Quinoa -- it’s the PewDiePie of grains.
I know, it’s not actually a grain, it’s a seed, but we use it as a grain.
30 years ago, no one heard of quinoa in the US and look at it now.
Soon McDonnalds will be serving it.
How do restaurants get their quinoa to taste so good?
I mean it’s like perfect tiny pearls.
When people cook it at home, I hear they often get a mush.
And how do the chefs turn it into a delicious crispy topping that you see on top of your
hamachi crudo and fancy salads?
Today we are going to answer all these questions and get you to cook perfect quinoa whether
you want it hot, cold, or crispy.
Quinoa is naturally covered with a bitter compound called saponin and it needs to be
removed by washing.
These days, you’ll see many packages telling you that their quinoa is prewashed and it
doesn’t require washing.
But there is a little problem because the water to quinoa ratio for washed quinoa and
for dry quinoa are different.
Washed quinoa absorbs some water during the washing process and thus requires less water.
Of course, you might be thinking, but the package gives me the recipe (for example,
for 1 cup of quinoa add 2 cups of water), so why don’t I just use that.
That my friends, is exactly how most people end up with mushy quinoa.
I find that most packages ask for way too much water.
So here is what I suggest you do.
Wash your quinoa and follow my directions, not the package’s directions.
Today I am cooking 1 and a half cups of quinoa.
Put it in a pot, cover it with plenty of water and agitate it with your hands.
My quinoa is not pre-washed, that’s why my water looks so soapy.
Drain through a fine mesh sieve and keep rinsing it like this until it’s no longer soapy.
On the final rinse, drain all the water from the quinoa and return it back to the pot.
How much water to add to your quinoa will depend on what kind of pot you are cooking
it in.
If you are using an instant pot or a rice cooker, like I am doing today, you are not
going to deal with much evaporation because the pot is sealed with a rubber gasket.
So for those types of pots, I suggest 1 and 3/4 cups of water for 1 and a half cups of
quinoa.
Basically, just a little more than 1 to 1 ratio.
But if you are cooking quinoa in a regular pot, first you need to bring it to a boil
uncovered, which will result in a little water loss.
Then you cover it and cook it on low for 20 minutes.
But even in this covered state there will be some steam releasing from the lid, so I
suggest that for a regular pot, you use more water than for an instant pot.
A good amount of water to try for a regular pot if you are cooking 1 and 1/2 cups of quinoa
is 2 cups of water.
Of course, all pots and all lids are different, so once you try it the first time, you can
then adjust to use a little more or less water in the future.
Swoosh the pot around so that your quinoa is completely covered.
If there are any seeds left on the walls, tuck them into the water.
Add salt to taste.
I am using 2 tsp of Diamond Crystal Kosher, which is 1 tsp of table salt.
But this isn’t baking, salt can be adjusted in the end, so use your best judgment.
Set the insert into the pot, cover, make sure the steam release valve is sealed, press the
rice button, and turn off keep warm.
If you are using a regular pot, set it over high heat and bring to a boil.
Then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and cook for 20 minutes.
You want to have the heat setting just high enough to have continuous tiny wifts of steam
puffing gently from the lid.
So what do you do when the cooking time is up?
You wait!
The reason most people end up with mushy quinoa is that they try to stir it as soon as it’s
done.
Don’t do that.
It will result in a stucky mush.
For the stove top version, let the pot sit off heat covered at least 30 minutes after
your cooking time is done.
For the instant pot version, set a timer for 1 hour after you hit the rice button.
This will be enough time for the pot to pressurize, run the rice cycle, depressurize, and rest.
Here we go, it’s been an hour.
My pressure it down and I can open the pot.
With a fork, gently rake the top of quinoa.
You’ll notice that some seeds will feel firmer and some softer.
That’s all normal, it will all even out.
Don’t stir aggressively.
Be very gentle and stop if quinoa starts to clump up.
This is still a bit sticky, so I will cover my quinoa with a paper towel and let it cool
to barely warm.
Here it is after 30 minutes of cooling.
At this point I can finish fluffing it and it’s ready to use.
See how each grain is separate.
They are all tender, but perfectly toothsome and not sticky.
