Middle-Eastern Quinoa "Fried Rice"

Quinoa is a protein-rich plant-based superfood. By "superfood" it means that it literally is SUPER. Feel like quinoa is not for you? Don't miss this dramatic dish to build your love to this ancient grain!

Quinoa "fried rice" may not be an unusual thing anymore, but mostly it is just simply cooked in liquid (mainly water or stock) and enjoyed that way, either as a side dish or tossed in salads. A well-known quinoa dish is Quinoa Tabbouleh, which is derived from a famous Middle-Eastern vegetarian salad, 'Tabbouleh'.

There is one thing that always drives me into new recipe ideas: leftovers. Two days before christmas I arranged a party at home and there were many leftover ingredients, which would be such a waste if they were not used before they go bad.

Actually, I had never tried quinoa "fried rice" before. So, with some of the leftovers and other available stuffs I had at home, and with my affection towards spices, I had a sudden brainstorm of cooking this Middle-Eastern-style "fried rice". 100% vegan. That was the first time I had an idea of an out-of-the-box quinoa recipe. With confidence, I gave it a go!

Whoot! Whoot! It turned out AMAZING. I love how the spices and the rest of the ingredients blend together, resulting in this aromatic dish. Believe me, this is an extraordinary quinoa recipe you would have never imagined.

I have a friend who wasn't a fan of quinoa, or maybe in other words, she didn't like it. She had bad experiences about it—everytime she ate a quinoa dish, she never liked it, and ended up not finishing it. So, I cooked this quinoa "fried rice" for her and I wanted her to give it a try. She told me that at first she was afraid to dig in, but once she tried it, she really liked it! 

Hearing that from her filled me with joy, and I am so excited to share this recipe with you!

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Middle-Eastern Quinoa "Fried Rice"

Serves 3–4

A fragrant quinoa fried rice, like no other!

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, preferably white

• 1/3 cup whole green lentils

• 1/2 red onion, medium–large, diced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 80–100g baby spinach, leaves only, roughly chopped

• 1/2–1 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed

• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

• Seeds from 4–5 cardamom pods, ground

• Olive oil, for cooking

• Salt and ground blackpepper, to taste

• chopped parsley leaves, to serve

Instructions

1. First off, cook the quinoa. For more information about how to cook the perfect quinoa, click here.

2. In another saucepan, cook the lentils using 1 : 3 ratio of lentils to water, and add a generous pinch of salt to the water. Adding salt is important to prevent the lentils from tasting bland and helps to mellow their strong earthy flavour. Bring to a boil, cover and let it simmer on low heat. Cook until tender but still a bit firm to the bite, not too soft. Drain the excess water and set aside.

3. To a hot large pan, add olive oil. Set the heat to high. Add the spices to the hot oil and let it toast fro a few seconds to release its aroma and flavour, until fragrant. Add the onion and cook for about 15-20 seconds, until they are just about to brown, then add the garlic. Sauté until the garlic is golden brown.

4. Add in the spinach. Continue sautéing until the spinach wilts, then toss in the lentils and quinoa. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine, then cook for another few seconds to fry the quinoa. Now off the heat.

5. Add the chopped parsley and stir to combine before serving.

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