The awesomeness of this meal can be summed up in a twitter conversation between Holly, the creator of this recipe, and myself.
I speak the truth. It was a Friday afternoon and I had a wild evening of baking and movie-watching ahead of me. But first, I was excited to try Holly’s Quinoa Fried Rice. My excitement began on the way home from work. You know you need to get a life when you’re excited about dinner at 4 pm.
Dinner may or may not have been consumed before 5:30pm, with dinner round two shortly thereafter. I then proceeded to finish off the leftovers for breakfast the next morning. If that isn’t indication of how much I liked this meal, I don’t really know what else to tell you!
We rarely eat out or order in Chinese for no real reason other than the fact that we have a thing for Thai and Vietnamese most of the time. Therefore, it wasn’t the need to find a healthier alternative to my takeout obsession that drew me to this recipe. Fortunately, it is healthy. And easy. And now I will be craving Chinese, or at least this version of it!
Mix up the vegetables or add additional protein (bonus protein since you’re already getting lots from the eggs and quinoa!). I think edamame or broccoli slaw would be great in this as well. Though I didn’t add additional soy sauce at the end, I did liberally add Sriracha. Ryan added neither. To each his own!
I can’t think of a better way to kick off your cooking in 2012!
Two Years Ago: Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza
Quinoa Fried Rice
from The Healthy Everythingtarian
Ingredients:
-2 tbsp sesame oil
-1 tsp minced garlic
-1 tsp minced ginger
-1/2 white/yellow onion, finely diced
-1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
-1 cup corn, fresh or frozen
-1 cup shredded carrot
-3-4 cups cooked quinoa
-2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
-1/4 cup soy sauce
-3 eggs
-salt & pepper, to taste
-extra soy sauce + Sriacha, to taste
Directions:
1. Heat sesame oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and saute for 1 minute. Add onion, corn, peas, and carrots and cook until thawed (3-4 minutes). Add quinoa, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar. Stir occasionally, until quinoa soaks up the liquid.
2. Push quinoa to the side with a spoon and create a hole in the middle of the saucepan. Crack the 3 eggs in the hole and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes. With a spoon, gently mix the eggs into the quinoa. Allow to cook for an additional few minutes. Continue mixing every few minutes until egg is completely cooked. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Top individual servings with additional soy sauce and Sriacha, if desired.
