Quinoa, a seed native to South America, is a good substitute for rice or couscous. To cook, remove the bitter saponin coating by soaking or rinsing. Cook like rice or use a rice cooker, and for a firmer texture, drain and steam for an additional 10 minutes.
Quinoa is a grain-like food that is the seed of a kind of goosebumps. It is native to the mountainous regions of South America and makes a good substitute for white rice or couscous. It’s not a true grain, however, it’s not classified as a herb but is more closely related to beets and spinach. To cook quinoa, techniques similar to those for preparing rice are used. Quinoa seeds have an outer coating that is high in saponins, compounds that taste bitter and can be mildly toxic.
When preparing to cook unprocessed quinoa, you need to remove the outer coating of saponins. This is easily accomplished by soaking the quinoa in water for a few hours, rinsing, and resting. Vigorous rinsing under running water for several minutes while agitating the seeds will also work. The removal of saponins makes the quinoa more palatable and digestible.
Most prepackaged or canned quinoa has already been treated to remove saponins. If you use this type of quinoa, you don’t need to rinse it before use. If in doubt, read the packaging. Indicate whether the quinoa needs rinsing or if it is suitable for use straight from the package.
Once the saponins are removed, they are ready to cook. For cooking quinoa, most cooks treat it like white rice. It is usually combined with water in a ratio of two parts water to one part quinoa, brought to a boil and covered. The heat is then turned down and it is simmered for about 15 minutes.
Another popular way to cook quinoa is in a rice cooker. When using one of these appliances, follow the instructions for cooking the rice, but substitute the quinoa. Rice cookers vary in capacity and cooking times, so follow the directions specific to the particular cooker being used.
Sometimes, you want quinoa with a firmer, slightly drier texture. In this case, after simmering for ten minutes, drain the quinoa and steam it for another ten minutes. This can be done by placing the quinoa in a metal colander and placing it over a small amount of liquid in a pan. Cover with a lid and bring the liquid to a boil. Be careful not to boil the liquid completely.
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