🍳 Fettuccine Alfredo: A Complete Guide

🛒 Ingredients (Serves 2)

• Fettuccine — about 200g (thicker than spaghetti and holds more juice)
• Butter — 50g (Use unsalted butter so you can adjust the saltiness yourself🧈)
• Heavy Cream / Whipping Cream — 200ml (You can buy heavy cream in paper packaging in most supermarkets in Hong Kong)
• Parmesan Cheese — 50g or more (grated, the more the better🧀)
• Garlic — 1–2 cloves (chopped, this is a Hong Kong-style enhanced version, authentically without garlic, but with it for a more flavorful dish)
• Salt — as needed (mainly for cooking water)
• Black pepper — to taste (freshly ground pepper has a more pronounced aroma)
• Olive Oil — a little (to prevent the dough from sticking)
• Parsley — a little (chopped and sprinkled on top for decoration 🌿, instantly enhances the appearance)

👉 Editor's Tip: Traditional Alfredo only uses butter and cheese, and a little bit of pasta cooking water, but the homemade version uses light cream for a more stable texture, so you don't have to worry about the sauce "separating" or being too dry.

🔪 Cooking process (very detailed)

1️⃣ Cook wide noodles

1. Prepare a large pot of water, with a ratio of about 100g of noodles to 1 liter of water. Add 1 tablespoon of salt. The salt water should be as salty as seawater to make the noodles flavorful.
2. After the water boils, add the fettuccine and cook for 1 minute less than the package recommendation (because you will need to reduce the sauce in the wok later).
3. Before removing the noodles, remember to reserve a cup of the pasta water. This pasta water contains starch and will be useful for mixing the sauce later.

🍝 Editor's Tip: When cooking pasta, be sure not to add oil or water, otherwise the noodles will slip and won't be able to hold onto the sauce. To prevent sticking, simply stir occasionally while cooking.

2️⃣ Whole white sauce

1. In a flat-bottomed wok or deep frying pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Avoid using high heat as this will cause the butter to burn.
2. (Optional) Add minced garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Do not let it burn.
3. Pour in the light cream and heat slowly over medium-low heat until bubbles form around the edges. Be careful not to over-simmer, as this will cause the cream to separate easily.
4. Slowly add grated Parmesan cheese, stirring constantly, until the cheese is completely dissolved and the sauce is thick and creamy.
5. Add some black pepper to taste. If you want it to be more fragrant, you can add some nutmeg, but this is optional.

🧀 Editor's reminder: cheese should be added in batches, otherwise if too much cheese is added, it will be difficult to dissolve and may even clump.

3️⃣ Lo Mein

1. Drain the cooked fettuccine and add it directly to the saucepan.
2. Use tongs to stir-fry quickly so that the noodles are fully coated with white sauce.
3. If you think the sauce is too thick, you can gradually add a little of the reserved pasta water to adjust it to the concentration you want.

🔥 Editor’s Take: Ideally, the sauce should evenly coat every noodle, but not be so watery that it leaks out. It should be “rich but not greasy.”

4️⃣ Serve

1. Place the fettuccine on a plate and sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese on top.
2. Add a few turns of freshly ground black pepper for an instant flavor upgrade.
3. Finally, sprinkle a little chopped parsley 🌿 to add more layers of color and make the dish look instantly beautiful.
4. Done! A plate of creamy and smooth Fettuccine Alfredo is ready to go!

🍽️ Editor's summary

This creamy white sauce fettuccine is super family-friendly:

• The ingredients are easy to buy and can be found in Hong Kong supermarkets.
• There aren’t many steps involved, but the finished product looks like restaurant quality.
• It’s a dish that will be loved by both kids and adults, especially cheese lovers.

If you want to upgrade, you can add seared chicken breast, sautéed mushrooms, shrimp, or even bacon to make it a "deluxe Alfredo" that is even more filling.

🍳 Chicken and Mushroom Alfredo Upgrade

🛒 Ingredients (Serves 2)

• Fettuccine noodles — about 200g
• Chicken Breast — 1 piece (about 200g, sliced ​​or strips)🍗
• Mushrooms — 150g (white or brown button mushrooms, sliced ​​🍄)
• Butter — 40g 🧈
• Heavy Cream — 200ml
• Parmesan Cheese — 50g (grated)
• Garlic — 2 cloves (chopped)
• Salt — as needed (cooking water + chicken seasoning)
• Black pepper — to taste (freshly ground is best)
• Olive Oil — a little (for frying the chicken)
• Parsley — a little (chopped, for garnish 🌿)

👉 Editor's tip: You can replace chicken breast with chicken thigh for a more tender and smooth texture; you can even use canned mushrooms, which is super convenient.

🔪 Cooking process (detailed steps)

1️⃣ Cook wide noodles

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt. The water should be as salty as seawater.
2. Add fettuccine and cook for 1 minute less than package instructions, or until al dente.
3. Remember to reserve 1 cup of the cooking water before removing the noodles.

🍝 Editor’s Note: Wide noodles are thicker, so remember to stir them occasionally to prevent them from sticking together.

2️⃣ Pan-fried chicken

1. Slice the chicken breast and lightly season with salt and black pepper.
2. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan, fry over medium heat until both sides are golden brown and cooked through, then remove from the pan and set aside.

🍗 Editor's reminder: Don't fry it too dry, keep it tender and smooth for a good taste.

3️⃣ Sautéed Mushrooms

1. In the same wok, add a little butter and sauté minced garlic until fragrant.
2. Add mushroom slices and stir-fry over medium-high heat until the water comes out and the mushrooms are dry. They are most fragrant when the surface is slightly golden.

🍄 Editor's Tip: Stir-fry the mushrooms until they are slightly charred and fragrant, so that the "mushroom flavor" will burst out.

4️⃣ Whole white sauce

1. After the mushrooms are fried, add the light cream directly and heat over medium-low heat.
2. Add the remaining butter and wait until the sauce becomes smoother.
3. Slowly add the grated Parmesan cheese, stirring until melted and creamy.
4. Season with black pepper.

🧀 Editor's reminder: Never boil cream over high heat, as the oil and water will separate. Keep it simmered over low heat for a safer cooking.

5️⃣ Lo Mein with Chicken

1. Add the cooked noodles to the sauce pan and stir-fry quickly until the noodles are coated with sauce.
2. If it feels too strong, you can gradually add some cooking water to adjust to the desired concentration.
3. Add the fried chicken and mix well.

🔥 Editor's reminder: Be quick to collect the sauce at the end to keep the noodles slippery and not dry.

6️⃣ Serve

1. Serve noodles and sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese🧀.
2. Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley and add a few turns of black pepper.
3. Done! A plate of creamy Chicken and Mushroom Alfredo is ready to go!

🍽️ Editor's summary

• This upgraded version is richer than the original, with chicken providing protein and mushrooms adding flavor and texture.
• The ingredients are flexible and you can add spinach, bacon or even shrimp, the variations are endless.
• A Hong Kong family weeknight dinner that can be prepared in under 30 minutes, simple yet luxurious.