00:00quinoa it's the pewdiepie of greens i
00:03know it's not actually a grain that's a
00:05seed but we use it as a grain
00:0830 years ago no one heard of quinoa in
00:11the us and look at it now soon
00:13mcdonald's will be serving it how do
00:16restaurants get they can water taste so
00:19good i mean it's like perfect little
00:21pearls when people cook it at home i
00:24hear they often get a mush
00:26and how do the chefs turn it into a
00:30crispy topping that you see on top of
00:33your hamachi crudo and fancy salads
00:36today we're going to answer all these
00:38questions and get you to cook perfect
00:41quinoa whether you want it hot cold or
00:48quinoa is naturally covered with a
00:50bitter compound called saponin and it
00:53needs to be removed by washing these
00:55days you'll see many packages telling
00:57you that they can buy is pre-washed and
01:00it doesn't require washing
01:02but there is a little problem because
01:05the water to quinoa ratio for washed
01:08quinoa and for dry quinoa are different
01:10words can absorb some water during the
01:13washing process and thus requires less
01:17you might be thinking
01:19but the package gives me the recipe for
01:21example one cup of canva two cups of
01:23water so why don't i just use that
01:27that my friends is exactly how most
01:30people end up with mushy quinoa i find
01:32that most packages ask for way too much
01:36so here's what i suggest you do
01:38wash your quinoa and follow my
01:42not the package's directions today i'm
01:44cooking one and a half cups of quinoa
01:47put it in a pot cover it with plenty of
01:50water and agitate it with your hands my
01:52quinoa is not pre-washed that's why my
01:56water looks so soapy
01:58drain through a fine mesh sieve and keep
02:01rinsing it like this until it's no
02:05on the final rinse drain all the water
02:08from the quinoa and return it back to
02:13how much water to add you can wow will
02:15depend on what kind of pot you're
02:17cooking it in if you're using an instant
02:19pot or a rice cooker like i'm doing
02:22today you are not going to deal with
02:24much evaporation because the pot is
02:30so for those types of pots i suggest one
02:33and three quarter cups of water
02:35for one and a half cups of quinoa
02:38basically just a little more than one to
02:40one ratio but if you're cooking can wine
02:42a regular pot first you need to bring it
02:44to a boil uncovered which will result in
02:46a little water loss then you cover it
02:49and cook it on low for 20 minutes but
02:52even in this covered state there will be
02:54some steam releasing from the lid so i
02:58suggest that for regular pot you use
03:00more water than for an instant pot a
03:03good amount of water to try for a
03:05regular pot if you're cooking one and a
03:08half cups of quinoa is two cups of water
03:12of course all pots and all leads are
03:15different so once you try it the first
03:17time you can then adjust to use a little
03:20more or less water in the future
03:24swash the pot around so that your
03:26kenwood is completely covered if there
03:28are any seeds left on the wall stuck
03:32add salt to taste i am using two
03:35teaspoons of diamond crystal kosher
03:36which is one teaspoon of table salt but
03:40this isn't baking salt can be adjusted
03:42in the end so use your best judgment set
03:45the insert into the pot
03:47cover make sure the steam release valve
03:50is sealed press the rise button and turn
03:56if you are using a regular pot set it
03:58over high heat and bring to a boil then
04:01reduce the heat to low cover the pot and
04:03cook for 20 minutes you want to have the
04:06heat setting just high enough to have
04:08continuous tiny wefts of steam puffing
04:15so what do you do when the cooking time
04:19the reason most people end up with mushy
04:22quinoa is that they try to stir it as
04:26don't do that it will result in a sticky
04:28mush for the stovetop version let the
04:31pot set off heat cover it for at least
04:3330 minutes after your cooking time is
04:35done for the instant pot version set the
04:38timer for one hour after you hit the
04:41rice button this will be enough time for
04:44the pot to pressurize
04:48depressurize and rest
04:52here we go it's been an hour my pressure
04:55is down and i can open the pot
04:57with a fork gently rake the top of
05:00quinoa you'll notice that some seeds
05:02will feel firmer and some softer that's
05:05all normal it will all even out
05:08don't stir aggressively be very gentle
05:11and stop if quinoa starts to clump up
05:14this is still a bit sticky so i will
05:16cover my quinoa with a paper towel and
05:18let it cool to barely warm
05:22here it is after 30 minutes of cooling
05:25at this point i can finish fluffing it
05:28and it's ready to use
