be frozen, or might freezing cause them to maybe separate or be ruined otherwise?
Regional weirdness I need to share and you won't find noted anywhere: traditional guanciale doesn't come up often in what was Carniola, we have a regional variant where we smoke them as well as curing them.
Insanely good content as always Ethan. What an amazing combination of food science, technique and creativity. I have been watching your channel for almost a year and a half and you keep upping your game. Your “holy s**t” comment is pretty much a perfect encapsulation of how far you have come. Keep killing it man.
Great video! I think that if you cook the guanciale first, you can use its fat in place of the 15g of olive oil you add to the sauce. So you have 15g of fat less in your recipe, and maybe the sauce itself could be firmer at fridge temperature (I dont know how much, it has to be experimented) making it great to make something stuffed with it 😉
Fat is a taste carrier and solvant, so less fat equals less tasty dish. Also, pork fat and olive oil is two different tastes and together they add their uniqueness to the final dish.
@@zeb0ul0nyeah, but the whole point of guanciale is the amount of pork fat it carries. I think adding more fat is just overkilling, I think it's matter of balance
Great video Ethan! It's awesome to see pasta recipes that don't require tons of crazy ingredients but still are different than the usual ones you see on RUclips. Quick question - is there any substitute for that harissa paste you mentioned in the second recipe? That's the only thing I'm missing.
I am missing the same ingredient, but figured I could blend in a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce into the sauce mixture. You could probably also bastardize the carbonara even further by trying to add an Asian Chile paste/Sambal, or even sriracha might work as a substitute. Home cooks gotta improvise somehow!
@ethan, I am from a very similar ethnic background as you. As a chef and foodie, I have to say that I really do not like the very expensive green Extra-virgin olive oil, I know I ought to but, no. I got to the point that I "was trying to like it". We never had that growing up and just is not something I appreciate. That has a wild grassy taste to me, but the non-virgin stuff is good on salads, stuff like that. Now BUTTER is a completely different story, LOL. I have even browned a stick of butter and added that to a cake batter (along with the regular oil), then did a french butter cream with browned sugar. Kind of a wonderful, butter scotch taste. Loved your channel since day one, good to see you have so many followers. Your no bull, straight talk is much appreciated.
This is so awesome! Man, we really need more of make ahead food. It makes life so much easier. It could be a series by itself. Also, the food science part is great as well and deserves its own series
Love the food science tips definitely adding to my repertoire. I’ve learned a lot of recipes and tricks from here! Any recommendation on what I could substitute the meat in the carbonara sauce?
Guanciale (or pancetta or bacon) is basically fat and salt so you’d need to add small cubes of something crispy, salty and fatty. Fried tofu? Halloumi? Cauliflower? You’re adding chili flakes so don’t go with anything too strongly flavoured like mushrooms that might overwhelm the eggs and cheese (unless that’s the effect you’re looking for).
These are super going to help me on my food control. being able to make the sauce separated from the meal, means i can calculate the nutrition and keep a better eye on my intake. this may change my entire outlook on this process. thank you,
This reminds me of Lucas Sin’s Chinese sesame noodles! I followed his recipe as usual, but kept the sauce in the fridge for future servings. Kept really well, and the flavor is an umami bomb. Must try!!
That has literally nothing to do with this. You just made a sauce and let it mold in the fridge and somehow relate that to this video. In fact, you posted this 45m ago so you didn't even watch this video.
@@musicdude1540 I literally watched the whole video. You ever heard of playback speed? I simply said it reminded me of that particular recipe since he mentioned preparing the sauce in advance to save prep time for small servings. I’ve been on the lookout for a similar technique and Ethan’s provided that in this video. I’ve only been able to do it once with those sesame noodles. In fact, I don’t think you even did watch or check it out, didn’t you?
@@musicdude1540 Your word against mine. My notifications for Ethan’s videos are turned on too by the way, but of course you would have no way of knowing that. Just like the assumptions you have had to make. If I hadn’t watched the video, how would I have known what he said in it? Read the room lol.
I've been trying to find a way to make an Alfredo Sauce that holds up well for reheating. I work alone on the weekends and getting something to eat, I have limited nearby restaurants to pick up something. Would using the cornstarch/gel technique work for an Alfredo Sauce also? Thanks for these wonderful videos, where you show us How to make something, but also the explanations of why it works. Especially for these types of sauces, it is critical to know how much is too much heat. Heat is hard to determine when it is less than boiling!!! Tonight, I am going to try a cheater version of an Alfredo Sauce. You seem to be enjoying your time in Paris.
