For fans of healthy food, a food called quinoa, of course, no longer sounds foreign to your ears. Besides being nutritious and having a delicious taste, quinoa is actually very easy to prepare, lo! One of the easiest and fastest ways to process quinoa is to cook it in a rice cooker just like rice. Besides being easy and fast, this method is also able to produce quinoa with a soft, tender, and light texture! To enrich the taste of quinoa, you can also add a variety of favorite complementary ingredients to the rice cooker. Come on, read this article to find out more information!
Ingredients
- 200 grams of quinoa
- 480 ml water
- tsp. salt
Will make: 4 servings of quinoa
Step
Method 1 of 2: Making Simple Quinoa
Step 1. Rinse the quinoa with cold water
Pour about 200 grams of quinoa into a fine sieve, then place the strainer under cold running water from the faucet. Then, use your hands to stir the quinoa while rinsing.
- Remember, quinoa must be cleaned before processing to remove the outer layer which can give a bitter taste sensation when cooked.
- Don't have a small slotted filter? Please clean the quinoa in a perforated basket that has been lined with a coffee filter or cheese/tofu filter cloth.
Step 2. Put the quinoa, cold water, and salt in the rice cooker
Transfer the cleaned quinoa to the rice cooker and add about 400 ml of cold water to it. If you want, add tsp. salt into the rice cooker to season the quinoa.
Don't cook the quinoa in hot water so it won't stick to the texture when it cooks
Step 3. Close and turn on the rice cooker
If your rice cooker has separate settings for cooking white rice and brown rice, choose the white rice option, especially since both white rice and quinoa take about 15 minutes to cook.
- Do not open the rice cooker lid while the quinoa is cooking to prevent the hot steam from escaping.
- If you don't understand how to use a rice cooker, please read the manual.
Do you know?
While white, black, and red quinoa will taste slightly different, they will likely take a similar amount of time to ripen.
Step 4. Let the quinoa sit for 3-5 minutes before stirring with a fork
Unplug the rice cooker and do not open it for 3-5 minutes so that the quinoa ripening process is completed by the hot steam that forms in the rice cooker. After about 5 minutes, open the rice cooker lid and gently stir in the quinoa with a fork.
Stirring the quinoa with a fork helps to keep the texture from sticking or clumping, and it certainly feels lighter when eaten
Step 5. Serve the quinoa
Basically, quinoa can be served without any additives as a substitute for rice or other elements contained in the food. In addition, you can also mix quinoa with the main dish or other accompaniments. For example, quinoa can be chilled and mixed with vinaigrette vinegar and grated vegetables, to make a plate of chilled quinoa lettuce.
- To store leftover quinoa, please place it in an airtight container, then store the container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- If desired, quinoa can be frozen in the freezer for up to 2 months. To soften it, you just need to leave the container of quinoa in the refrigerator overnight.
Method 2 of 2: Modifying the Quinoa Recipe
Step 1. Replace the water with a liquid that has a taste
One of the easiest ways to add flavor to quinoa is to use an equal amount of vegetable or chicken stock instead of water.
- If you're worried that the quinoa will taste too salty because of the thick broth, try using a low-sodium broth or broth that's cooked for a short time so it's thinner in texture.
- Try adding a squeeze of lemon to make the quinoa look brighter.
Step 2. Add various spices to make the quinoa taste more unique
For example, add a maximum of 2 tbsp. favorite dry spices into the liquid used to cook quinoa. As it cooks, the quinoa will absorb the liquid as well as the various delicious flavors in it. In particular, try seasoning the quinoa so that its flavor matches the concept of your dish for the day. For example, you could add:
- Cumin, lime juice, and coriander leaves if later the quinoa will be used as a mixture of tacos or burritos.
- Curry powder if you want a plate of Indian or Caribbean flavored quinoa.
- Chinese five-spice powder seasoning to make a plate of Asian-flavored quinoa.
- Mix Cajun spices to produce a plate of quinoa with a distinctly South American flavor.
Tip:
Add fresh herbs after the quinoa is cooked, just before you want to serve or eat it.
Step 3. Add oil or aromatic spices to enrich the taste of the quinoa
For example, you can add chopped garlic, grated lemon zest, or a sprig of fresh rosemary to make the quinoa more delicious when eaten. If you want, you can also add 1-2 tsp. favorite oils that are absolutely safe to eat, such as walnut oil, toasted sesame oil, or hazelnut oil.
- Discard any garlic, lemon zest, or other herbs used just before serving the quinoa.
- If possible, use oil that has been infused with seasonings, such as chili or other spices. You can even make your own infused oil, lo, if possible!
Step 4. Cook quinoa with coconut milk and add fruit to make your breakfast delicious
Tired of eating oatmeal for breakfast? Why not replace it with quinoa cooked in coconut milk, instead of water, in the rice cooker? If you want, you can also enrich the flavor of the ripe quinoa by adding a variety of favorite accompaniments, such as fresh fruit, honey, or ground cinnamon, just before eating it.
- If you want, you can also use plain cow's milk or another plant-based milk, such as almond milk, hemp milk, or soy milk.
- If you want to add dried fruit, feel free to put them in the rice cooker at the same time as the quinoa. This will give the dried fruit time to soften as it cooks.
