Fluffy Quinoa

Quinoa is another one of those things that has a ton of different instructions on how to make it.  I've tried way too many and I always found that my quinoa was too dry, too wet or too crunchy.  Most recipes I've seen call for a 2:1 liquid to quinoa ratio.  If you use this ratio I guarantee your quinoa will come out extremely wet and soggy.  I think the perfect ratio is 1.5:1 liquid to quinoa.  Here is my way of cooking quinoa that turns out great every time.  Shout out to one of my coworkers who helped me get this technique down!

 

I prefer to always cook quinoa and rice in a stock rather than water.  It is the easiest way to add great flavor without adding a lot of calories or fat.  One cup of chicken stock has about 15 calories! I usually use vegetable stock because I do not eat much chicken.  For this tutorial I decided to use water to keep everything as clear as possible.

Start off with bringing 1 1/2 cups of salted water to a boil over high heat. 

Measure out 1 cup of quinoa.  Any kind of quinoa will do. Tri-colored, white, etc.  I used white.

When the water boils, stir in the quinoa.

Reduce the heat to medium and keep stirring until the quinoa starts to absorb the liquid. 

Faron is very interested in how to make quinoa.

Malon...not so much...

When the quinoa seems to have absorbed most of the liquid, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover the pot for 5 minutes.  

After 5 minutes, stir and turn the heat completely off.  Cover again and let the quinoa stand until all of the water has been absorbed and almost all of the grains have opened. Just like rice and pasta, quinoa should be a little underdone, or al dente.

 

This could take a while.  I would estimate about 30 minutes but it could take a little longer.   

Quinoa grains that have burst look like little circles.  That's the only way I can describe it!

And that's it! Perfect, fluffy quinoa.  From here, you can make quinoa salads, make quinoa "fried rice", add fresh vegetables to it...just about anything you could imagine. Quinoa is an awesome substitute for rice.  It is a little nuttier in flavor but it has just about the same texture.  It's high in protein and fiber and is gluten free.  Let me know what you would like to see next and if you try this method please let me know how it turns out!