Saturday, March 17, 2007

Teriyaki Quinoa


A side dish for Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. Effortless to make, and the seasonings infuse ordinary quinoa with a garlicky, sweet/salty essence that doesn't overpower the cooked grain.

I love quinoa, and enjoy it plain when paired with a rich or saucy counterpart such as a tofu or bean entree. But, when that other dish isn't sauce or stew-based, I like to elevate quinoa out of that 'plain jane' category and give it a flavor personality all its own. This Teriyaki Quinoa does just the trick!

17 comments:

Teresa said...

Quinoa! Garlic! Two of my most favorite foods! And effortless on top of all that. Dreena you really know how to tease a girl with your new recipes and their pictures. Ooohh I just don't know how much longer I can wait!

-Teresa

Anonymous said...

That sounds very good. I always liked teriyaki (although I use to have it on chicken, before I became vegan). I'll have to try this dish out.

Did I tell you about the Vegan Forums, yet?

Everyday Superhero said...

Hi there, I used to eat quinoa a lot. I would prepare it by soaking it overnight. Any time that I've had it "cooked" (prepared over a stove) it has hurt my tummy. Strange. Your dish looks so yummy but I'll substitute millet, which is what I do when I substitute your quinoa and hummus dish from Vive. Looking forward to the new cookbook since my copy of Vive and Everyday Vegan are becoming dirty and torn. :-)
By the way, I've started a new blog. Check it out at theveggievixen.blogspot.com
Sweet Pea (AKA The Veggie Vixen)

Allie B said...

Yummy! I recently discovered how good quinoa is, most people have never heard of it. I must try this sometime, though I still have a cajun quinoa stew sitting in the fridge :)

Aurelie said...

I love quinoa! Veggie vixen, did you rinse the quinoa well before cooking? I have heard there is a natural bitter coating on quinoa that must be rinsed off before cooking. Maybe that gave you digestive problems.

Anonymous said...

Hi Liliy, Yes, the quinoa was rinsed. It was served by three different people and I got sick each time. Strange!

Dreena said...

Teresa, you pick uber-healthy foods to top your 'fave' list!! Great stuff... thanks, you're super kind.

Hi vegan scott, I didn't know about vegan forums and I just registered, I'll pop in to chat a bit soon!

Yayyyy!! Sweet pea is blogging again! Love the name of your new blog too, very hip. That's so peculiar about the quinoa. If you soak it overnight, then you can cook it and eat it? How long does it take to cook after soaking - not very long I guess? Quinoa is normally a very 'safe' food for allergies and such, I wonder what it is that makes you feel sick. I prefer it to millet pretty much any day, but I'm glad you enjoy millet and can substitute it in dishes that you like. I'll be checkin' your blog... :)

Hi vegan chick, yum that stew sounds good too. I have come to love quinoa more and more. At first I thought it was just 'ok', and now I really love it. May be a case of my palate changing, just as it does for people going vegetarian and then vegan.

Hi Amy, well I always say that I don't expect everyone to like every recipe. We all have different likes/dislikes both in tastes and food flavors as well as textural preferences. The teriyaki flavoring is not heavy in the quinoa, or sticky sweet as some sauces can be. It's more about introducing garlic, tamari and other seasonings into the quinoa. I particularly like it with the 'Tempt-eh' recipe I posted about some time ago. But, there will be plenty of recipes in the book to choose from, so you can pick those that suit your tastes best! :) (oh, and it will be out in Oct/Nov this year)

MeloMeals said...

I am so in love with quinoa lately.. I can't wait til your book comes out!

Aurelie said...

Looks good!

I found a website called www.oneclickatatime.org that has links to sites that have programs that are similar to Click To Give!

funwithyourfood said...

teriyaki quinoa? Hm i would have never thought of that. it sounds good though

teddy

Everyday Superhero said...

Hi Dreena, I haven't done it in a while but I used to just soak the quinoa overnight and then in the morning have it for breakfast with berries and other goodies so no cooking required. Since then I've had people prepare it for me by cooking it (no soaking) and I get sick.
Thanks for checking out my blog.

Dreena said...

Thanks Melody... I'm lovin' the stuff too! (and what's not to love?!)

Hiya Savanna! Thanks... and I'm glad it's getting close to book time too. I'm either in the kitchen or on the computer these days!

Liliy, cool, thanks for the link - never heard of it before so I'll check it out!!

Yeah Teddy, sometimes I wake with an idea for a recipe, and that's it... I've gotta try it out. Sometimes it works, like this one, and other times... well, I don't like those times!! :)

Veggie Vixen, that's very interesting about the soaking. I guess it's then a 'raw' food too? I should try it sometime, though I would love to know how to get past whatever it is that makes you sick through cooking. I'm guessing it affects others too. I now must know!!

Twisted Cinderella said...

Sounds wonderful! I really enjoy Quinoa!

Everyday Superhero said...

I googled the topic and I couldn't find anything. Strange that a food that's so nutritious would make me ill. Oh well. At least I have other healthy options.
Soaking the quinoa is considered "eating a raw food". I was first introduced to the idea when I attended a yoga retreat. We ate nothing but raw food for the weekend. Sounds crazy but it was so yummy and beautifully prepared. Of course, I left the retreat three days later with a huge headache because of all the "clean" foods that we ate. Well worth it.

Dreena said...

Veggie vixen, I found nothing on it as well. I once saw a show where they soaked the quinoa for 20 min's before cooking it - to fully remove the saponin. The saponin is rinsed through manufacturing, but I know I've had a variety of quinoa that tasted far more bitter, so obviously it wasn't rinsed as much. Nevertheless, I wonder if that 20 min presoak type of thing might help. Though, I get not wanting to even try it out... just not wanting to take that chance of feeling sick again.

Vanessa said...

Mmmm, two of my favorite things too. Does anyone know the history of teriyaki? why do I feel like I only know the Kikkoman's version?

Anonymous said...

The first step in preparing quinoa is to remove the saponins, a process that requires soaking the grain in water for typically at least 7.25 hours, then changing the water and resoaking again, or rinsing it in ample cold running water either in a fine strainer or in cheesecloth.