Asian stir fried quinoa

I’m always looking for something healthier to make for lunch or dinner which is delicious, nutritious, and satisfying all at the same time. I absolutely love quinoa! It’s a great source of protein and you can create so many tasty dishes with it. When cooked properly, quinoa can have a very fluffy texture similar to rice and makes a very satisfying meal. This simple recipe is perfect for our time in quarantine, as you can easily substitute the vegetables with whatever you have at home.

Servings - 5 people

Prep time - 60 minutes (including cooking & cooling quinoa)

Cooking time - 10 minutes

Ingredients

White quinoa — 1 cup

Water — 2 1/4 cup

Salt — 1/8 tsp

Corn — 80 g

Oyster mushroom — 30 g

White button mushroom — 50 g

Carrot — 50 g

Baby corn — 10 g

Taro root — 100 g

Celery — 30 g

Brown onion — 130 g

Garlic — 15 g

Thai sweet basil — 10 g

Thai red bird chilli — 1 pc (or more according to spice level desired)

Dry whole red chilli — 5 g

Red sichuan peppercorn — 1/4 tsp (slightly crushed)

Spring onion — 40 g

White miso — 1 tsp

Shoyu (or light soy sauce) — 4 tbsp

Sunflower oil — 6 tbsp

Mushroom sauce — 2 tbsp

Sesame oil — 1 tbsp

Quinoa

1. Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add quinoa and salt. Bring to a boil again. Then lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes (or till all the water is absorbed and the quinoa is nice and fluffy).

2. Let the quinoa cool on the counter top and then refrigerate for about 30 minutes or longer.

Stir Fried Quinoa

1. Heat sunflower oil in a wok on medium heat. Add onions and cook till translucent (no need to brown them).

2. Add the garlic and spring onions and sauté for 1 minute.

3. Add the taro, baby corn, dried chilli, fresh chilli, sichuan pepper, carrot and white miso. Place a lid on top till all the vegetable are cooked (not over cooked, this dish tastes better with some crunchy vegetables).

4. Now add the oyster mushrooms, white button mushrooms, corn, mushroom sauce, sesame oil and sauté for two minutes.

5. Lastly add your cooled quinoa from the fridge, sweet basil, celery and shoyu. Sauté and combine everything well.

Notes:

— Yes, it is important to cool the quinoa after cooking.

— If you are substituting vegetables, please ensure you put in the vegetables which need more cooking time first (e.g. taro). If you add certain vegetables too early, they can become too soft and loose their crunch. Also, ensure that you are still substituting enough vegetables so that the total amount of vegetables still weigh about ~480g.