Despite having a wheat in its name, buckwheat is pretty unrelated to wheat itself. This pseudo grain is used in Russian and eastern European cuisine, but also is available in most places in the world. If you are new to it, I suggest trying it out by following me through this buckwheat stir-fry with mushrooms.
A pseudo grain like buckwheat is a remarkable addition for people with gluten intolerance. Unlike wheat, rye and barley buckwheat is completely gluten-free. What I find really tremendous about it is that is has a biological value of 93. That's far off a usual whole grain. Quinoa gets pretty close with a value of 83, so it beats beef (75) in the quality of its protein.
On top of that, buckwheat is stuffed with minerals and b-vitamins. The fiber contents help you maintain good colon health.
Working with Buckwheat
Preparing Buckwheat is easy. You can just boil it like rice. Add double the amount of water to it and then let it simmer for around 20 minutes or until soft. If you want to fry it like in this buckwheat stir-fry with mushrooms, better get the excess water out. So rinse the buckwheat properly and let it steam dry for a couple of minutes after cooking.
Since Buckwheat brings much surface to the dish you can be generous with applying spices and aromas to it. Throw the whole dish around the pan or wok properly and give it time to develop the aromatics properly.
Preparation of the buckwheat stir-fry with mushrooms
If you want, you can make this a one pot dish. I do prefer to fry the soy protein chunks aside to give them a proper crust through the Maillard reaction. If you add them last, they maintain their bite and give a nice variety in texture to the entire dish.
The rest of the mix profits a lot on the roast aromas of frying the mushrooms first. I recommend starting to add more ingredients after the mushrooms already picked up a good amount of color. After that, make sure to stir the dish often enough to not burn anything.
The rest of it is all about presentation. The spinach makes a pleasant bed in the bowl. Fresh herbs on top not only always look great, but spike up both the aromas and nutrients. In my opinion, you should never go short on fresh herbs.
Buckwheat Stir-Fry with Mushrooms
Ingredients
The Basics
- 100 g buckwheat
- 1 onion small
- 1 gloves of garlic
- 200 g mushrooms
- 50 g soy protein chunks
- 100 g green asparagus
- 50 g Bell Pepper
Spices and Oils
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 0.5 lime juiced
- 2 tsp thyme
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tbsp vegetable stock powder
- 3 sundried tomato
Decoration and fresh greens
- 30 g spinach
- 20 g raspberries
- 1 pinch scallions
Instructions
Preparations
- Boil the buckwheat. Soak the soy protein chunks 10 minutes in hot water, optionally with some vegetable stock.
- Chop everything coppable into forkable bits
Cooking
- Give some olive oil into a big pan and start frying the mushrooms and onions on medium heat.
- Rinse and squeeze excess liquid from the soy protein chunks. Let them dry a bit and then add them into another pan with some sesame oil. Fry until golden, then deglaze with a dash of soy sauce.
- When the mushrooms start picking up color, add the asparagus and bell pepper to the mix. Also, add oregano and thyme and allow them to develop their aromas.
- Rinse the buckwheat properly before adding it to the pan. Mix well and let it rest for a minute to add some roast to the buckwheat.
- Add cumin, sundried tomatoes and the juice of half a lime to the mix. Finally, transfer the soy chunks into the main pan and stir one last time.
Decoration
- Spread some leafy greens (here spinach) across your bowl.
- Add some of the stir fry on top. Decorate with scallions and some berries. Enjoy a lot!
Love this recipe? You’ll love my book too!
Learn to cook healthy and flavorful meals from scratch and boost your well-being through nutrition.
Get your copy of “Embracing Change” now.
Nutrients per serving
