Why is my quinoa mushy
Why Restaurant Quinoa Is So Much Better
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quinoa it's the pewdiepie of greens i
know it's not actually a grain that'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
mcdonald's will be serving it how do
restaurants get they can water taste so
good i mean it's like perfect little
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're going to answer all these
questions and get you to cook perfect
quinoa whether you want it hot cold or
crispy
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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 they can buy is pre-washed 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
words can absorb 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 one cup of canva two 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's what i suggest you do
wash your quinoa and follow my
directions
not the package's directions today i'm
cooking one 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 you can wow will
depend on what kind of pot you're
cooking it in if you're using an instant
pot or a rice cooker like i'm 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 one
and three quarter cups of water
for one and a half cups of quinoa
basically just a little more than one to
one ratio but if you're cooking can wine
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 regular pot you use
more water than for an instant pot a
good amount of water to try for a
regular pot if you're cooking one and a
half cups of quinoa is two cups of water
of course all pots and all leads 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
swash the pot around so that your
kenwood is completely covered if there
are any seeds left on the wall stuck
them into the water
add salt to taste i am using two
teaspoons of diamond crystal kosher
which is one teaspoon 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 rise 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 wefts 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 sticky
mush for the stovetop version let the
pot set off heat cover it for at least
30 minutes after your cooking time is
done for the instant pot version set the
timer for one 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
is 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 green is separate they're
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 cook
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 five 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 pre-cooked 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 peel-off type dish basically
saute some onions and butter or oil
add some spices dry fruit nuts and
quinoa warm it all up in a skillet of
low heat and finish with a splash of
lemon juice and butter
okay 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
stovetop i also tried using all
different amounts of oil from a lot to
nothing and here's 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
can white is not something you need a
lot of it's 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 frankinwa then a lot of
oil is good but deep frying why is the
pain on the ass and most of us are not
going to do it
if you're toasting quinoa which is what
we're 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 keep 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'm 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 on others
remove the quinoa to a plate and cool
once canvas 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
flavor wise
this is nothing to write home about
that's what the seasoning step is for
there's 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 oil a pinch of salt and some
sauter which is a mix of sesame seeds
sumac mint and thyme i buy my zotero 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 flair you could use some
cinnamon cardamom cumin coriander lemon
juice and olive oil for a spanish flavor
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
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