Cooking Quinoa » Stir Fry Recipes http://www.cookingquinoa.net Cooking Quinoa | Quinoa Recipes Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:29:06 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Quinoa Cooking Tips http://www.cookingquinoa.net/quinoa-cooking-tips http://www.cookingquinoa.net/quinoa-cooking-tips#comments Fri, 02 Jul 2010 21:52:39 +0000 Wendy Polisi http://www.cookingquinoa.net/?p=100

Quinoa is a big part of my diet, so I am always looking for new quinoa cooking tips. Although many people ask me how to cook quinoa perfectly, I have to be honest and say that there are just so many different ways of cooking quinoa!  Here are some of my favorite quinoa tips!

Quinoa Cooking Tips

How to Cook Quinoa Grain with Style

Those who know me know I am a magazine junkie.  Seriously – I read about 10 magazines a month.  No, I don’t have a weakness for grocery counter tabloids.  I just love cooking magazines, fitness magazines and women’s magazines.

In the spring Food and Wine ran and article on jazzing up grains to then use them in other dishes.  Now, I know quinoa is a seed and not a grain but the article got me to thinking about whether the method would work well with quinoa.  I tried it, and guess what – it did!

Here is my adaptation for Thyme-Scented Quinoa. The quinoa will keep in the refrigerator for up to five days and in the freezer for a month.  (You probably could keep it a little longer but I tend to be a bit psycho about food safety.

How Do You Cook Quinoa for Salads?

While I often include other instructions in quinoa recipes, I do have a preferred method for preparing quinoa that I am going to use in a quinoa salad.  The reason I don’t include it in recipes is that it takes a bit more effort and I don’t want to turn people off from cooking quinoa.

I found this method on Epicurious.com, and although I was skeptical I must say that it does create the most perfect texture for salads.

1. Add quinoa to a saucepan of boiling broth (chicken or vegetable) and cook for 10 minutes.  Drain quinoa in a fine metal sieve and rinse with cold water.
2. Boil a pot of water and place the sieve over it.  Cover with a kitchen towel and lid and steam for 10 minutes or until fluffy.

How do You Keep from Having Quinoa with a Texture of Glue?

I get a lot of emails from people wanting quinoa cooking tips.  The one that I get most often is along the lines of:

“Help, I really want to add quinoa to my diet, but every time I try to cook it is has the texture of paste.  It’s so mushy that I end up tossing it out!”

If your quinoa is mushy it means that you are overcooking it.  Remember, just as there are many different ways to cook quinoa, every stove is a little different. So when considering how long to cook quinoa, you are going to have to get to know your stove and make necessary adjustments.   Because electric stoves don’t cool down as quickly as gas, you will typically need to shorten your cooking time. Check out this post on how to cook quinoa perfectly.

Mushy Quinoa = Overcooked Quinoa

Quinoa Storage

While we are talking about how to cook quinoa grain, let’s talk about storage.  After all, if you start with a product that is less than fresh it is unlikely that you will get stellar results.  It is best to store quinoa in glass or plastic. Because quinoa has a high content of polyunsaturated fats, it is especially important that quinoa be stored in a cool area that is also dry and dark.  Stored properly, quinoa will keep for at least a year.  It can keep longer if conditions are ideal or if you remove the oxygen first. I like to use a seal a meal to store my quinoa.

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]]> http://www.cookingquinoa.net/quinoa-cooking-tips/feed 8 Stir Fry Recipes – A Great Way of Cooking Quinoa http://www.cookingquinoa.net/stirfryrecipes http://www.cookingquinoa.net/stirfryrecipes#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 00:25:40 +0000 Wendy Polisi http://www.cookingquinoa.net/?p=55

I have to admit that only really great stir fry recipes appeal to me.  While I love the fresh vegetables  that come with stir fry recipes, I am not a huge fan of oriental cooking.  Still, when I came across a chicken stir fry recipes recently, I decided to try making quinoa stir fry.  I’m always up for a new way of cooking quinoa and am eager to try healthy recipes!

One of the best things about stir  fry recipes is that they are most always healthy!

I got the inspiration for this dish from Jillian Michael’s new book, The Master Your Metabolism Cookbook. If you haven’t already gotten it, it’s a great cookbook that I highly recommend!  (It has two great quinoa recipes to try.  I love the breakfast Quinoa Berry Crunch!  Yummm!) The original stir fry recipe does not have as much kick and used rice (horrors!) rather than quinoa.  I really liked the crunchiness that the quinoa added to this stir fry recipe.  I think is is much better than the original would have been.  (Not to mention – healthier on most counts!)

So, give this chicken and vegetable stir fry recipe a shot!  Who knows – it just may become one of your favorite quinoa recipes!

Chicken & Quinoa Stir Fry Recipe

  • For the Quinoa:
  • 1 T Olive Oil
  • 1 cup rinsed quinoa
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1.5 cups chicken broth
  • For the Chicken and Stir Fry:
  • 2 T rice wine vinegar
  • 1 T plus 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 T lime juice
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tsp red chiles, chopped finely
  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken
  • 1 T Braggs Amino Acids
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 1/2 T organic virgin coconut oil
  • 6 minced garlic cloves
  • 1 T Fresh Ginger, grated
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced
  • 1 Red Bell pepper, sliced thin
  • 1 Green Bell pepper, sliced thin
  • 8 ounces asparagus, chopped into 1/2″ pieces
  • 2/3 cup chicken broth
  • 5 oz fresh spinach, chopped
    1. Heat oil over medium heat. Add rinsed quinoa and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
    2. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
    3. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook covered for 15-18 minutes.
    4. Allow to sit covered for 5 minutes. Set aside.
    5. Whisk together 1 T vinegar, 1 T sesame oil, lime juice, 1/2 tsp honey and chilies. Add the chopped chicken and marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.
    6. Whisk together Braggs, 1 T vinegar, 2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp honey, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. This is your stir fry sauce. Set aside.
    7. Heat your wok set or a large pan over medium high heat. Ad coconut oil. (Be careful not to get too hot because coconut oil has a low smoking point.) Once melted at garlic and ginger, stir for 10 second and add onion. Cook fro 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes. Add green pepper, red pepper and asparagus and cook for 1 minute.
    8. Add in chicken broth. Cover and cook for 4 minutes. Add spinach, quinoa and stir fry sauce. Toss well. Remove from heat.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)

Cooking time: 30 minute(s)

Diet (other): Low calorie

Number of servings (yield): 8

Meal type: dinner

Culinary tradition: Chinese

Calories per serving: 265

Fat per serving: 10.4 g

 

My husband really loves this recipe because he is a hug fan of asparagus recipes.  Since I didn’t grow up eating asparagus, I tend to not cook it as often as he would like.  Because of this, this recipe has become one of his favorite ways of cooking with quinoa.   Have more chicken stir fry recipes that would make a great quinoa salad?  I’d love to hear from you!

By the way, if you are looking for more chicken recipes with quinoa, check out my chicken salad recipe!  Who knew chicken salad recipes could be good for you!

If you have stir fry recipes  or a favorite chicken stir fry recipe you would like to share I would love to hear from you!

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