It should work, alfredo sauce isn't exceptionally different than the examples here and the original caciao e pepe video. Since the other major component is butter, you could probably just omit the olive oil- that is to help the emulsion from the blending, and half of an alfredo sauce is a fat source. Or at least swap the butter with clarified butter to have pure dairy fat. Either way in theory you'd end up with something like a stable beurre monté sauce but with all the Italian cheese flavor.
Nowadays I always make Alfredo sauce by first making a béchamel sauce and add parmesan. The cornstarch method is effectively the same principle, although you do need a blender. Pure genius.
Great job Ethan! You understand what your audience wants and deliver it! One recommendation I have is also blanching the garlic for the green sauce. When you use raw garlic, it continues to infuse into the sauce and over time, it gets too strong, since you are storing it. Blanching the garlic with the greens will prevent it from doing that. You may need to add an extra clove of garlic to retain the level of garlicky taste after this process.
So I'm a total science nerd, and it's part of why I've enjoyed your videos, but I have to say Ethan that this plus the Cacio e Pepe video are the finest work you've done. I love how clearly and simply you explained the chemistry of the critical temperatures, and I think the way you're using that in these dishes is an excellent example of how you can take that knowledge and use it elsewhere.
I’ve learned so much about home cooking from you that I can go back on other recipes of mine and figure out how to make them better. 100 percent thanks for everything you release dude. Keep it up
Awesome! Something I love about your videos is how I can use the video itself as a guide as I'm cooking because there's not too much fluff and you keep the recipes separate instead of showing them concurrently.
Wow...both are so amazing and easy, perfect for everyday when we come home feeling so tired to cook. The ingredients are so simple too..I love these recipes so much
@Ethan Chlebowski I find your channel inspiring. Some questions about this episode: Have you ever investigated the effects of additives when cooking pasta? Can you make flavored corn syrup? Can making a broth with the cheese crust, adding gelatin, be a good easy preservable sauce base?
Just tried making the spinach garlic for dinner tonight. I'm surprised with how well it came out for a first try! And there's easily enough sauce for 3-4 servings so I already have the sauce prepped for the next few days. 🍝
These 2 videos are the best pasta videos I've ever seen. I never succeeded caccio & peppe and now I have a recipe that works. Not only you improved that old recipe, but you invented new pasta sauces based on that knowledge ! Glad I subbed
Glad you got those kitchen tweezers! Alex convinced me, too! The presentation impact is enormous. I hadn't considered how far one could expand the cornstarch trick. Excellent video. It's great to see you thinking ahead.
im vegan so i always have to chance your recipis a little bit But i still watched like all of your videos and learnd so much from it:) Thanks and sorry for my bad grammar Greetings from Germany🦎
been watching you for about a year and the progression as a whole has been incredible to watch. the videos come off so natural now and i learn something new every time. keep up the good shit ethan
Your channel truly stands out from other food channels I follow - in a good way that is. Dishes you present are delicious, explanations are fully detailed and you have a very clear way of presenting and editing. Keep up the great work and enjoy skyrocketing subscriber numbers!
About guancale and bacon, I start it in a dry & cold pan on high heat. The fat starts rendering at a lower temp than the maillard reaction happens. There is a point you need to cut the heat to medium-low, the sizzling sound changes when there's almost no water left from rendering fat.
So much inspiration. I watch a ton of RUclips cooking channels. But your philosophy and technique have inspired me more than all of them combined. Thanks dude.
I'm guessing not a lot of people are going to see this since this is three months after this video debuted, but there is an easier way of making the starch gel. All you have to do is microwave the cornstarch and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until it's thick and translucent (takes less than 90 seconds total). I gave it a shot after seeing Luciano Monosilio on Italia Squisita to see if I could make the process even simpler, and it actually turned out better than I could have imagined.
Thank you so much, just tried this, actually works BUT an additional note to anyone else who tries it, wait for the gel to cool down, otherwise you risk melting the cheese and/or cooking the yokes when you put it in to mix together
Is that really easier? I mean all you have to do is stir a pot for a few mins
@@CrossxFir3 A big part of the appeal for me is the scale of it. For enough sauce to serve two, you only need 5g cornstarch (about a tablespoon) and a shot glass of water. His original recipe is scaled for a restaurant service, far too much for normal use. Such a small amount would barely cover the bottom of my smallest pot. The end result is exactly the same, but it's faster, a little more hands-off, frees up a burner, and when you're done, you just pop a little bowl in the dishwasher instead of hand-washing a small pot.
