Why Restaurant Quinoa Is So Much Better

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 [Music] 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 [Music]

Channel: Helen Rennie

Views: 1,602,239

Keywords: quinoa, crispy quinoa, toasted quinoa, roasted quinoa, puffed quinoa, quinoa crunchies, how to cook quinoa, mushy quinoa, fluffy quinoa, quinoa recipe

Id: 4YDcrNvPduA

Length: 11min 10sec (670 seconds)

Published: Thu May 19 2022