One-Minute Quinoa Base
Rinsed quinoa, equal water, one boil. The grain you build the rest of dinner on.
- calories
- 320
- weight
- 3 oz
- cal / oz
- 107
- protein
- 12 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 14 min
- water
- 200 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Quinoa | 3/4 cup | rinsed and dried at home; white, red, or a blend |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 3/4 cup | 1:1 with the grain, measured, not eyeballed |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | optional, but it keeps the grains loose |
Method
- Combine quinoa, water, and salt in the pot. Bring it to a boil with the lid on.
- As soon as it boils, cut the flame to the lowest it will hold. Simmer two minutes.
- Kill the stove and leave the lid on for eight minutes. Do not stir, do not peek.
- Lift the lid. The germ should have uncurled into little white rings. Fork the oil through and eat.
Quinoa comes coated in saponin, a bitter compound that tastes like dish soap. Rinsing removes it. That is the whole reason bad quinoa is bad, and it is also why this is a home-prep recipe: you rinse and dry the grain on a sheet pan before the trip, not with your filtered water at 9,000 feet.
The 1:1 ratio is what makes it a trail grain. Rice wants twice its volume in water; quinoa needs the same volume it occupies, which is less to carry and less to boil. The long off-heat rest does most of the cooking, so the actual fuel burn is about two minutes. Overcooking is the only real failure mode here, and the lid prevents it.
Packing
Rinse the quinoa at home, spread it on a sheet pan until bone dry, then bag it by the serving with the salt already in. Rinsing in camp wastes water you carried and you have no strainer.
Variations
- Add a bouillon cube to the water and it becomes a pilaf instead of a blank grain.
- Stir in a foil packet of tuna, dried peppers, and hot sauce for a full dinner in the same pot.
- Cold-soak it two hours in the same 1:1 ratio if you are out of fuel. Texture is chewier, not bad.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/how-to-cook-quinoa-instant-pot