Beginner here. I made some pasta with rice and it doesn't taste particularly good
I put olive oil, i put the pasta, i kept stirring, i added a bit of red onion, i added rice, some salt, and then i closed the lid and let it boil until the pasta had good texture
Then I put some pepper and a bit of chilli. Now I'm eating it and it tastes meh. What did I do wrong, what can I do next time better, and how do I become a better cook?
>>7711594
>what did I do wrong
Basically everything.
Next time look at some recipes for dishes using the ingredients you have on hand and pay attention to the order they add ingredients and how they season it.
>pasta with rice
>>7711594
>mixing pasta and rice
why would you do that
also, you should cook the onion down first.
>>7711604
But I did look up some recipe I thought I did it sort of close to what they suggested here: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/rice-with-pasta/45d42c1c-f868-4863-910d-0006a5b78812
" 1 In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Stir in pasta; cook and stir 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Stir in onion and garlic; cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until tender.
2 Stir in rice; cook 30 to 60 seconds or until light golden brown. Stir in chicken broth and salt. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook 20 to 25 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Garnish with cilantro leaves.
"
>>7711611
>why would you do that
I don't know, I had some pasta and some rice and I thought maybe I could mix them. Looked up pasta and rice recipes and found something so I thought it was ok :(
Why do they not work together and how do I know what works with something else?
>>7711638
I suppose if you enjoyed the texture of pasta mixed with rice, then I'd say go ahead. But it sounds difficult to eat.
Did you cook the pasta and rice together in one pot? that sounds like it would overcook the pasta or undercook the rice.
Onion strips are too large, you should dice it to maximize surface area. Salt levels may be off, though salt is a replacement for poor cooking. Should've put a lot more onion from what I'm seeing, looks way too little for any taste to develop. Dish is missing additional vegetables for taste and color, of course pasta and rice are pretty bland by themselves and can only be saved by showering with salt. You barely added anything at all.
>>7711615
Weird. That's basically a pilaf recipe, though I've never seen one that also uses pasta. In any case, they use pasta pieces that are almost as small as the rice, so it's going to be different using bowties.
That said, it's a basic Betty Crocker recipe, so it isn't going to be anything special. The flavor is coming from the onion and garlic (which it looks like you barely sauteed and entirely omitted), salt and stock (which you most likely didn't use enough of and probably omitted), and whatever other seasonings. It sounds like you basically ate plain rice and noodles with boiled onions and a little pepper and chilli sprinkled on top.
>>7711643
Yeah, I used water... I didn't realise it'd be so bland. Thanks for the advice tho, that's really helpful and I'll write it down
>>7711594
Terrible. Just terrible.
>>7711594
>it doesn't taste particularly good
>pasta with rice
No fucking wonder.
Lay off the bong once in a while.
>>7711655
No, you're right, I didn't really enjoy it, I just didn't know how it'd taste (super beginner) Yeah they were both in the same pot, and I think you're right that neither of them are very well cooked. Helps that now I will try to think about cooking time of different stuff that I put in a pot, thanks anon
>>7711665
Combining different starchy foods like that is pretty common, you get more of a variety in flavor and texture but it just needs to be seasoned properly.
>>7711657
All really good and helpful points, damn this board is really helpful.
>>7711658
>It sounds like you basically ate plain rice and noodles with boiled onions and a little pepper and chilli sprinkled on top.
Lmao. You're right I underestimated the importance of seasoning. I had no idea they're so important, I was thinking them as an extra and I was scared I'll put too much salt or something. Lesson learned (partly, I'll probably still fuck up for a while)
>>7711670
How do people learn/know what foods they can combine? Are there any rules of thumb?
>>7711670
>you get more of a variety in texture
Yeah, because the rice takes twice as long to cook as the pasta, so you're either going to have crunchy rice or overcooked, slimy pasta.
>>7711594
I would start off with making a simple pasta sauce (tomato sauce or olive oil and garlic)
Then try making something with rice. Fried rice is a good place to start.
Also make sure to watch a YouTube tutorial of the recipe so you can follow step by step
I'd say the chili may have been a mistake. Olive oil doesn't mix well with spicy, last time I checked.
>>7711594
Why would you have starch in some starch? You should make some mashed potatoes as a side to continue this starch theme you're on.
But if I were going to make something like this.
- first off, cook the rice in a rice cooker. don't try to get cute or fancy, a rice cooker will always give you good consistent rice. while that's going
- parcook the pasta. cook it short about 3 minutes or so. drain it, cool it down so it stops cooking.
- saute the onions first. salt and pepper them. then add whatever italian seasoning you got. then add the garlic for the last minute of saute
- i'd add a can of tomatoes. crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, whatever you got on hand.
- stir in the pasta. bring it all up to a simmer. the pasta should be fully cooked at this point.
- stir in the rice
- god, this is a lot of starch. go back in time, add some italian sausage to the onions while you're sauteeing them
- stir in some parm cheese, maybe some mozzarella, some romano. check seasoning, salt to taste.
- ok, now serve
>>7711784
>olive oil doesn't mix well with spicy
>>7711703
I think you usually just want to combine foods that are a similar shape and size, like small pasta with beans or rice. If you use something like spaghetti with beans, the beans just fall off. It seems common to have one item wet with a sauce and another dry, like bean curries with bread.
>>7711729
If you boil rice, it's usually done in 10-15 minutes, lots of pasta shapes take that same amount of time to cook.
>>7711776
Thanks, I just made a list of stuff that I should try to cook and added your suggestion and carmelized onions as suggested by someone else ITT
>>7711806
Wow thanks for the step-by-step tutorial. I see already 2 mentions of parm/romano cheese ITT so I'll definitely check it out and continue lurking the board
>>7711891
>It seems common to have one item wet with a sauce and another dry
That's really cool that you can guide your recipes based on this kind of thinking. Damn cooking is cool
