Red Quinoa Cooking Instructions

When I first started cooking with quinoa I had no idea there were so many different varieties. Certainly in the UK where I live all you could buy was the standard creamy white variety for quite a few years. In South America and the USA there are red and black varieties on sale. The quinoa I grow in my garden allotment is called Rainbow and comes in all sorts of brown and reds. Its is a real luxury eating your own home grown quinoa but you do have to change the standard cooking instructions to make the best of it.

Red Quinoa Cooking Instructions

Before cooking any brand of quinoa you need to rinse it through with water to get rid of the bitter, waxy saponin coating. Some varieties need more rinsing than others depending on the processing the the quinoa has gone through. What will happen as you rinse it is that it will go foamy. As soon as the foam has gone you can start cooking.

The standard cooking method hold the same with red quinoa but with a few slight differences. Instead of 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water I use 2 ½ cups of water. This is because red quinoa takes slightly longer to cook and become soft and fluffy.

You bring the water to the boil and put the quinoa in the pot. Bring back to the boil and then simmer for 12 - 18 minutes. This is 2 minutes longer than white quinoa. As it cooks you will see the germ of the grain appear and curl around the rest of the grain. As the grain is red and the germ is white this looks very attractive and appetising. It is this germ that gives the crunchy feel to the grain. It also adds a slight nut flavour to the seed.

What To Do With Your Cooked Red Quinoa

Once you have you red quinoa cooked and ready one of the best things you can do with it is make a salad. The red colour contrasts well with the colours of peppers, celery, cucumber and salad leaves. So as well as being healthy the salad will look stunningly delicious and colourful.

You can also add red quinoa to a spicy stir fry dish. It tastes particularly good with Mexican spices and jalapeño peppers. You can also use it instead of rice as a side dish to your favourite curry dish.

Ken Jones is the author of The Quinoa Cookbook. Find out the benefits of this super grain and how to cook it. Ken Has written many quinoa recipes that have been published on food expert blogs and websites worldwide.

Find out how you can enjoy quinoa in your daily diet http://www.quinoa-cookbook.com

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