How to Cook Quinoa on the Stove That Is Fluffy Every Time
Once you know how to make cook quinoa on the stove, you can batch cook it so you will be ready for anything: salad jars or bento boxes for lunch, a Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad (see photo below) for gluten free mezze, or magically having a quick side for grilled chicken or fish. Quinoa is a powerhouse ingredient with 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber per cup and is considered a complete protein even though it doesn't have as much of all the 9 essential amino acids that animal protein. In my book, it's a powerhouse because it only takes 15 minutes to cook.
How to Not Cook Quinoa That is Fluffy
Making quinoa is quite easy but knowing how to make perfect quinoa requires some special knowledge. And friend, I'm about to give you that knowledge. Here's the basic drill that you will see on every package or recipe:
Combine quinoa, water and a big pinch of salt in a pan, place it over medium high heat and bring to a boil then lower heat, cover and cook at a low simmer until the water is absorbed.
Yes, you will have made quinoa, but no, it will not be perfectly fluffy. After you read this post, however, you will be the fluffy quinoa queen (or king.)
It's All in the Ratios
Most quinoa packages and recipes say use 2 cups of water to 1 cup of quinoa. But using these ratios makes quinoa that is soggy and soft. I wanted it to have more the texture of couscous and decided to crack the code. After trying different methods, I finally figured out that you simply cut down the water to 1 1/2 times the amount of quinoa you use. Whether you use 1 cup or 10 cups of quinoa, you simply multiply that times 1.5 and that's how much water to use.
Secrets to Perfect Quinoa
Besides knowing the right ratio, here are a couple of other tips:
Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer until the water runs clear. The reason for this is quinoa has saponin on the outer shell which is a natural pesticide but tastes soapy and can make some people have digestive discomfort. Look at your package carefully because it might already be rinsed or better yet, it might be sprouted quinoa which means not only has it been rinsed, but it's been soaked long enough to start sprouting and make it more digestible.
Use the right size pan. For 1 cup of quinoa and 1 1/2 cups of water, use a 2 qt pan. Any bigger and the water will evaporate too fast and leave you with chewy quinoa at best but more likely you will have some perfect quinoa and some hard little quinoa balls.
Cook for 12 minutes then check the water level. If you tilt the pan and don't see any water, you're ready for the next, very important step.
Remove from heat, lift the lid and cover with kitchen towel then return lid and let sit for 5-10 minutes. (Don't skip this step; it is really the key to the "fluffiness".)
Rake through the quinoa with a fork to separate the grains.
How to Cook Quinoa on the Stove That Is Fluffy Every Time
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa (preferably sprouted), rinsed until clear
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Combine the quinoa, water and salt in a pan
- Place over medium high heat and bring to a boil.
- Once it hits a rolling boil, lower heat to medium low and cover.
- Let cook for 12 minutes then check the water level. If there is no water standing around the sides, proceed with step 5.
- Remove from heat and lay a folded kitchen towel between the top of the pan and the lid, making sure it doesn't touch the quinoa.
- Let sit for 5-10 minutes then fluff with a fork.
- If making tabbouleh, let the quinoa cool before adding herbs.