Go up
W
I gotta say Ethan, this is the best you've ever been, I think. Really love the blend of food science and cooking know-how to develop a process that is much simpler to follow and execute than traditional sauce making. Kudos to you and keep up the good work.
Thank you! It's always fun applying techniques to other dishes like this, bonus points if it's simpler too.
The best thing about Ethan is explaining the science behind it to help understand why things work or don't work. Means we can develop our cooking skills across the board, not just for that one dish.
Makes me think of his sweet potato fries video!
@@EthanChlebowski Could you keep these sauces in the freezer?
@@EthanChlebowski You are currently reminding me soooo much of Adam Ragusea and Kenjie with their approach to the food, its pleasure to look at this
Ethan man, you're literally killing the home-cooking RUclips space rn. I don't think I've seen many others able to achieve both such entertaining videos with both good recipes and ALSO including educational food science content. Please keep it up, what you're doing is seriously amazing.
You are easily the most helpful cook on RUclips. Make ahead sauces like this are going to save me so much time and make it so much easier to resist eating out or ordering in.
I've made his orzo salad a zillion times now.
You look stressed out ever since you came to Europe. Chill
Congrats my dude - many foodtubers seem to lose their purpose after a few years but you've been going from strength to new strength. Excited to see what's coming up!
The move to France certainly didn't hurt
@@cyan_2169 yeah I mean not only because this is a superbe country for cuisine, but also because changing environment keeps challenging him to find new ideas and concepts.
🙌 Props to him
I used to not like him as he seemed kind of arrogant. But i love these new videos, especially as they are laid back and non-tiktok style
This guy has significantly improved my cooking over the years without me having to put too much effort into it
And that is really just so priceless
It might sound as a weird way of coping, but thank you for what you do Ethan.
My very close friend and collegue committed suicide in October of 2021, and one thing we always jokingly "fought" about was cooking. He was a very skilled home chef like yourself who really took his time to make good quality food, even showed pictures of it, trying to convince me to cook as I never really cared much for it, thinking "food is just food". He would enthusiastically tell me about his pasta and gnocchi dishes, how he prepared meat and how well he plated it.
I remember telling him a few weeks prior his choice, that when we would get to the new office with a kitchen (Scheduled in december of 2021), we would cook there together so he could teach me.
Sadly, he never made it that far.
As weird as it is, since he was also a fit red-haired home chef, I use these videos as a cope. Some time ago I even bought a steel pan and some equipment. Today I will finally try and cook some of your recipes. I know you are just here to show home cook techniques and entertaining videos, but to some of us it means a lot more, so thank you and keep going.
I wish you the best on your journey to rediscover food
im so sorry about your friend
Sorry man.
I'm sorry for the loss of your friend and this is NOT weird. ❤️
I think replacing the guanciale with chorizo could be a very fitting addition to the fiery carbonara
EDIT: Did it immediately after having the idea and used the rendered chorizo fat to emulsify it with the saucebase in a waterbath like you would with a hollandaise…and boy that was a feast. Can’t move as i‘m writing the edit but it was absolutely worth it.
woah
@@winkpoke1576 describes the experience pretty well 😄
Thanks for the suggestion, tried out yesterday the recipe of the Ethan and it was very good, but chorizo sound amazing as well :), One question for you. How much pasta did you use and for how many people did you serve it for. Did it for 1 person yesterday but was too much sauce, so I estimate 3 people should be doable.
Also works with hot Italian salame. I've been using it in regular carbonara for years (don't tell the Italians) 👀
Another fun twist is the sweet Chinese cured sausage along with Szechuan peppercorns!
This video reminds me of the time when I was learning how to cook. I had just bought the diet plan (created it from site named Next Level Diet) at the age of 23 and started preparing my own meals from the food I got in the plan. I was so motivated back then. I broke my barriers when it comes to amount of food I can eat in a day, resulting in noticeable gains for a newbie. I recommend everyone to take care of their diet first, the rest should come naturally.
I wanna recommend an additional, cheap and delicious recipe that goes hard in my house: butternut squash pesto with garlic and cinnamon breadcrumbs. Cut up a squash and steam it. Put in a blender with a shallot, some olive oil and some walnuts. Blend everything and add to a saucepan to let it simmer. On the side, boil some thick pasta like rigatoni. Then fry off some garlic in a pan with some butter and once it’s soft add breadcrumbs, parsley and cinnamon and nutmeg. Coat the pasta with the sauce, add a small cube of butter, then top off with the breadcrumbs. If you’re vegan you can leave it as it is, if not parmigiano reggiano is the ultimate touch. Enjoy ❤️
Thanks for this! I'm going to give this a go
That sounds scrumptious - thanks!