05:31see how each green is separate they're
05:33all tender but perfectly toothsome and
05:37i can separate every single seed
05:42you can put cooked quinoa into a
05:44container and store in the fridge for up
05:46to a week you can also freeze it
05:49as you probably guessed by watching my
05:53quinoa is something you want to cook
05:57there is roughly an hour of washing
05:59cooking and resting it and an additional
06:0230 minutes of fluffing cooling and
06:04refluffing the active time is no more
06:07than five minutes but there is a lot of
06:09waiting the good news is that quinoa
06:12lasts exceptionally well and tastes even
06:17no one in a restaurant setting cooks
06:19quinoa when the customer orders it it's
06:21all pre-cooked and cooled and that's
06:24another reason why it tastes so good
06:27you can add it to any salad or turn it
06:29into a hot peel-off type dish basically
06:32saute some onions and butter or oil
06:35add some spices dry fruit nuts and
06:38quinoa warm it all up in a skillet of
06:40low heat and finish with a splash of
06:42lemon juice and butter
06:46okay so now that we have properly cooked
06:49quinoa we can make crispy quinoa
06:52i've tried doing it on a baking sheet in
06:55the oven and in a skillet on the
06:57stovetop i also tried using all
06:59different amounts of oil from a lot to
07:02nothing and here's what happened
07:05a baking sheet in the oven does allow
07:07you to toast more quinoa but not very
07:11evenly even with a lot of stirring the
07:14process in the oven takes longer and
07:16stirring is more difficult since crispy
07:19can white is not something you need a
07:21lot of it's it's a garnish a topping
07:25i much prefer the skillet method as far
07:29this is probably the only time you'll
07:31ever hear this on my channel but less
07:38if you are deep frankinwa then a lot of
07:41oil is good but deep frying why is the
07:43pain on the ass and most of us are not
07:47if you're toasting quinoa which is what
07:51oil produces a more sticky final result
07:55i felt like well oiled quinoa ended up
07:58sticking in my teeth it's possible to
08:01toast quinoa with absolutely
08:03no oil but then it was harder to keep
08:07every single seed separate
08:09so what worked the best for me is a tiny
08:12bit of oil just enough to keep the seeds
08:15separate and no more a non-stick or cast
08:18iron pan works best for this only add
08:21enough quinoa to create a thin layer of
08:23seeds my 12 inch pan fits 150 grams of
08:29add a tiny bit of oil about a teaspoon
08:32i'm using olive oil but any oil works
08:34for this gently rub it into the seeds to
08:38set the pan over medium low heat and
08:41wait for quinoa to start steaming there
08:44is no point in stirring until you see
08:47at this point you have to stir every
08:49couple of minutes and regulate the heat
08:52so that quinoa doesn't start browning
08:57for the first 10 minutes you should see
08:59no color change at all keep going like
09:02this with stirring and spreading if you
09:05see any seeds stuck together break them
09:09now my quinoa is starting to get a
09:11little color keep going until it's a
09:14nice rich brown all over i know it's
09:17tempting to raise the heat and try to
09:20speed it up but that will result
09:22in uneven cooking and seeds that are too
09:26hard in some parts and sticky on others
09:29remove the quinoa to a plate and cool
09:33once canvas completely cooled you can
09:35store it in a jar and use over a month
09:38or so what we've accomplished with this
09:41step is a wonderful crunchy texture but
09:46this is nothing to write home about
09:48that's what the seasoning step is for
09:51there's so many ways to flavor crispy
09:53quinoa it has an amazing ability to stay
09:56crispy even with relatively wet
09:59but i suggest you only dress it before
10:02serving today i'll use a splash of
10:04pomegranate molasses but you can use
10:07lemon juice or any vinegar a splash of
10:10olive oil a pinch of salt and some
10:13sauter which is a mix of sesame seeds
10:15sumac mint and thyme i buy my zotero on
10:18amazon and i'll link to it in the
10:20description below mix it all up add your
10:22quinoa crunchies and stir them to coat
10:26then taste and adjust with more salt and
10:28acidity as necessary
10:30for a moroccan flair you could use some
10:33cinnamon cardamom cumin coriander lemon
10:36juice and olive oil for a spanish flavor
10:39you could use smoked paprika sherry
10:42vinegar and olive oil the possibilities
10:44are endless this kind of crunchy topping
10:47can go well on top of any vegetable and
10:50next week we'll use it on a snap pea
10:54pistachio salad here are more very
10:56detailed culinary tutorials for you to
10:58check out and if you are ever in the
11:00boston area maybe i'll see you in one of
