Shrimp Fried Quinoa

Whenever I make quinoa for a recipe, it never ceases to amaze me how it makes five times as much as I plan for every single time, so there is usually a big container in the fridge for the next day or two. There isn’t always a plan for the leftovers, but the other day I was craving fried rice. So I had (plenty of) quinoa, happened to have all the traditional veggies in the fridge, and even found some little salad shrimp in the freezer. (I wish I had fresh shrimp in the fridge instead, but it just wasn’t in the stars that day). Nonetheless, here’s what I whipped up.

NOTE: This can be made into a vegetarian meal by substituting diced, baked tofu instead of the shrimp. ANOTHER NOTE: I recommend cooking the quinoa in stock instead of water to give it more flavor.

RECIPE: Shrimp Fried Quinoa

3-4 cups leftover quinoa, chilled
1 small onion, diced
4 carrots, diced
8 green onions, chopped (reserve 2 TBSP)
1 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
½ lb cooked salad shrimp or cooked large shrimp diced
3 eggs, beaten
3 TBSP teriyaki sauce
4 TBSP soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
3 TBSP safflower or light olive oil for stir frying

DIRECTIONS:

Begin by making the sauce. Mix together the soy, teriyaki and sesame oil and set aside. Then start stir-frying the ingredients in layers. Using a wok or large saute pan, heat the oil and cook the carrot and onion for a few minutes before adding the green onions, ginger and garlic to the pan. Stir for a couple minutes more. Make sure the pan is super hot, then add another drizzle of oil to stir fry the quinoa. Next add the shrimp (or tofu), peas, sauce mixture and stir over high heat until it’s evenly distributed. Then scrape everything to the edges of the pan so there is room to scramble the eggs in the middle. Once the egg is cooked, mix throughout the rest of the fried quinoa. Top with remaining scallions for garnish and serve. Makes 3-4 servings, depending how hungry you are. Enjoy!