Kuro ingenmame-iri kinua gohan / steamed rice with quinoa and black beans

Mixing quinoa with rice results in a lighter texture than regular steamed rice while giving a great nutritional boost. Black beans are added below for a nice crunch.

1/3 of recipe:
163 calories; 4.9 g protein; 1.2 g fat; 32.5 g carbohydrate; 29.9 g net carbs; 0 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol; 2.7 g fiber

1/2 of recipe:
245 calories; 7.3 g protein; 1.8 g fat; 48.8 g carbohydrate; 44.8 g net carbs; 0 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol; 4.0 g fiber


<Ingredients>

(Serves 2-3)
1/2 cup* rice (90 cc)
3 tbsp quinoa
25 g black beans (25 g when dry; soaked and boiled)
165-170 cc water (approx. 100 cc for rice and 4 1/2 tbsp for quinoa)

*1 rice cooker cup = 180 cc


<Directions>
1.

Rinse rice, and drain.

Add water to 1/2 cup mark. 

Add 4 1/2 tbsp water (for quinoa).
(Or, add a total of slightly less than 170 cc water, if cooking in a pot.)

2.

Rinse quinoa, drain well using tea strainer, and add to rice cooker.

Add black beans, and mix well.

Soak 30 minutes, and cook. 

4.

When done, wait 10 minutes, and gently fluff.

<Notes>

• Beans can be added immediately before cooking rice (in other words, only rice and quinoa need to be soaked before cooking).
• If you prefer a very crunchy texture, black beans can be soaked overnight and added (without boiling in advance).
  
• This is also tasty without black beans (shown at right). With only quinoa and rice, nutrition figures would be 135 (203) calories; 3.2 g (4.8 g) protein; 1.0 g (1.5 g) fat; 27.7 g (41.6 g) carbohydrate; 26.7 g (40.0 g) net carbs; 0 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol; 1.1 g (1.6 g) fiber (figures in parentheses are for 1/2 of recipe).
• When mixing 4 tbsp quinoa into 6 tbsp (90 cc) rice, it starts to remind of couscous, especially in terms of texture.