Sounds fantastic!!! I am going to give this a try
Dude that spinach sauce is actually BUSSIN. Literally took like 10 minutes to make and easily competes with restaurants in my city. FIRE
THIS. This is what I want to see in food tubers. Foodsience and using it to improve and make dishes simpler.
Keep doing what you are doing man. You are on fire right now.
The point when you trust your skills enough that you can come up with a recipe and see it through, confident from the conception of the idea that the end result would be amazing.
*that's a wonderful place to be as a cook*
Tried the fiery carbonara for the first time tonight - 10/10, easily the best pasta dish I've ever made, and I have more sauce left for tomorrow. This technique is honestly an instant gamechanger. I'm late to the party on this one but Ethan this sort of content is why you're up there with the top foodtubers. Keep up the great work!
tried the spinach sauce this week - really enjoyed it, very pleasant, lasts well for the next night if you wanna prepare it in advance, and the added veg helps me feel less guilty about eating pasta. gonna keep that one in my repertoire for sure, thanks!
Never feel bad for eating pasta!
Thanks Ethan! These easy to prepare and able to make beforehand things are perfect for me. Definitely going to try these, I think they'll be game changers! Also thanks for the principles behind these, that'll allow me to make up my own once I got the hang of it.
Glad to hear it!
Honestly man, you’ve helped me learn a lot more about cooking. I just wanna thank you for the amazing work you do man, seriously. Because of the special techniques you teach, we get to make good food for the people we love. You’re brilliant! Not only that, but your videos are well edited with great visuals.
Hey Ethan, I really love videos like this where you're creating recipes that follow up on a technique established in a previous video. It goes to show how that technique is used for multiple dishes and why it's important to add it to your repertoire. Like, you aren't just showing me how to make the best version of a specific dish, you're showing me how to cook stabilized pasta sauces for any occasion by prepping me with multiple, varied examples. Reminds of me when I first started getting into cooking and I was watching so many Chef John videos, I started to pick up on certain things he'd mirror from one recipe to the next and thats the stuff that stuck with me in the kitchen (even if I never made his recipe). Speaking of which, out of all the food RUclipsrs I've seen you're right up there with Chef John in my book. He rarely collabs with anyone but it would be amazing if y'all met up and made a video together. Even if it's just to talk about food.
Made this with sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers and aubergines. It is SO GOOD. This cornstarch trick is seriously useful! Thanks Ethan!
Can you please ask how many Roasted peppers you used (estimate). Just made the spinach and it was delicious but already keen to try a new one
@@jonathankowalsky3143 bell peppers shrink alot when you roast them. I’d say depending on the amount but for a 230ml jar I would use at least two big bell peppers
Thank you mate. Do you think weighing out 100 grams like with the spinach is a good place to start?
i did the spinach one, just over a week ago. I didn't have any lemons, so subbed in bottled persian lime juice. I only had 120g spinach, and used tapioca starch, instead of corn starch, as that's what I had... I didn't use bronze cut pasta, just cheap dry linguine...
best damn pasta I've ever had, and so, so, riduculously simple. Absolutely going on my regulae rotation,
I just love you balance the “home chef” and “food science” concepts of a cooking channel. Big fan of everything you do!
Used the spinach recipe as a rough guide for a roasted cauliflower sauce and it tasted amazing. Really versatile recipe for adaptation
It's always amazing to see how home-cook oriented you are and how nice your invented recipes are.
I've used the cacio e pepe mix to make Cacio e Pepe Flammkuchen Pizza today, with the paste as a bianco sauce, topped with pre-sauteed bacon and onions. Turned out really well 😁. I'll definitely try the carbonara version some time.
Holy moly, hide this from Dominos :D
I was thinking the same thing. I wonder if a Neapolitan style pizza would still be too hot for the carbonara, eggs curdling and such?
Made a riff on the Fiery Carbonara tonight. I used Gochujang instead and doctored up the flavours for a more korean taste. Made some pickles for side dishes. 10/10. A really great basis for a recipe
I appreciate the introduction of food science into the recent videos. Just went to the store today to get some parmesan and pecorino romano to try my hand at the Cacio e pepe. Also love that you are creating video regarding dishes that arent necessarily currated and highly tested, but things you think of trying day to day. It helps drive my own inspiration in the kitchen. Thanks
Ethan, this is a killer technique. I made a spinach-artichoke variation that ended up being one of the best pasta dishes that I've ever had. The silky smooth consistency perfectly coated the cascatelli that I used.
