Quinoa- how to make?

mirror

Tue, Oct 28 2014, 4:53 pm

I use a rice cooker

Use more water than rice cooker requires.

Put it on "white rice" setting. This will cook for 20 minutes.

Add craisins after you add the water to pot. use a ratio of 1 cup quinoa to 1/2 cup craisins.

That's it.

yamz

Tue, Oct 28 2014, 5:06 pm

What went wrong? Was it the flavor or the texture that you didn't like?

Quinoa cooks pretty quickly. 2:1 water to rice ratio. Add some salt and a little bit of fat (butter, olive oil, etc.) to the water and once the quinoa comes to a boil, let it simmer for 15-20 minutes. The quinoa is cooked when you see little white "tails" or "rings" on the grains. Taste to be sure. Do NOT let the quinoa overcook! Overcooked quinoa is quite mushy. It should feel pleasantly springy to the mouth. Immediately fluff cooked quinoa with a fork. Strain off any remaining water if necessary. After the quinoa is cooked you can use it as you use rice. It can make a bed for a stirfry, you can add small bits of cooked or sauteed vegetables to it and serve as a side-dish, or you can let it cool and make quinoa salad. Enjoy!

ra_mom

Tue, Oct 28 2014, 5:24 pm

SS6099 wrote:

Last time I made it it came out awful.
Anyone have any good recipes?
Ty!

Use this recipe. Yum, yum. Just follow instructions properly. I only like quinoa in salad form.

Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
2 ripe avocado, quartered, then cut into chunks
2 ripe plum tomatoes, quartered, then cut into chunks
1/2 red onion, sliced
2 scallions, sliced
1 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse quinoa very well in a fine mesh colander or strainer, to remove the bitter coating. Set aside.
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a 2 quart saucepan. Add rinsed quinoa. Return to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, covered, for 10-15 minutes, until all water is absorbed. When done, the quinoa appears soft and translucent, and the germ ring will be visible along the outside edge of the quinoa. Remove from heat, fluff, cover and let it stand for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Combine avocado, tomato, red onion, scallions, and garlic. Add cooled quinoa. Drizzle with lemon or lime juice and olive oil. Season very generously with salt and pepper to taste. Toss gently.

abs

Tue, Oct 28 2014, 5:31 pm

I could not tolerate quinoa the first time I tasted it! Then a friend made some with sauteed onions and zucchini. I like it now! I saute whatever I have, onions, garlic, celery, zucchini etc. then mix it with the cooked plain quinoa. You can also saute the veggies then cook the quinoa in the vegetables-just add water and quinoa and cook it like you would otherwise.

tichellady

Tue, Oct 28 2014, 5:59 pm

I do it differently. I rinse it like everyone else but then I boil it like pasta in a salty veggie broth water for about 15 minutes until it has a tail and then I drain it in a colander. I don't like cooking it in a ratio of 2 cups water to 1 cup quinoa it gets too mushy for me. Try the pasta method of you like firmer quinoa

chani8

Wed, Oct 29 2014, 2:28 am

SS6099 wrote:

Last time I made it it came out awful.
Anyone have any good recipes?
Ty!

The trick with quinoa is that you must soak it for 5 minutes, and then rinse it. Don't skip that step!