Quinoa Fried ‘Rice’

Hey quinoa lovers! Thanks for having me here today! I’m Becca and I share my favourite simple vegetarian recipes over at Amuse Your Bouche. I’m guessing that since you’re here on Cooking Quinoa, you’re all pretty big quinoa fans, so I hope you don’t judge me when I admit that I’ve actually only ever cooked with it about three times. It’s a little bit expensive here in the UK, so I’ve always talked myself out of buying it – until a couple of months ago, when I bit the bullet and picked up a bag.

And I’m so glad I did! I’ve used it a few times now, and I love how quick and easy it is to cook, and how versatile it is! Since I’m still getting to grips with how to use quinoa, I thought I’d share a simple recipe with you today. It’s a quinoa-ified version of a rice dish that I’ve cooked many times – egg fried rice! There’s no doubt in my mind that I preferred this version to my usual rice version, and this one will definitely become the norm for me – quinoa has a softer texture and it’s so good at soaking up any flavours you add (an obscene amount of soy sauce, in my case). The leftovers were great reheated the next day as well.

The thing I love about this recipe (well, one of the things I love about it) is that you can change it up however you like. I had some leftover corn in the fridge, so I added it in – you can basically use this recipe to clear out whatever veg need eating up from your fridge. Or, if you don’t have any fresh veg to use, it’s great with frozen vegetables too – I used a mixture of corn, green beans, peas and baby carrots, which worked perfectly. The recipe lists the vegetables I used, but feel free to mix it up a bit.

If you’re vegan, you can skip the egg in this recipe – but if you’re not vegan, I highly recommend leaving it in, because it adds a great extra texture as well as another hit of protein. Meat-eaters could serve this as a side dish alongside some chicken, or mix the meat right in. However you decide to serve it, do it soon! It’s too tasty to leave it waiting too long!

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Quinoa Fried 'Rice'

Author Wendy Polisi

Ingredients

• 120 g quinoa about 3/4 cup
• 1 bsp oil
• 1 onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 150 g mushrooms thinly sliced (about 6 oz)
• 100 g frozen vegetables I used a mixture of corn, peas, green beans and baby carrots (about 4oz)
• 100 g canned sweetcorn kernels drained (about 4 oz)
• 3 eggs
• Black pepper
• 3-4 tbsp dark soy sauce plus more to serve (**see note)

Instructions

1. Boil the quinoa in plenty of water, and drain it once it's soft.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok, and add all the vegetables (onion through corn). Cook over a fairly low heat, stirring every couple of minutes, for 5-10 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft (including the frozen ones!).
3. To cook the egg, push all the vegetables to the side of your wok (or even transfer them to a separate bowl for a couple of minutes) - this helps the egg to cook without getting lost through the veg. Crack the eggs into the empty part of the pan. Cook over a fairly low heat for a few minutes, scrambling them with your wooden spoon, until cooked. The vegetables can then be mixed back in.
4. When the quinoa is cooked and drained, add it to the pan, and mix well. Add black pepper and soy sauce to taste. I like quite a lot of soy sauce, but add a little to begin with - you can always add more as you're eating. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Wendy's Note: if you are gluten free use gluten free tamari

Visit Becca over at Amuse Your Bouche for more simple vegetarian recipes. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.