Same recipe from the video, but with the following modifications:
- 30 g artichoke hearts / 70 g spinach
- 50 g pecorino / 50 g parm reg.
Can't wait to play around with it some more!
This is everything I ever wanted out of a cooking show. Amazing content, hope you're not burning out making it, make sure to take breaks.
This is what I want: to be able to create masterpieces like this without a recipe. I appreciate the videos as it really helps me as a beginner cook!
Please do some Jamaican food like jerk chicken and or oxtail
This summer for sure!
I tried the spinach sauce, my girl loved it. Amazing
Thanks for explaining the different ways we can customize the spinach sauce using different types of vegetables and recipes that are easy to store for leftovers.
Changed my life for sure. I'll never make it again. Followed the recipe exactly and the sauce split the second I put it in the pot (which wasn't even on the heat at all) and was completely unsalvagable. Was left with a watery bland pasta and cheese stuck to the bottom of the pan. One star, literally inedible
As an Italian, I gotta say: well done, Ethan, well done. You took a Carbonara and you made something out of it that is not only delicious but also very, very smart.
You are not Italian
@@EGOCOGITOSUM scemo
Both pasta sauces look so delicious that I do not know which one to try first. I love how vibrant the spinach garlic parm is!
That spinach pasta is a fantastic side with grilled chicken or fish. Lemony, garlicky, bright green and wonderful. So easy! Even people who don’t think they like spinach will like this.
What I love most is what is missing... NO stupid intro, NO dumb catchphrases, NO annoying "SUBSCRIBE!".... Good stuff.
My father always adds a lot of cayenne (and garlic) to his carbonara, it's great as a counterweight to all the rich elements of the sauce.
Hey, I made the fiery carbonara! But since I'm looking for a recipe that I can regularly make as part of my menu, I use ingredients I already have. I use minced sausages rather than guanchale, and I used thai chilli paste instead of Harissa paste. It turns out superb, and being able to make a large batch of the sauce for later really helps my meal prep. Thanks!
I'm with you on the changes. I'd probably go bacon as that's what we nominally have on hand, but I'm loathe to take it away from my breakfast lineup. Still probably lean that way, though.
I was thinking about Thai chili paste as well. I have some of that in the fridge.
Probably the best recipe since you left the states Ethan. A heady mix of science and pure food joy! Keep at it!!!
Traditional carbonara with just a pinch of extra hot chilli powder (seriously like 1/16 of a teaspoon) is absolutely incredible. Just a wee bit of spice so that it's in the background, not overpowering the deliciousness of the egg, cheese and pork fat. yummers
You’re a recipe genius bro… Love your content, I’ve gotten so many good food ideas from you. This is coming from a guy who eats Greek yogurt for lunch everyday ONLY because it’s quick, simple, and easy.
Hola Ethan! Those look really good. For Chirstmas here in México in my family is traditional to do a heaping amount of pasta with a sauce made with roasted poblano, chihuahua cheese and cream chesse. Probably the dish I look forward the most, I think you would like it. Keep up the good work.
That sounds amazing
@@dutchman8129 Cheese made from the milk of a chihuahua dog.
Just made the spinach one, really bright and vibrant 10/10
I use frozen spinach and increase the lemon juice seems to work fine honestly the green sauce is a thing of beauty.
It's funny because I am well known in my group of friends for being a great cook and always making delicious meals, but all I do is follow your recipes and add MSG everywhere, I feel like I am cheating you make it so easy.
Great video, especially how it builds from the previous one! Couple of questions: How long does this store in the fridge? Could you perhaps pack smaller doses and freeze them?
Giving this a bump. I was looking for the same info. My husband is away for weeks, so I cook for one most times.
on his recipe page, he says it will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge, nothing about freezing though
Pasta sauces usually freeze very well. I don't see why these wouldn't.
I froze the spinach sauce for a few weeks, thawed it overnight in the fridge, and it tasted great.
I made a variation of the carbonara one when this video came out, but it didn't work out very well. Do not underestimate the sauce, it's really thick and dense! I tried again with the spinach one, made a half-sized batch. I had to substitute half spinach for broccoli, and it worked fantastic. Great stuff.
As always Ethan, you inspire me to cook for myself rather than just buying ready made, takeaway or stuff that's practically made for you. Cooking has helped me take a drastically better outlook on life lately and you've been a massive impact on how enjoyable and easy to get into it has been. Thank you.
