For the quinoa Wash the quinoa thoroughly with hot water to remove the bitter taste. Pour the water into a pot and bring to the boil with the quinoa. Simmer gently for about 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to swell for another 10 minutes.
In the meantime, proceed with the next steps.
Preparing Pak Choi Wash the pak choi, cut off the ends and wilted leaves and then cut crosswise into strips about 1 cm wide. Heat water in a pot with a steamer and put the pak choi in the steamer. Steam for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, proceed to the next step.
For the sauce Peel the garlic and cut into slices. Cut the chili into thin slices and then halve them. Peel the ginger and cut into as fine sticks as possible.
Alternatively, you can chop up the nuts (Brazil nuts and walnuts) and add them to the sauce. We deliberately add these at the end - this means the "roasted flavor" is missing, but the unstable essential fatty acids are quickly destroyed by heating. These include, for example, alpha-linolenic acid, which is found in large quantities in walnuts.
Put the chili and ginger in a non-stick pan and heat. Fry while stirring. For about 2 portions, deglaze with about 100 ml of water and continue to simmer. Season with salt and balsamic vinegar.
Optionally add cornstarch to thicken and bring to the boil briefly while stirring.
We used corn starch, but rice or potato starch will also work.
Instead of salt, you can also use low-salt soy sauce and replace the quinoa with spelt, for example, see "Alternative preparation".
finishing and serving Add the pak choi to the sauce and mix gently. Chop the nuts and add them to the pak choi. Serve with the quinoa as a side dish and enjoy.
Detailed Nutritional Information per Person for this Recipe
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
Pak Choi: Pak Choi, also known as Pak Choy or Pok Choi, is a Chinese cabbage. It has a mild taste and hardly needs any time to cook. Before use, the outermost leaves and the stalk are removed, depending on the quality and pre-treatment. The uses are similar to those of chard and spinach.
Ginger: The ginger rhizome has an aromatic smell, the taste is sharp, spicy, which is due to the substance gingerol, which is said to have anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory effects.
Walnuts: Of all known nuts, walnuts have the highest content of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). They also have health benefits thanks to tocopherols (forms of vitamin E) and many macro and trace elements.
Brazil nut: The Brazil nut is often not raw, but blanched. In addition to a high protein and fat content, it also has a very high mineral content compared to other types of nuts. It contains large amounts of selenium, which is important for our body. By eating 1-2 Brazil nuts a day, the daily selenium requirement can easily be met. However, it also stores barium and natural radioactive substances, which is why you should not consume too many Brazil nuts.
Quinoa: Quinoa is a pseudo-cereal and originally comes from the South American Andes. It is practically inedible unpeeled due to the bitter saponins that cling to the shell, which is why it is only available peeled in stores. Quinoa comes in different varieties and colors: light quinoa has a soft consistency after cooking, while red quinoa tastes a little spicier and remains grainier. Black quinoa is the variety that remains the grainiest. Quinoa is gluten-free and tops the usual types of grain in terms of protein, magnesium and iron. It also contains all essential amino acids, including lysine!
Tips
Reduce salt and oil: We have deliberately reduced the amount of salt and dispensed with added oil for health reasons. Season to taste with low-salt soy sauce or a little salt. However, try to keep the salt content as low as possible. You can find more information on this topic in the book we describe in detail: "Salt Sugar Fat"by Michael Moss.
Quinoa: It is recommended to always wash quinoa well before cooking to remove any traces of bitter saponin.
Alternate preparation
Instead of quinoa, you can also use spelt or wholegrain rice. Spelt is a particularly good way to support regional products in German-speaking countries. You can find out more about the ingredient and its preparation in general by clicking on the ingredient linked here.
Soy sauce is more aromatic than salt, partly due to the umami component. The taste often tempts people to use larger quantities without being aware of the salt content. We therefore recommend using soy sauces that are extra low in salt.