I can separate every single seed.
You can put cooked quinoa into a container and store in the fridge for up to a week.
You can also freeze it.
As you probably guessed by watching my cooking procedure, quinoa is something you want to
make ahead.
There is roughly an hour of washing, cooking, and resting it.
And an additional 30 minutes of fluffing, cooling, and refluffing.
The active time is no more than 5 minutes, but there is a lot of waiting.
The good news is that quinoa lasts exceptionally well and tastes even better the next day.
No one in a restaurant setting cooks quinoa when the customer orders it.
It’s all precooked and cooled and that’s another reason why it tastes so good.
You can add it to any salad or turn it into a hot pilaf type dish.
Basically, saute some onions in butter or oil, add some spices, dry fruit, nuts, and
quinoa.
Warm it all up in a skillet over low heat, and finish with a splash of lemon juice and
butter.
Ok, so now that we have properly cooked quinoa, we can make crispy quinoa.
I’ve tried doing it on a baking sheet in the oven and in a skillet on the stove top.
I also tried using all different amounts of oil (from a lot to nothing) and here is what
happened.
A baking sheet in the oven does allow you to toast more quinoa, but not very evenly
even with a lot of stirring.
The process in the oven takes longer and stirring is more difficult.
Since crispy quinoa is not something you need a lot of (it’s a garnish, a topping), I
much prefer the skillet method.
As far as the oil goes.
This is probably the only time you’ll ever hear this on my channel, but less oil works
better.
If you are deep frying quinoa, then a lot of oil is good, but deep frying quinoa is
a pain in the ass and most of us are not going to do it.
If you are toasting quinoa, which is what we are doing today, oil produces a more sticky
final result.
I felt like well oiled quinoa ended up sticking in my teeth.
It’s possible to toast quinoa with absolutely no oil, but then it was harder to keep every
single seed separate.
So what worked the best for me is a tiny bit of oil -- just enough to help the seeds separate
and no more.
A non-stick or cast iron pan works best for this.
Only add enough quinoa to create a thin layer of seeds.
My 12 inch pan fits 150 grams of cooked quinoa.
Add a tiny bit of oil -- about a teaspoon.
I am using olive oil, but any oil works for this.
Gently rub it into the seeds to help them separate.
Set the pan over medium-low heat and wait for quinoa to start steaming.
There is no point in stirring until you see some steam.
At this point, you have to stir every couple of minutes and regulate the heat so that quinoa
doesn’t start browning until it dehydrates.
For the first 10 minutes you should see no color change at all.
Keep going like this with stirring and spreading.
If you see any seeds stuck together, break them up.
Now my quinoa is starting to get a little color.
Keep going until it’s a nice rich brown all over.
I know it’s tempting to raise the heat and try to speed it up, but that will result in
uneven cooking and seeds that are too hard in some parts and sticky in others.
Remove the quinoa to a plate and cool.
Once quinoa is completely cooled, you can store it in a jar and use over a month or
so.
What we’ve accomplished with this step is a wonderful crunchy texture, but flavorwise,
this is nothing to write home about.
That’s what the seasoning step is for.
There are so many ways to flavor crispy quinoa.
It has an amazing ability to stay crispy even with relatively wet ingredients.
But I suggest you only dress it before serving.
Today, I’ll use a splash of pomegranate molasses, but you can use lemon juice or any
vinegar.
A splash of olive oi.
A pinch of salt, and some zaatar (which is a mix of sesame seeds, sumac, mint, and thyme).
I buy my zaatar on amazon and I’ll link to it in the description below.
Mix it all up.
Add your quinoa crunchies and stir them to coat.
Then taste and adjust with more salt and acidity as necessary.
For a Moroccan flare, you could use some cinamon, cardamon, cumin, coriander, lemon juice and
olive oil.
For a Spanish flare, you could use smoked paprika, sherry vinegar, and olive oil.
The possibilities are endless.
This kind of crunchy topping can go well on top of any vegetable, and next week, we’ll
use it on a snap pea pistachio salad.
Here are more very detailed culinary tutorials for you to check out and if you are ever in
the Boston area, maybe I’ll see you in one of my classes.