Garlicky Qunioa “Fried Rice” with Mushroom & Kale

The cheats fried rice

Fried rice is the simplest and most common comfort food in Singapore, after good ol’ chicken rice of course. It’s easy to put together because you get to throw in day old rice with anything you fancy – a great way to clean out the fridge!

This version uses quinoa in place of rice. Not only is quinoa more nutritious, it adds a lovely nutty flavour and bite which goes so well with the mild flavours of kale and mushrooms.

Of course nothing I can cook can be garlic-free so quite a generous amount was used.

Get started with the quinoa. While it cooks, prepare the other ingredients. Starting with the oil and aromatics, cook till the onions are translucent and soft. Toss in the mushrooms and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the chopped kale and give it a little stir and season with soy sauce, sea salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and drizzle sesame oil over. Cover with a lid.

Note: The kale will continue to cook from the heat in the pan so be sure to turn off the heat when the kale just starts to wilt, as in the picture above.

Once the quinoa is cooked, fluff it up using a fork and add to the kale & mushroom mixture. Give it a good toss to mix evenly. Serve hot with some sambal chilli or fresh cut chilli padi steeped in soy sauce for some extra spice!

Garlicky Quinoa Fried Rice with Mushroom & Kale

• Servings: 2
• Time: 20 minutes
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups chicken stock 
• vegetable or peanut oil
• 1 medium to large red onion – diced
• 1-2 tsp red chilli flakes (depending on how spicy you like it)
• 5 large garlic cloves – sliced thinly
• 250g mushrooms – diced
• 2 cups chopped Kale or Kailan
• sea salt – to taste
• soy sauce
• black pepper – to taste
• seasame oil – drizzle
• vegetarian sambal chilli

Directions

1. Prepare quinoa according to package instruction. Use chicken stock in place of water to cook quinoa.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, in a large wok or skillet on high heat add oil followed by onions and chilli flakes. Cook for 1-2 minutes before adding garlic.
3. Next toss in the mushroom and cook for a further 2 minutes stirring continuously.
4. Toss in the kale and season with salt, soy and black pepper. Cook till kale starts to wilt.
5. Remove from heat and drizzle sesame oil over.
6. Toss in cooked quinoa and mix well to combine.
7. Serve hot with sambal chilli.

Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Salad with Cucumber Herb Yoghurt

Who says eating healthy has to be bland and boring. Luscious creamy whipped greek yoghurt seasoned with herbs thickly coating grilled chicken chunks atop a bed of cold crisp baby romaine lettuce – YUM!

The herb yoghurt is the star of this dish. Its SO good just on its own or with warm toasted pita chips! Because it’s so thick and creamy, you almost forget it’s healthy.

I love the mild oniony flavour that comes through because of the spring onions. The garlic and green chilli add a nice zing which is cooled by the fresh mint and cucumber. The flavours of this yoghurt dip brought me back to my trips to the Middle East where you find elaborate salad bars.

You can make the yoghurt well ahead (without adding the cucumber as it can turn mushy) and use it when needed. It tastes better after sitting in the fridge for a few hours as the flavours have a chance to mingle.

This salad is surprisingly filling which makes it a good meal on its own. The focus is on the grilled chicken chunks and delicious yoghurt rather than a pile of leafy green which is what you usually get when you buy pre-made salads. This hardly takes any time to put together so there are no excuses to not make yourself a fresh delicious salad – everyone deserves to eat well no matter how little time you may have.

Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Salad with Herb Yoghurt

• Servings: 4
• Time: 12 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup Olive oil
• Freshly squeezed juice from 1 lemon
• 2 cups greek yoghurt
• 1/2 tsp garlic minced
• 1 Japanese cucumber diced
• 1 green chilli
• 1/2 cup chopped spring onions
• 3 tbsp parsley chopped
• 3 tbsp mint chopped
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• Paprika
• 2 heads baby Romaine lettuce
• Pita bread (optional)

Directions:

1. Season the chicken with black pepper and add the olive oil and lemon juice. Set aside while preparing the herb yoghurt.
2. In a medium bowl add the yoghurt followed by cucmber, chilli, spring onions, parsley and mint. Mix and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate till needed.
3. On a hot grill pan, grill the chicken pieces for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle paprika over.
4. Serve with cold crisp romaine lettuce and herb yoghurt.

Note: You can easily make this into a sandwich using pita pockets. Just warm the pitas, slice in half and fill with the creamy herb yoghurt and chicken chunks.