Why Quinoa Is Awesome

About ten years ago, I walked into a health food store and asked where the “quinn-OH-uh” was. The employee pointedly informed me that the “KEEN-wah” was over there next to the millet and bulgar. Feeling just a little bit humbled (since I’m a word nerd who likes to pronounce things properly), I followed her over to the shelf and picked up a bag of tiny, beige disks. Such was my introduction to quinoa.

What the Heck Is Quinoa?

Quinoa is a seed that is native to the Andes region of South America, and is often called a superfood because it contains all the essential proteins our bodies can’t make on their own. It also provides lots of iron, fiber, B vitamins, essential minerals, and more protein per ounce than any other grain or seed. Oh yeah, and it’s easy to digest, and gluten free.

I didn’t know most of that the first time I went shopping for it, though; I just needed some quinoa for a side dish recipe I wanted to try. The side dish turned out to be tasty but too time-consuming for me to make on a regular basis, so the rest of the quinoa package sat neglected in my pantry for a while. I liked the idea of quinoa, but I wasn’t really sure what to do with it. I found it kind of bland on its own, and when I tried giving it the oatmeal treatment with milk and brown sugar the result was just weird (at least to me).

My Quinoa Life Hack

Then one day, as I was making some rice to go with dinner, a light bulb went on in my head. Quinoa needs the same amount of water as white rice, it cooks in the same amount of time, and it contains a lot more nutrients than white rice, which doesn’t have a lot to offer apart from calories and some protein. I decided to replace some of my uncooked rice with quinoa seeds, just to see what would happen.

The simmering quinoa-rice made my kitchen smell like cut grass, and I wondered if I had just rashly ruined dinner. The finished product looked a bit different too, with lots of little, yellowish beads interspersed among the rice grains. When I served dinner, one of my kids immediately asked, “What’s wrong with the rice?”

I casually replied, “I added some quinoa this time. It tastes the same.” And it did. The texture and mild flavor were virtually indistinguishable from the white rice. After a few experimental bites, my kids ate all of their quinoa-rice without further comment, and they have ever since.

Quinoa-rice became my new favorite kitchen hack. Seriously, I kind of geek out about the fact that it’s that easy to add a superfood to our diet, just by tossing it into the pot with something I already make all the time. I’ve since expanded my quinoa usage, adding it to soups and even trying it in cookies. My kids even went through a phase where they loved spreading Nutella on bread, then sprinkling quinoa grains on top (raw quinoa is pleasantly crunchy–who knew?).

Most of our quinoa still goes into the rice pot though. Since that first night, none of my kids has ever batted an eye at the fact that half of our rice isn’t actually rice. They just take it for granted that the stuff under our Basil Chicken Curry or Hawaiian Haystacks now has a faint yellowish tinge (and a lot more protein).

Should You Rinse Your Quinoa?

Some people insist that you must always rinse quinoa before cooking it because quinoa plants produce a soapy substance that will make your food taste bitter. I faithfully rinsed my quinoa the first few times, then one day as I was picking lots of little grains out of my sieve, the minimalist (read: lazy) part of my brain wondered, “Is this really necessary?” I skipped the rinsing step next time and didn’t notice any difference, so I quit doing it altogether.

I’ve since learned that most commercial quinoa producers wash their quinoa before packaging it. I’ve cooked several brands of quinoa without rinsing them, and I’ve never noticed a bitter, soapy flavor in my food. Maybe there is some brand on the market that doesn’t prewash their quinoa, but until I run across it, I plan to keep skipping the rinsing step.

One final note: I typically use white quinoa because it has the mildest flavor, cooks the fastest, and is easy to find in stores, but if you’d like to sample quinoa with a nuttier flavor you might want to give red or black quinoa a try. I buy my quinoa at Trader Joe’s because they sell it for a good price (and it comes in a resealable bag–huzzah for convenience!), but you can find it at just about any grocery store these days.

So go on, try this easy quinoa recipe and see if your kids even notice that their dinner just got a little awesomer. Or if you already love cooking with quinoa, let me know how you like to use it. I’m always on the lookout for new recipes. 🙂

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Easy Quinoa Rice

Serves: 3 cups rice

Ingredients

2 cups water
½ cup white rice
½ cup quinoa
dash salt

Instructions

Bring water to boil in a saucepan.
Add rice, quinoa, and salt, then return to boil.
Reduce heat to simmer, then cover pot and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 16 minutes. If the quinoa grains still have white spots in their centers, cook a minute or two longer until the spots disappear.
Remove pan from heat. Open lid very slightly and let the quinoa rice steam for 5 or 10 minutes (or however long it takes you to finishing getting the rest of dinner ready--quinoa rice is very patient), then fluff the quinoa rice and serve.