- A lot of you guys have been writing in
asking for inspired lunch ideas,
so today I'm so excited to share with you
three of my very favorite quinoa recipes.
What I love about these recipes
is that they're perfect to pack for lunch,
and you can eat the hot or cold,
and they're delicious both ways.
Today, I'm gonna show you
my Chinese fried quinoa,
my tangy Thai quinoa,
and my cheesy broccoli quinoa.
All three of these are protein packed,
they're super delicious,
and they're all vegetarian.
The best part about them
is that if you wanted to add meat for extra protein,
you totally could.
You could easily add some shredded chicken or steak,
or even a little bit of canned tuna.
So let's start by talking about how to cook our quinoa.
Now, it used to be that you would rinse your quinoa first,
most quinoa now comes already rinsed
so you don't have to sweat it.
In my quinoa, I like to use vegetable stock.
You can also use chicken stock, beef stock,
mushroom stock, or just plain water,
all will do, but I find that the stock
just gives the quinoa an additional level of flavor.
A ratio of two to one is ideal.
So basically, you want two parts liquid
to one part quinoa.
You're gonna bring it to a boil,
and then reduce the heat to minimum,
put the lid on,
and leave it for 15 minutes,
just let that bad boy simmer.
After 15 minutes, turn off your heat
and let it sit for another five minutes,
while it continues to absorb
all that delicious liquid.
Now it's time for our Chinese fried quinoa.
Now, I've already cooked off my quinoa.
I have two or three cups standing by,
and then, in my frying pan,
I'm going to add some sesame oil.
You can also use canola oil or vegetable oil in this dish,
but you don't want to use something with a low smoke point
like olive oil, that will burn way too quickly
as our pan heats up.
So, we've got our sesame oil heating up.
You can smell it's a bit nutty and delicious.
To that we're gonna add a small white onion
and some garlic.
We're gonna stir this up until it gets translucent.
Once it's reached that point,
we are going to add some carrots,
and some frozen peas.
We're gonna let those fry up
for about two or three minutes
until they just start to soften up a bit.
Then, we're gonna move all of this delicious veg
over to the side and we're gonna fry,
in the same pan, two eggs.
The moment they hit this pan
they're gonna start to scramble
so be prepared to be on it.
And, we're just gonna (mumbling) them a lot,
we don't want them to burn,
and it's that easy.
Now, if you don't to add the eggs,
if you want to make this dish vegan,
that's no problem,
super simple,
just leave the eggs out,
but I find it's nice additional protein.
I'm just gonna cut it into little bits,
and then I'm gonna mix it all together.
Then we're going to toss in our cooked quinoa,
give it a good mix,
then pour in a splash of soy sauce,
a little bit of hot sauce, if you like the heat,
and then finish it with some green onions.
You don't want to put them in before
because you don't want to cook them,
you want the to stay fresh,
and boom.
You have Chinese friend quinoa
that is absolutely delicious
both hot and cold,
perfect for lunch.
Now, let's talk about our tangy Thai quinoa.
I absolutely love this dish
because it's got a lot of crunch
and a lot of flavor.
I have two or three cups of quinoa
already cooked standing by.
To my quinoa, I'm gonna add some shredded red cabbage,
some shredded carrot,
and some red pepper.
This is all gonna add a whole lot of crunch.
Then I'm gonna add a couple edamame beans,
which are super delicious and a great protein source,
and then set it aside while we make our dressing.
So we have about a teaspoon of peanut butter standing by,
we're gonna add a little honey for sweetness,
the juice of half a lime
for some nice sour,
some soy sauce,
don't be shy,
and then, some red chili flakes for heat.
Finish it with one clove of garlic
and some freshly grated ginger.
Give it a good stir.
If you're feeling like it's too thick,
you could add a little more soy sauce,
or just add a drizzle of oil to it,
and then pour it all over your beautiful,
tangy Thai quinoa.
This stuff is absolutely unbelievable,
and the best part is,
it's great on its own,
or you could add some fried shrimp,
or a little bit of chicken.
It's really, really versatile.
For our cheesy broccoli quinoa,
we are starting with two cups of vegetable stock
and one cup of quinoa.
We're gonna pour that into a sauce pan
and let it come to a boil.
Once this guy's boiling,
we're gonna turn our heat down to low,
put the lid on,
and let it simmer for ten minutes.
I am starting with one gorgeous head of broccoli.
Just gonna cut off the stalk.
Don't throw the stalk away.
This is absolutely amazing in soup stocks,
and also great for things like coleslaw,
you could actually just shred it up
and put it right in.
It's delicious.
At the ten minute mark,
we're gonna toss in our broccoli,
put the lid back on,
and let our broccoli steam
for that last five minutes of cooking.
Once those five minutes are up,
we're gonna turn off our heat,
then we're gonna add a good helping of salt
and a little bit of pepper.
We're also going to add some paprika.
Then, we are gonna stir in
one cup of sharp white cheddar,
and we're gonna put the lid back on,
let it sit for five minutes,
and boom, you have this delicious
cheesy broccoli quinoa that is to die for.
If you're not into quinoa,
you can make this very same recipe,
but just use rice instead.
I hope you'll give these three lunch ideas a try
and let me know how it goes.
Tweet me or Instagram me a photo
of your own creations.
I'd love to see what you're doing in your kitchen.
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just like this.