Off the Shelf
Consider the humble quinoa as a substitute for rice
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
There was a push in the 1980s to position quinoa (say keen-wah) as the perfect grain.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
Possessed of all eight essential amino acids, low in carbohydrates and high in unsaturated fat, mild flavored and inoffensive, gluten-free, a good source of fiber and vitamins and a potentially inexpensive alternative to more ecologically demanding grains ... what's not to like? But quinoa, though it appears occasionally on restaurant menus, and is a staple for many vegetarians, has never entered the mainstream.
Quinoa hasn't yet entered the American dietary mainstream. It has a multitude of uses.
Chenopodium quinoa is the seed of a broad-leafed plant that grows up to seven feet tall. The small, flat, circular seeds, when properly processed and then steamed, become translucent and produce a charming circlet of white germ, like one of the rings of Saturn.
Quinoa was a primary food of the Incas, who considered it "the mother grain" and "a gift from the gods." Quinoa is grown organically, without pesticides, in the United States and Canada, and processing techniques have been developed to eliminate laborious washing of the grain that was once required to rid its coating of bitterness.
Basic quinoa preparation is easy for anyone who has cooked rice Hawai'i-style: Rinse the grain; using 2 parts water to 1 part grain, place quinoa and water in rice pot and steam (or bring to a boil in a regular pot; cover, turn heat to low and steam). Quinoa can be used like rice.
