Food and Wine Tours Guide

How to cook quinoa in a microwave oven

Written by Don on August 31st, 2008

The standard way to cook quinoa is to cook in in boiling water.There is nothing difficult about preparing quinoa in a microwavbe as long as you follow these instructions. I have prepared these instructions using a 700 watt oven. Check the power of your microwave and increase or reduce the times accordingly.

Step one

Measure out one cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water. The proportions are more important the the size of the cup.

Step two

Rinse the quinoa under cold water for half a minute to remove any impurities.

Step three

Put the water and the quinoa into a microwaveable dish and cover. The next step is to place it in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes approximately. Take out of the oven and let it stand for 1 minute. Gently mix the mixture up a bit and then return it to the micro oven for a second cooking period of 3 minutes. When it is finished just put it to one side to rest and finish the cooking process. then you can move on to serve it.

Depending on the type of quinoa the water may not fully be absorbed by the quinoa in which case you will need to drain it of the excess before carrying on with your preparation.

you can now tuck into the freshly cooked quinoa. The only difference I have observed in cooking quinoa in a microwave as opposed to cooking it the standard way is that is expands very slightly more and is a bit softer to the touch. The superb taste of quinoa is still there and it is easily used in all your best recipes.

By far the easiest way to put quinoa on your plate is to just serve it as is straight from cooking without any extras. Just serve it on the plate instead. The quinoa really works best however in salads and many stir fry dishes. This is where it really comes into its own and prooves to be a versatile addition to your kithcen larder,

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