Help me clean and cook quinoa!
 

OK, I feel a little ridiculous for having so much trouble with this, but for the life of me I can't rinse my quinoa!

I've tried a fine mesh strainer, but grains go through. Then, once the quinoa is wet it sticks to EVERYTHING and I can't get it out of the strainer and into the bowl to cook it. There are inevitably quinoa grains on my hands, strainer, spoon, sink . . . .

I'm cooking for one, so I generally just measure out a dry portion (42g) and cook it in the microwave. But I haven't found a good way to do this, either. Whatever I cover the bowl with gets covered in quinoa, too, and doesn't come off easily.

There has to be an easier way to do this. I would consider making a larger amount and then measuring it out for meals once cooked, if that's easier. Does someone know the measurement for a cooked portion of quinoa?

HELP!

I hear you about rinsing. It's not so easy! I usually pour it into a bowl, run water over it, stir it around and dump it into a fine strainer. My strainer is fine enough that it doesn't fit through, but as you say, it sticks.

I cook it in a pot on the stove, so the proportions are about 1 part uncooked qunioa/1.5 parts water, but you can't really get it wrong. If you add too much water, it can always be drained like pasta. Once it boils, I turn it way down to avoid excessive bubbling (and quinoa sticking to the sides of the pot). In the microwave, you don't have that ability- so I imagine it bubbles up a lot.

I agree that it's a messy little thing, but it's so worth the effort! One cup of cooked quinoa is about 250 calories and 8 g protein. Hope that helps somewhat- if even just to know I share the frustration :yes:

Thank you for making me feel less insane! I have come to like everything about quinoa except for what a pain it is to prepare!!

So if I cook it in water like pasta, it won't get mushy if there's too much water? Good to know, I might try that. And yes, you're right, the microwave does cause the water to boil over and I've made a quite a mess a couple of times.

And thanks for realizing I meant the calorie count, not measurement, for cooked quinoa. :)

Now I think I'll try this again . . . .

I've read on three different sites that 1/2 cooked quinoa is about 127 calories.
I cook mine in chicken broth for added flavor.
I put mine in the pot with water, swish it around to rinse, and use my hand to drain, as I tilt the pot.
hope that helps!
Whatever I don't use, I freeze.

I'm so glad to see someone else hates rinsing quinoa.

I had to go out & buy a special strainer with mesh so fine that the quinoa grains wouldn't go through it. Problem is, it's just a bit larger than an ice cream scoop, but it does hold about one portion.

I would eat this much more often if I didn't have the rinsing problem.

I once bought supposedly "rinsed" quinoa & prepared it without rinsing. I will never do that again -- it practically made my mouth pucker.