Naples & Campania · No.02 / 103
Aglio, olio e peperoncino, 6 ways
Just garlic, oil, chili, and pasta water. With so few ingredients, whether the sauce emulsifies is the whole flavor. Schools diverge on how much pasta water to use and when to pull it off the heat.
This log is stored only in this browser. Choosing a dish does not log it.
Watch the creators’ original videos for the method and finish.
Marco MacriPeperoncino Is the Best: Shishito Peperoncino [Aglio Olio e Peperoncino di Fiume]Watch on YouTube ↗
Keita YugeFor Anyone Living Alone: One-Pan Firefly Squid Aglio OlioWatch on YouTube ↗
Each card leads to its source video or recipe page. You can also load a style straight into the builder
Garlic 7 min on medium-low, emulsify with 10 sec left
One pan, 350cc water, bouillon — no emulsifying
High heat garlic chips, chili scorched black
References: [1]
Crushed garlic, room-temp oil, high heat, until skewer-tender
References: [1]
No measurements; 1–2 min on medium, noodles finish in sauce
References: [1]
5L water, low heat 5 min, 1–2 drops of water if it colors
References: [1]
Figures are transcribed as written in each video or recipe page
| AXIS | Tomomi Ogura | Ryuji | Fabio | Tsutomu Ochiai | Pasta Grammar | Vincenzo's Plate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pasta, portion, and boiling | 1.5mm, 70g, 5 min | 1.4mm, 100g, no separate boiling | 1.7mm, 70g, package time | 1.4mm, 70g | spaghetti, 2–3 min under package time | 300–500g for 4, package time |
| Salt in the pasta water | not stated | 2 pinches (+1 tsp bouillon) | 1.5% (30g in 2L) | not stated | generously (no percentage given) | rock salt (amount not given) |
| Water volume | not stated | 350cc (one pan) | 2L | not stated | large pot | about 5L |
| Amount of oil | as needed (amount unspecified) | 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp to finish | 2 tbsp (+1 tbsp for the tomato sauce) | 50cc EVOO (a convenient amount to make) | plenty (no amount given) | plenty (no amount given) |
| Garlic | sliced, 1 clove, medium-low 7 min | minced, 2 cloves, from cold oil | 1 clove, high heat into chips | crushed, 3 cloves, room-temp oil to high heat, until a skewer passes through | cored and chopped, medium heat 1–2 min | chopped, 2 cloves, low heat 5 min |
| Chili | 2, from the start | 1, sliced, added after garlic colors | 1, until black | roughly chopped, 20 sec off the heat | fresh or dried, added with the garlic | 2, fresh and chopped, added with the garlic |
| Emulsification method | add pasta water with 10 sec of boil time left | simmered down to thicken naturally | off heat with pasta water, noodles added after | swirl with 3–4 tbsp pasta water | a ladle of pasta water, noodles finished over medium-high | pasta water added bit by bit, tossed up with tongs |
| Heat level | medium-low, longer cook | high → low → boil → reduce | high, short time | high → low, chili added off heat | medium → off → medium-high | low |
| Finishing | parsley, finishing oil | olive oil, salt, soy sauce (optional) | serve with concentrated tomato sauce | plate quickly | drizzle the pan's oil over, serve at once | parsley, Parmigiano Reggiano optional |
| Total time | about 25 min | about 15 min | about 20 min | not stated | not stated | 15 min |
| Source check | Partly unverified | Source verified | Partly unverified | Partly unverified | Source verified | Source verified |
Your picks stay in the URL, so you can share it as is
Pasta & boiling Brand, thickness, salt, water volume, cooking time 
Sauce & emulsion Where you toss, heat level, how much pasta water 
Finish Cheese, pepper, finishing oil, plating For Aglio, olio e peperoncino, the fork in the road is how you emulsify and heat
The pan stays on the flame and your hands manage the temperature. Fast, but it takes feel.
Bain-marie, steam, double boiler or a hand blender. Repeatable, at the cost of one extra step.
Emulsify after killing the flame, or in a bowl with only the pasta’s residual heat. Hard to get wrong.
In an Italian meal the primo (pasta) is followed by a secondo (main course)
Bistecca alla fiorentina
A thick-cut beef T-bone, with fillet and sirloin on either side of the bone, grilled rare over glowing charcoal embers — a Florentine regional dish. Traditionally made with young Chianina beef, seasoned with nothing more than salt, pepper, and good olive oil so the meat itself is the point.
Pairs with: Pomodoro / Spaghetti alle vongole / Aglio, olio e peperoncino
As about the lightest possible primo — just oil and garlic — it hands the weight off to the secondo without competing, letting the charcoal aroma stay the star of the meal.
Purchase suggestions for preparing this dish, including tools and ingredients.
The box time appears to assume pasta eaten straight from the pot, though we could not find a manufacturer stating that outright. Skip the subtraction before a pan toss, and it turns soft.
Fabio eases eggs to about 65°C over a bain-marie with a hand mixer — the transcript's tip box says boiling water still won't scramble them. His aglio e olio chars the chili black instead.
Tomomi Ogura gives the garlic about 7 minutes over medium-low heat, then starts his emulsion 10 seconds before the pasta is done. His carbonara matches egg yolk to Parmigiano by weight, off the heat.
Ryuji sautés the bacon and garlic, then turns off the heat and lets the pan cool before adding the egg — a step he arrived at after testing the recipe more than 1,000 times.
Emulsifying pasta sauce isn't about mixing harder. It happens only when starch, a safe temperature, and nonstop agitation all line up. Four schools split the work differently.
How you cut garlic trades off aroma against burn risk. Mincing should burn fastest, yet Ryuji starts it in cold oil — reading that as burn-proofing is the editors' inference, not his source's.
Ryuji's carbonara skips heavy cream, and so does Vincenzo's Plate — so "no cream" can't be the line between home cooks and tradition. The real split is ingredients, heat, and emulsion.
Ryuji calls his own aglio e olio "heretical, yet supreme." We trace how it swaps emulsification and water-ratio math for one-pan cooking and umami seasoning, across his 2020 and 2023 recipes.
Ryuji's ultimate aglio e olio lists olive oil on two separate lines — one tablespoon each, the same oil. The split appears to come down to whether the oil hits heat.
Ryuji's peperoncino skips emulsification: he simmers dried pasta directly in water and bouillon. Tomomi Ogura adds pasta water with ten seconds left on the boil. Six chefs compared.
Chef profiles
Reads
Ingredients