Red Curry Quinoa

This is by far one of my favorite recipes of all time. It's delicious, healthy, simple and it's great as an on-the-go power lunch since the quinoa has twice the protein of any other grain. The mango and cilantro really balance out the spice well.

Red Curry Quinoa

Ingredients

(For pre-cook of quinoa)

1 ½ cups quinoa, rinsed

2 cups vegetable stock

1 cup water

2 tbsp Thai red curry paste

(For stir fry)

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp ginger, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 carrot, sliced thinly

20 snowpeas, halved on the bias

¼ - ½ tsp crushed red pepper

few dashes of sea salt

(To mix in fresh)

1 ripe mango, diced

2 stalks green onion, diced (white and green parts)

handful of cilantro, chopped (I use liberally)

½ cup cashews, chopped

Directions

1.     Add water, stock and curry paste to medium saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure curry paste has dissolved. Add quinoa to pan, stir briefly and cover the pan. Bring down to a simmer and cook quinoa for 15 minutes or until all water has evaporated.  You should see the little mini rings that sprout from the grain. Remove quinoa from pan and place in large bowl/plate to air dry and cool while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

2.     Add oil, garlic, ginger, shallot, red pepper and salt to large pan/pot and turn to medium high heat. Sautee together for 5-7 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients from the stir-fry list to hot pan and quick fry for a few minutes, until carrots are just cooked but still a little crispy.

3.     Add quinoa and fresh-mix ingredients to pan with carrot mixture. Stir and cook for 1 minute. Cover and remove pan from heat. After a few minutes the quinoa will be ready to serve.