For a lot of pasta lovers, rinsing is one of the main steps of the cooking process, while others avoid it all costs. If you still haven’t picked your side in this debate and aren’t exactly sure where you stand, use this brief guide to decide if you should be rinsing your pasta or not.
Hot Pasta Dishes
Most pasta dishes don’t require rinsing, especially the ones that are being served hot with additional sauces. Rinsing pasta makes it difficult for your sauces to be properly absorbed because it’s been stripped of its starchy coating, and that’s why you should only drain it instead.
Stir Fry Dishes
Rinsing is recommended with spaghetti and Asian-style noodles that you’re going to use in your stir-fry dishes. If you simply drain the water, your pasta or noodles may become gummy and clump together, so it’s better to rinse them instead and make sure your stir-fry is as tasty as it gets.
Pasta Salads
You can rinse your pasta if you’re going to use it in cold pasta dishes, such as pasta salad. Rinsing is recommended in this case because it will help you bring the temperature of your pasta down and immediately stop the cooking process.
