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Quinoa Crumbles Stir-Fried with Peppers and Chiles

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Makes 4 servings 1x

Time 30 minutes, with exploded quinoa

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Ingredients

  • 11/2 packed cups Exploded Baked Quinoa
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, like grapeseed or sunflower
  • Salt
  • 1 teaspoon five-spice powder
  • 4 scallions or 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
  • Several garlic cloves, sliced
  • 2 inches fresh ginger, chopped
  • 2 large bell peppers (any color), cut into bite-size chunks
  • 1 fresh medium-hot red chile (like Anaheim or serrano), seeded if you’d like and thinly sliced
  • 1 lime, halved
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce or soy sauce, or more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1/2 cup Thai basil, cilantro, or mint leaves

Instructions

  1. After packing and measuring the quinoa, transfer it to a small bowl, being careful to break up the kernels as little as possible. Put 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, grab pinches of the quinoa with your fingers, press quickly and tightly in your palm to form a clump, and transfer them to the hot oil. Lower the heat to medium and add whatever quinoa remains in the bowl. You should be able to fit all the quinoa in the pan in a single layer; adjust the heat so the quinoa sizzles without burning.
  2. Cook the quinoa without stirring until the clumps form a crust on the bottom and release easily from the skillet, 3 to 5 minutes. Then use a stiff spatula to scrape and stir, turning the clumps and bits as best as you can to brown another side; cook until crisp and golden, another 3 minutes or so. Sprinkle the quinoa with the salt and five-spice, stir and scrape once more, and transfer it all to a plate. Rinse out the pan, wipe it dry, and set it over medium-high heat.
  3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet, followed by the scallions, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until the aromatics soften and become fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Then add the bell peppers, chiles, and 1/4 cup water. Cook, stirring frequently until the water bubbles away and the peppers start to sizzle, about 2 minutes. Keep cooking and stirring until the vegetables brown in places. Return the quinoa to the skillet and stir.
  4. Squeeze the juice from the lime into the skillet, add the fish sauce and another tablespoon or 2 of water to make a little sauce. Remove the pan from the heat and add the sesame oil and herbs. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve.

— Recipe developed by The Bittman Project for Bob’s Red Mill

 

Recipe variations

Hearty Quinoa Crumbles Stir-Fried with Peppers and Chiles. There are two ways to add heft to this quick stir-fry: The easiest is to chop simply cooked leftover tofu, eggs, seafood, chicken, or meat (up to 2 cups) and add it to the skillet with the peppers in Step 3. The other is to start the recipe by stir-frying chopped or sliced additions in 1 or 2 tablespoons extra oil in the skillet over medium-high heat until it’s browned on the outside and cooked through; 5 to 10 minutes usually does the trick (less time for seafood and eggs). Remove the additional ingredients, rinse and dry the pan, then start with Step 1. Return the cooked addition to the skillet with the peppers in Step 3. You may need to add a little extra water, lime juice, and fish or soy sauce.