Quinoa with Veggies Broth – Thai Style

Quinoa is a quick and flavorful way to get a whole lot of protein into your diet. If you take care to rinse it thoroughly and cook it well, it hardly takes 20 mins from start to finish (and fluffed!). Then, if you load it with a bunch of veggies, you are good-to-go with a healthy meal that is not boring. If you stay in SE Asia, you are naturally exposed to Thai cuisine and you get Thai ingredients easily. So, I decided to load the quinoa with veggies and flavour it with a Thai-style broth. I have been seeing bean sprouts extensively in the round markets in Singapore and I am glad I got to work with them in this recipe. The vegetables add the colour to the dish making it visually appealing. Trust me when I say this – if you try this recipe, you are going to love it! 🙂

Recipe Details :
Serves: 2 pax
Time: 40 mins
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients :

• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 Kaffir lime leaves
• 1 tsp galangal
• 30 strands of beansprouts
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 red bell pepper, cut in long strips
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut in long pieces
• 1 medium sized broccoli, cut into florets
• 2 green / red chilli, finely chopped
• 8 french beans, cut into long pieces
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp Soy sauce (optional)
• 2 tsp oil

• Rinse the quinoa at least for 4-5 times and then cook nicely till they fluff up – this should approximately take 20 mins.
• In a mixer, add the kaffir lime leaves, galangal, chillis and blend it till fine.
• In a pan, take 1 tsp oil and add the finely chopped onion. Saute it till light golden brown.
• Now add the blended galangal, chilli, and lime leaves to the onions and mix well. Saute this for around 4 mins.
• After this, add the coconut milk, vegetable stock, soy sauce and salt and mix well. Let come to a low boil and then simmer on low flame. Switch off after 7-10 mins.
• Simultaneously take a separate pan, add 1 tsp of oil and saute / stir fry the cut veggies. Use only half of the bean sprouts at this stage. This should take around 7-8 mins.



• Now the important thing is to assemble the broth bowls. Layer the quinoa at the bottom and place the stir-fried veggies on the top.



• Finally add in the broth so that all the veggies soak in the aromatic Thai flavours. And then top it off with the remaining beansprouts as garnish. Eat this dish when it is hot.

Tips:

• Use a little water while grinding the galangal, chilli, and lime leaves
• You may need to strain the galangal, chilli, and lime leaves paste if the galangal is old and fibrous.
• Do not overcook the veggies. They need to have some crunch.
• Reduce the salt added if you are planning to use soy sauce.