I'm really pleasantly surprised by the Corn Starch Gel because that's also used in chinese cooking as well to get that silky smooth but thick sauce. Dad uses it a lot whenever making...just about anything...to get a thicker sauce that mixes very well with rice.
This also makes me wonder if it could be used in other cuisines as well that I just don't know about.
we use it in portuguese cuisine as well! it's called farinha maizena
Yup, I like to use it to thicken gravy versus regular flour, because it really doesn't have a flavor.
my mom uses it when she wraps lumpia (filipino spring rolls). compared to water or egg, this corn starch gel really keeps the wrapper closed and i have never had a spring roll open up while frying.
Starch is used everywhere in cooking to thicken sauces. That's not special to a national cuisine (It's especialy not used in some cuisines, like italien, because they often focus on a small amount of ingredients/ reducing bloat). You just don't cook alot, do you? Everyone who I know cooks, knows how to use starch.
I tried the spinach version and it really is easy, the sauce holds really well even though my blender is really cheap/blend not well
I saw this video on Digg, ran to the store for some ingredients, and whipped up the fiery carbonara just now. Amazing. Thank you for a great recipe.
I made both of these tonight and they tasted fantastic. I love the technique of the corn starch and water. I'm going to try a bunch of different combinations now with the corn starch and water
I’ll give a step up for the spinach sauce that I’ve coincidentally found, albeit a bit complex/containing ingredients that not everyone has. Spinach, blended almonds(yes this might sound weird but it works really well in place of the cheese while being healthier, spices of black pepper, coriander, and cardamom (all toasted then grinded if you don’t have time constraints). Olive oil stays obv, garlic can stay, then in place of lemon lime etc use pomegranate extract. Trust me this is absolutely fantastic, rich, refreshing, healthy, whatever other positive descriptors you wanna add. I realize that not everyone has cardamom and especially cardamom extract, but both of these are fantastic ingredients that you can use elsewhere you add depth and fruitiness to your dishes.
Good video regardless, very compact with really easy ways to apply it to our day to day lives :)
Great video as always, Ethan. Something that I've been curious about is the threshold of cornstarch required to keep a fairly stable emulsion. I was wondering if this is something you've tested? Although probably a small difference, I think it would make sense that a lower concentration of the cornstarch gel would yield a more flavourful sauce (since it's cut less).
Hope he sees this.
This would be a great idea for a video
@@cyan_2169 I second that!
Perhaps use stock/broth instead of water to make the cornstarch gel? Then it would add flavor itself rather than dilute it. A basic vegetable or onion stock would probably go with anything.
@@StreptoStar ooooo
When comment sections are this sincerely thankful and appreciative, you’re definitely doing something right
Just bought a 15 quid hand blender to make the first recipe haha and it did not disappoint. Took 20 minutes and you have 3 delicious pastas for the week . Honestly tasted like reseturant grade food . Absolute legend !
Those look amazing, I'll have to try some recipes with this technique.
Does anyone know if the sauces can be frozen, or might freezing cause them to maybe separate or be ruined otherwise?
I wanna know too
i would imagine the spinach one can be frozen, but the egg yolk one probably shouldn't be frozen - just a guess though, I haven't tried them yet!
As long as you thaw then blend again, I think it would come back together okay.
Yeah I would also love to know it!
Regional weirdness I need to share and you won't find noted anywhere: traditional guanciale doesn't come up often in what was Carniola, we have a regional variant where we smoke them as well as curing them.
I don't feel so bad making carbonara with smoked bacon now.
Insanely good content as always Ethan. What an amazing combination of food science, technique and creativity. I have been watching your channel for almost a year and a half and you keep upping your game. Your “holy s**t” comment is pretty much a perfect encapsulation of how far you have come. Keep killing it man.
Got to say the cornstarch tip with the sauce to control the temp is brilliant! Loving the food science mix with the cooking.
Great video! I think that if you cook the guanciale first, you can use its fat in place of the 15g of olive oil you add to the sauce. So you have 15g of fat less in your recipe, and maybe the sauce itself could be firmer at fridge temperature (I dont know how much, it has to be experimented) making it great to make something stuffed with it 😉
Fat is a taste carrier and solvant, so less fat equals less tasty dish. Also, pork fat and olive oil is two different tastes and together they add their uniqueness to the final dish.
