Microwave Cooked Quinoa

Not too long ago, I posted directions to cook quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah") on the stove. Here's how to cook it in the microwave oven, which eliminates the need to watch a pot on the stove and instead allows you to use the same bowl to cook and serve. I love that!

As mentioned before, quinoa is the seed of the goosefoot plant, which grows mostly in the Andes Mountains and is a highly nutritional relative of spinach and Swiss chard. Quinoa is packed with protein, is easily absorbed by the body and has a nutty flavor that works well in a wide variety of recipes on its own or as a substitute for pasta or rice. Below are written step-by-step microwave cooking directions. Just click this link for step-by-step picture book directions.   

Cooking Time: about 7 minutes

Total Time Required: includes cooking time and time to absorb water after cooking

Needed (to make about 2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa)

• 1 Cup (8 ounces) Quinoa
• 2 Cups Water
• 1/2 - 1 Teaspoon Salt (optional)
• 1 Tablespoon Butter or Margarine (optional)
• Measuring Cup
• Fine Meshed Strainer
• Microwave Safe Bowl
• Microwave Safe Dinner Plate
• Timer

1. Measure 1 cup (8 ounces) of quinoa, and pour the quinoa into a fine mesh strainer. Rinse with cold tap water while running your fingers through the quinoa seeds. If your quinoa has a sudsy froth to it as you rinse it, keep rinsing until that froth, which has a bitter taste because it is actually a natural bird and insect repellant called saponin, is washed away. Then pour the rinsed quinoa into a microwave safe bowl.

2. Measure and add 2 cups (16 ounces) of cold water to the quinoa in the bowl.

3. Add an optional 1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt and cover the bowl with a microwave safe dinner plate.

4. Put the covered bowl in the middle of the microwave oven and cook using HIGH heat or 100% power for 5 minutes.

5. When the timer sounds, carefully remove the partially cooked quinoa from the microwave oven. If the bowl feels too hot to handle, use a potholder or dishtowel to protect your hands when you take the bowl out of the microwave oven. I take hold of the top of the bowl where it was comfortably warm to handle. Remove the plate, add an optional tablespoon of butter or margarine, and give the quinoa a quick stir with a spoon.

6. Cover the bowl with the plate again, and put the bowl back in the middle of the microwave oven to cook for another 2 minutes.

7. When the timer sounds, again carefully remove the cooked quinoa from the microwave oven. Uncover the bowl, stir the cooked quinoa, and let it sit to absorb any remaining water for about 10 minutes until the quinoa is fully translucent and soft when chewed.

8. Finish by fluffing the cooked quinoa with a spoon.