Quinoa is an ancient seed and superfood that can be used endlessly in recipes including in salads , as sides, in Quinoa Sushi or even as porridge. It is incredibly versatile and can be used in place of rice and served with curries, stir-fries or stews.
We love Quinoa because it is high in protein, gluten free and has a great texture and nutty flavour that can be used in a variety of dishes.
It has an unpredictable pronunciation, ‘keen-wah’ and can be found at health food stores.
After trial and error this is by far the best way to cook quinoa on the stove top that produces a light and fluffy, non-gluggy or soggy quinoa.
Did you know whilst quinoa looks like a grain it is actually considered a seed? It is often confused with being a grain because it is used typically like a grain. Being particular it is actually called a ‘pseudo cereal’ and is in fact a relative of spinach and beets.
Quinoa also comes in different colours; white, black or red and comes in different forms; whole seed Quinoa, Puffed Quinoa, Quinoa Flakes and Quinoa Flour.
Check out our recipe for Quinoa Sushi.
Nourish 101:
- Quinoa is high in protein, gluten free and more easily digested than alternative gluten free grains. In fact, quinoa is a complete protein meaning that it contains all nine of the essential amino acids your body needs for optimal health. It also provides a great source of dietary fibre that aids healthy digestion and healthy cholesterol levels.
Fluffy Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 cup Quinoa
- 1 1/4 cups Water extra for rinsing and soaking
- Pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Rinse quinoa under running water and drain. Discard water.
- Soak quinoa in water for 15 minutes. Drain and discard water.
- On a stove top bring to the boil soaked quinoa with 1 1/4 cups water.
- Reduce to a simmer and cover with lid. Cook for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.
- Remove from heat and leave to stand with lid on for 10 minutes.
- Fluff quinoa with a fork.
Notes
- Enjoy as a side dish, in warm dishes or chilled in salads.
- Pre-soaking quinoa seeds is an important step to making sure you have fluffy quinoa that isn’t bitter. Always rinse your quinoa to wash off the bitter compound that coats the seeds.
- Leaving the lid on your saucepan after it is cooked helps to make the quinoa fluffy from its own steam.
- How to know if your quinoa is ready? When your quinoa is cooked it will release a curly ‘tail-like’ string that separates from its seed.
- Alternatively you can make quinoa in a rice cooker. Simply follow the above instructions but instead of cooking on the stove top cook in a rice cooker as per its instructions for rice.
