How To Cook Quinoa in a Rice Cooker (with recipes)

Last night I twittered about quinoa- where else but on Twitter (and by the way, Dear Reader, if you're not following me on Twitter, maybe you should; when the muse hits I share tidbits from my life- often from my kitchen- such as what I might be cooking, or thinking about cooking, or simply wrestling with out here in the lonely snow kissed desert) and my tweet stirred up some interest when I mentioned- in passing- how I cook my quinoa.

I do it the way I thought everybody did it. But judging from the response- even from seasoned vegetarian cooks- it appears my method of cooking quinoa might deserve a mention. So here's how I do it.

I cook it in a rice cooker. Fast. Simple. Rockin'. In fact, quinoa is the easiest no-fuss grain you'll ever cook. It's healthy fast food. Cook up a batch ahead of time and you can stir up a fabulous healthy lunch (like the Lime Quinoa Salad with Mint pictured above) in a New York minute. Well, maybe a Los Angeles minute. A Venice Beach minute. Quinoa is very laid back and not full of itself at all.

It's not upper crust or snobby, or ultra-cool and exclusive. I imagine Tony Bourdain hates it (he likes to mock vegetarians, you know, which spurs him to demonstrate how much by eating blow fish and insects on camera, not to mention drinking fresh from the writhing snake blood tonic and chewing on various goat parts buried in a pit for two days).

If it were a movie, quinoa would star a flip-flop wearing Jeff Bridges and insist you call it Dude. Or Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.

Besides its worth-its-weight-in-gold gluten-free status, quinoa (sounds like: keen-wa) is a superb source of protein for vegans and vegetarians that packs a nutty nutritional punch. It contains nine amino acids- making it a complete vegetable protein. Some call it a super grain (I always envision a blazing red Q and a windswept cape when the word super is touted- a testimony to my visual thinking process) but quinoa, I have to tell you is not even a grain, Bubela. It's actually a seed. That might- technically- make it a Super Faux Grain. Or Faux Super Grain. I know. It doesn't have the same ring.

Do we care?

How to cook quinoa the easy way:

1. Using a fine mesh sieve rinse 1 cup of organic quinoa in cold water (unless it states on the box that you don't need to rinse).

2. Dump rinsed quinoa into your rice cooker.

3. Add 2 to 2 1/2 cups fresh water* see notes.

4. Turn on your rice cooker.

That's it. In about fifteen to twenty minutes you'll have hot fluffy quinoa to play with.

It's rather bland and needs some flavor. My favorite thing to do is stir-fry it with various seasonings- herbs, garlic, spices, onion, etc.

I add fresh veggies and whatever else I might have on hand. Quinoa makes a delicious pilaf, sprightly cold salad, or warm and grainy side dish. I've even used it to stuff cabbage.

For those of you without a rice cooker: Add the cup of rinsed organic quinoa to a saucepan; add 2 cups fresh water; cover and simmer until cooked. I find it takes a little bit longer to cook quinoa on the stove top.

Season and use in recipes or store, covered, in the fridge, for almost instant meals. Use within three days for best taste.

Notes*

Start with 2 to 2 1/4 cups water in a rice cooker. At higher altitudes, use 2 1/2 cups water.

If the quinoa turns out too crunchy or chewy, you need to up the ratio of water to grain; start by adding another 1/4 cup liquid. I like my quinoa soft and tender, fluffed with a fork.

Here are some of my favorite quinoa recipes

Quinoa with Summer Vegetables
Quinoa Salad with yellow Grape Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Basil and Mint
Lime Quinoa Salad with Mint
Warm Spinach and Quinoa Salad with Grape Tomatoes
Stuffed Cabbage with Roasted Sweet Potato & Quinoa
Vegan Garden Loaf with Maple Apricot Glaze
Quinoa Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Quinoa recipes from food blogs:

At Lydia's Perfect Pantry Quinoa Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Parsley
Heidi's Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa- for breakfast- at 101 Cookbooks
Susan's Quinoa Vegetable Paella at FatFree Vegan Kitchen
Ilva's Quinoa Apple Cake with Cinnamon and Coconut at Lucullian Delights
Susan at Food Blogga's Inca Quinoa Salad