Quinoa ala Malaysian Twist

This looks so sinful! Plate your food in such a way, because you DO eat first with your eyes!

Lunch today. I made Quinoa goreng sambal. We bought the quinoa from Malaysia. All the way, I tell you! Maybe because I haven't found any yet over here in Shanghai. Well, I did get some information from Foursquare that there's this particular shop where this Chinese lady sells international products such as grains, branded chocolates, cheese, cereals, herbs & others. And quinoa was one of it. But, still, I haven't got the opportunity to recce it. Her shop is at 274, Wulumuqi Rd (M) at Wuyuan Rd, Puxie area. 

I was inspired by a friend of mine. She's a Yoga instructor and a VERY healthy eating Guruji herself. She even have her own healthy menu meal (Lunch only, from Mon-Friday) for those who wants to eat healthy but haven't got the time to make one or have no clue on how to make one. Hehehehehe. You can order your food of choice a day before, and it's either you pick it up at her place or they do delivery, but to certain area with a certain amount of orders. Check out her Facebook page, EatCleanKL for more info. You can even follow her EatCleanKL_IG on Instagram. 

Anyways, back to my lunch today. Here's a picture of it. Looks delicious, no? And it taste good too. Approved by my beloved husband himself. I was afraid he wont eat it, but he end up having a second helping. A bowl of quinoa is filling I tell you. I even added smoked salmon & avocados as sides, and yet, my husband is still hungry. The poor guy must've been working damn hard in his bakery kitchen.

How to cook Quinoa? Simple. Just use the ratio of 1:2. A cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water. I wanted to give a bit of flavour to the quinoa, so instead of just water, I used my home made chicken stock (chicken, chopped onions & ginger) & added a dash of salt to taste. So the usual way you cook rice in a pot, that's the same way you cook quinoa too. Or if you have a rice cooker, well then, that's easy-peasy for you! 

Cooked quinoa should look fluffy, a little translucent & you can see the spiral sprouting out. 

Let the quinoa rest. In the meantime, start your nasi goreng paste & vegetables. I used diced capsicum, carrots & bak choy for colour & crunch too. And since I love onions, I put a lot. Bad odor for them armpits, but good for them hearts. For the nasi goreng paste, I just blended some shallots, garlic, chili, toasted belacan, sugar & salt. If you are very, very, very lazy, go grab some instant paste from the grocery shop. Hehehehehehehehe...

Ingredients

Nasi Goreng Paste (blend all) :-

1. Some shallots (the more you have them, the sweeter the paste is)

2. Garlic

3. 2-3 Fresh Chilies (or Dried chillies are the best. Soaked them in hot water for few hours or boiled it, then blend)

4. Toasted shrimp paste (Belacan)

5. Sugar & Salt to taste.

Others:-

1. Capsicum

2. Carrots

3. Onions

4. Smoked Salmon

5. Avocados

6. Cooked Quinoa (I bought Organic brown/white Quinoa)

Heat up your wok, wait till hot before pouring some olive oil/vegetable oil. I like to saute & caramelized the onions. And I like to cook the carrot first too so. It's up to you which ingredients you want to put in first. It's nasi goreng, anyways! LOL! 

So once my onions & carrot looks caramelized & cooked, I pour the paste in. Cook till oil separates (so to make sure your chillies are cooked well, if not you'll get the tummy ache) Once you can see them oil separates, add the capsicum, & crack an egg if you like. Then add the quinoa & greens (put in last, so you will still have the crunch & Vits from the greens. 

Voila! Quinoa Goreng ala Malaysia. Enjoy your healthy lunch. See, there's loads of substitute for rice. We both love it very much. Thanks EatCleanKL!