Bacon and Shrimp Quinoa Fried Rice

Fried Rice – with quinoa instead of rice. And with shrimp and BACON? Wha???

I’ve been trying to eat healthier but having a hard time giving up white rice. I’m Asian….rice is my comfort food. I grew up eating rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner!  *sigh* Anyways, I tried using quinoa in place of rice for this recipe and was pleasantly surprised as to how good it tasted!

Quinoa is super nutritious and good for you. I was surprised to learn that quinoa is not a grain – it’s actually a seed! It’s a complete protein which means that it contains all nine of the essential amino acids needed in our diet. It’s also gluten free!

After rinsing the quinoa, simply cook it in the rice cooker like you would with regular rice. And just like preparing for regular fried rice, let it sit in the fridge overnight so that it’s not all “mushy” and stuck together, and easier to stir-fry.

First, scramble the eggs lightly in melted butter, then remove it from the wok/pan. Next, fry the bacon. After the bacon starts to turn brown, add the green beans and stir-fry for about a minute. Then add the shrimp.

I like to cut the shrimp into halves of thirds so that it’s bite-sized. But of course, you can leave it whole if you prefer.

After the green beans and shrimp are cooked all the way through, add the garlic and peas and carrots. You don’t have to wait for the peas and carrots to thaw when taking them out of the freezer – I just rinse them in warm water under a strainer for a few seconds, then toss them in the wok. They don’t take much time at all to cook so I just stir them for a few seconds before adding the quinoa.

Add the quinoa. Stir-fry the quinoa for a few seconds before adding the soy sauce and fish sauce. I keep my soy sauce in a squirt bottle so it’s really easy to pour over the rice or quinoa. Don’t just pour it all in one small spot- spread it out as much as you can so that it’s distributed evenly. Mix thoroughly. Quinoa is a lot lighter than rice so stir-fry gently so you don’t end up with quinoa all over your stovetop. *cough*..*guilty*..

Add the scrambled eggs at the very last minute, and there you have it! Bacon and Shrimp Quinoa Fried “Rice”! 

Bacon and Shrimp Quinoa Fried Rice

Wok and Skillet

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Cuisine Asian

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 3 cups uncooked quinoa (12 oz box – cook in rice cooker, then leave in fridge overnight.)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 2 strips of bacon
• 1 cup string beans cut into 1 cm pieces.
• 7 – 10 large shrimp cut into halves or thirds
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
• 4 Tbsp soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp fish sauce
• Chopped scallions for garnish

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

 

• Cook the quinoa in a rice cooker just like you would with regular rice. (It’s best to leave the cooked quinoa in the fridge overnight before frying, but if that’s not possible, no problem)
• In a wok or large pan, heat up about a teaspoon of butter. Scramble the eggs, then remove from wok. Set aside.
• Fry the bacon till slightly brown.
• Add the green beans and stir-fry for about a minute
• Add the shrimp (and add more butter as needed).
• Add chopped garlic, and peas and carrots.
• Add quinoa. Stir-fry for a few seconds, then add the soy sauce and fish sauce. Mix thoroughly until everything (including the soy sauce and fish sauce) is well combined.
• Garnish with chopped scallions.
• Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 656kcalCarbohydrates: 93gProtein: 30gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 143mgSodium: 2282mgFiber: 11gSugar: 4g

Keyword bacon shrimp quinoa

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