@@zeb0ul0nyeah, but the whole point of guanciale is the amount of pork fat it carries. I think adding more fat is just overkilling, I think it's matter of balance
@@SoloPerICommenti Perhaps, or not.... 😋
Great video Ethan! It's awesome to see pasta recipes that don't require tons of crazy ingredients but still are different than the usual ones you see on RUclips. Quick question - is there any substitute for that harissa paste you mentioned in the second recipe? That's the only thing I'm missing.
I am missing the same ingredient, but figured I could blend in a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce into the sauce mixture. You could probably also bastardize the carbonara even further by trying to add an Asian Chile paste/Sambal, or even sriracha might work as a substitute. Home cooks gotta improvise somehow!
trader joe's has its own kind of tunisian Harissa
@ethan, I am from a very similar ethnic background as you. As a chef and foodie, I have to say that I really do not like the very expensive green Extra-virgin olive oil, I know I ought to but, no. I got to the point that I "was trying to like it". We never had that growing up and just is not something I appreciate. That has a wild grassy taste to me, but the non-virgin stuff is good on salads, stuff like that. Now BUTTER is a completely different story, LOL. I have even browned a stick of butter and added that to a cake batter (along with the regular oil), then did a french butter cream with browned sugar. Kind of a wonderful, butter scotch taste. Loved your channel since day one, good to see you have so many followers. Your no bull, straight talk is much appreciated.
This is so awesome! Man, we really need more of make ahead food. It makes life so much easier. It could be a series by itself.
Also, the food science part is great as well and deserves its own series
I thought I got a hair on my phone, and I realized it's your picture.😒😒🙄🙄
@@Didos54088 Happens to the best of us
Great video Ethan, quick question from me- when using the corn starch “gel” does it affect how much starchy pasta water is needed at the end? Thanks
Love the food science tips definitely adding to my repertoire. I’ve learned a lot of recipes and tricks from here! Any recommendation on what I could substitute the meat in the carbonara sauce?
Guanciale (or pancetta or bacon) is basically fat and salt so you’d need to add small cubes of something crispy, salty and fatty. Fried tofu? Halloumi? Cauliflower? You’re adding chili flakes so don’t go with anything too strongly flavoured like mushrooms that might overwhelm the eggs and cheese (unless that’s the effect you’re looking for).
These are super going to help me on my food control. being able to make the sauce separated from the meal, means i can calculate the nutrition and keep a better eye on my intake. this may change my entire outlook on this process. thank you,
Seldom do I watch a video and immediately go "this is life changing" but yeah, this one hit that spot for me.
This reminds me of Lucas Sin’s Chinese sesame noodles! I followed his recipe as usual, but kept the sauce in the fridge for future servings. Kept really well, and the flavor is an umami bomb. Must try!!
That has literally nothing to do with this. You just made a sauce and let it mold in the fridge and somehow relate that to this video. In fact, you posted this 45m ago so you didn't even watch this video.
@@musicdude1540 I literally watched the whole video. You ever heard of playback speed? I simply said it reminded me of that particular recipe since he mentioned preparing the sauce in advance to save prep time for small servings. I’ve been on the lookout for a similar technique and Ethan’s provided that in this video. I’ve only been able to do it once with those sesame noodles.
In fact, I don’t think you even did watch or check it out, didn’t you?
@@aritin5259 you commented 1m after it posted and you were one of the first comments on this video.
@@musicdude1540 Your word against mine. My notifications for Ethan’s videos are turned on too by the way, but of course you would have no way of knowing that. Just like the assumptions you have had to make.
If I hadn’t watched the video, how would I have known what he said in it? Read the room lol.
just one thing, when you use guanciale, which already is extremely fat, you don't need to use oil, just let the fat gently melt on the pan. Peace out!
This is dope, I just got some spinach and mustard greens from a CSA I just decided to start this year. Can’t wait to make the green sauce!
The music choice on this video was absolute *chef's kiss*
I've been trying to find a way to make an Alfredo Sauce that holds up well for reheating. I work alone on the weekends and getting something to eat, I have limited nearby restaurants to pick up something. Would using the cornstarch/gel technique work for an Alfredo Sauce also? Thanks for these wonderful videos, where you show us How to make something, but also the explanations of why it works. Especially for these types of sauces, it is critical to know how much is too much heat. Heat is hard to determine when it is less than boiling!!! Tonight, I am going to try a cheater version of an Alfredo Sauce. You seem to be enjoying your time in Paris.
I believe he said in his Cacio e Pepe video that it holds up well when reheating.
