I have been on a spinach kick lately. I blame the bulk bags of spinach at Costco... But spinach keeps for a decent amount of time and is just an unbeatable price. Only, now I keep finding myself with so much spinach that it is not optional any more: I HAVE to use it. And, with my newfound need to put spinach in everything, I've discovered the delicious combination of spinach quinoa. Lately I've been making a lot of Japanese-inspired quinoa with tofu, spinach, ginger, tamari, and white rice vinger. It's incredibly easy to make and my new favorite meal!
Part of the reason that this spinach quinoa kick is so practical is because it adds a little sautéed spinach to the dish, without ever actually having to sauté anything. I've been Sautéing Spinach for the last couple of weeks. Which is great. It keeps the spinach from going bad too quickly and is absolutely delicious. But it is kind of tedious for just a side dish. So, adding spinach directly to the rice cooker is the perfect alternative. It gives you the same taste as sautéed spinach, but the rice cooker does everything for you all at once. The entire process takes about an hour, most of which is spent just waiting on the rice cooker to pop.
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Variations of Spinach Quinoa
My new obsession with spinach has led to quite a few meals lately! It likely all started with the Greek-style spinach pie that I made during the holidays. And months later I still can't get enough. I'm usually not a big fan of leafy greens because many of them don't have that much nutritional value and are typically eaten doused in salad dressing that is worse for you than just eating the Big Mac! But, spinach is the exception. It has more protein than beef, is incredibly filling, and versatile to boot.
This Japanese-inspired spinach quinoa combines ginger, garlic, red onion, tamari, rice vinegar, and lightly fried tofu. I'm particularly fond of these quick and easy rice cooker dishes where all you have to do is toss a few things into the pot, press the cook button, and there is food in no time! They're great as a side dish or addition to salads, scrambled eggs, or burritos. Although the sky is the limit!
Add spinach, onion, ginger, garlic, tamari, rice vinegar, quinoa, and water to a rice cooker.
Press the cook button on the rice cooker. While quinoa is not rice, it does cook the same and oftentimes better than rice in a rice cooker. It typically takes 30-45 minutes.
Fry Tofu
While the quinoa is cooking, drain the water out of the tofu and cut into cubes.
Wrap in paper towels to absorb the moisture.It's important to absorb as much water out of the tofu as you can. Oil is less dense than water, so the molecules repel one another. With cold ingredients, this causes separation. When you're frying at high temperatures, though, this can cause boiling hot oil to spray back at you.
Meanwhile, preheat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
When the skillet has preheated and the majority of the water has absorbed into the paper towels, carefully add the tofu to the skillet. Fry until golden brown. This should take about 2-4 minutes. Rotate until all sides are evenly fried.
Remove from heat and wrap again in paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Finish Quinoa
When the quinoa is fully cooked, add tofu and salt and pepper to taste.
Fluff with a wooden spoon and serve, either immediately or make ahead of time and refrigerate.Do not use a fork or other metal utensil to fluff! It will scratch off the nonstick surface on the rice cooker. This will leach teflon into your food and cause future dishes to stick to the bottom.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
While quinoa is not rice, it does cook the same and oftentimes better than rice in a rice cooker. For more tips and tricks to rice cooker quinoa, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Making Quinoa, including a stovetop version if you don't have or don't want to use a rice cooker.
I also tend to prefer tamari over soy sauce. They're both made from fermented soy and a lot of recipes use them interchangeably. Tamari tends to have a richer flavor and less salt content. It also tends to be gluten free.
For a more in-depth article on preparing tofu, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Fried Tofu. Tofu is a surprisingly simple ingredient to work with that is very often overcomplicated. There are some easy pitfalls to avoid for perfectly soft tofu with a nice, crispy fried edge. Using a minimal amount of oil and avoiding the hard, dried out consistency of over-baking or deep frying!
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