It should work, alfredo sauce isn't exceptionally different than the examples here and the original caciao e pepe video. Since the other major component is butter, you could probably just omit the olive oil- that is to help the emulsion from the blending, and half of an alfredo sauce is a fat source. Or at least swap the butter with clarified butter to have pure dairy fat. Either way in theory you'd end up with something like a stable beurre monté sauce but with all the Italian cheese flavor.
Nowadays I always make Alfredo sauce by first making a béchamel sauce and add parmesan. The cornstarch method is effectively the same principle, although you do need a blender. Pure genius.
Not only pasta but in sandwiches, chips etc. Love this idea.
Great job Ethan! You understand what your audience wants and deliver it! One recommendation I have is also blanching the garlic for the green sauce. When you use raw garlic, it continues to infuse into the sauce and over time, it gets too strong, since you are storing it. Blanching the garlic with the greens will prevent it from doing that. You may need to add an extra clove of garlic to retain the level of garlicky taste after this process.
WATERY PASTA SAUCE THAT CAN ALSO FUNCTION AS A SPINACH-FLAVORED DRINK!! FANTASTIC!!
This is a banger of an episode dude. Its so unique, but also simple and very effective. You hit some gold with that corn starch water gel.
Those sauces are beautiful!!
So I'm a total science nerd, and it's part of why I've enjoyed your videos, but I have to say Ethan that this plus the Cacio e Pepe video are the finest work you've done. I love how clearly and simply you explained the chemistry of the critical temperatures, and I think the way you're using that in these dishes is an excellent example of how you can take that knowledge and use it elsewhere.
I’ve learned so much about home cooking from you that I can go back on other recipes of mine and figure out how to make them better. 100 percent thanks for everything you release dude. Keep it up
Awesome! Something I love about your videos is how I can use the video itself as a guide as I'm cooking because there's not too much fluff and you keep the recipes separate instead of showing them concurrently.
to spinach sauce you can also add fried onion, huge gamechanger that makes a sauce taste like green onion chips.
Wow...both are so amazing and easy, perfect for everyday when we come home feeling so tired to cook. The ingredients are so simple too..I love these recipes so much
@Ethan Chlebowski I find your channel inspiring. Some questions about this episode:
Have you ever investigated the effects of additives when cooking pasta?
Can you make flavored corn syrup?
Can making a broth with the cheese crust, adding gelatin, be a good easy preservable sauce base?
Your energy and excitement really come through! Enjoy your time in France!
Just tried making the spinach garlic for dinner tonight.
I'm surprised with how well it came out for a first try! And there's easily enough sauce for 3-4 servings so I already have the sauce prepped for the next few days. 🍝
Made the spinach garlic parm pasta tonight with a pan seared lemon pepper cod fillet to go with it….EXCELLENT!! Great recipe, thanks Ethan!!
These 2 videos are the best pasta videos I've ever seen. I never succeeded caccio & peppe and now I have a recipe that works. Not only you improved that old recipe, but you invented new pasta sauces based on that knowledge !
Glad I subbed
Ethan.. Thank You for bringing positivity with your cooking. You have a blessed day.
Glad you got those kitchen tweezers! Alex convinced me, too! The presentation impact is enormous.
I hadn't considered how far one could expand the cornstarch trick. Excellent video. It's great to see you thinking ahead.
Watching you since 70k. Congratulations on a million buddy. You da best
im vegan so i always have to chance your recipis a little bit
But i still watched like all of your videos and learnd so much from it:) Thanks and sorry for my bad grammar
Greetings from Germany🦎
Just looking at the fiery makes my mouth water.
been watching you for about a year and the progression as a whole has been incredible to watch. the videos come off so natural now and i learn something new every time. keep up the good shit ethan
Your channel truly stands out from other food channels I follow - in a good way that is. Dishes you present are delicious, explanations are fully detailed and you have a very clear way of presenting and editing. Keep up the great work and enjoy skyrocketing subscriber numbers!
I really like that he explained the science in the last video and then hammered the point home with this one
About guancale and bacon, I start it in a dry & cold pan on high heat. The fat starts rendering at a lower temp than the maillard reaction happens. There is a point you need to cut the heat to medium-low, the sizzling sound changes when there's almost no water left from rendering fat.
I just found this channel....there is an overwhelming amount of information here. Binge watching is about to commence.
So much inspiration. I watch a ton of RUclips cooking channels. But your philosophy and technique have inspired me more than all of them combined. Thanks dude.
Hard the spinach garlic and it was delicious, can’t wait to try the fiery carbonara!