Quinoa has nutrition experts excited about its exceptionally high protein content of 12 per cent to 18 per cent (compared with 7 per cent in rice), including the eight essential amino acids needed for tissue development. It's a perfect food for vegans. It's also a good source of fibre, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and vitamin B complex.

Because of its superior nutrition and the plant's ability to thrive in harsh and semi-arid conditions, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) considers quinoa to be a 'super crop' that could promote food security, while Nasa has plans to use it to feed astronauts on long space missions.

Although easy to digest, quinoa has a low glycaemic index - meaning your body will digest it slowly and keep you feeling full for longer - which makes it an option for diabetics. And it is gluten-free, making it suitable for those allergic, intolerant or sensitive to wheat.

For Fran Collard, 43, who is gluten-intolerant and vegetarian, quinoa fits her dietary requirements perfectly. It is her family's staple, used for pancakes and baked goods, sauces and tabbouleh.

'It's delicious,' Collard says, adding that she has not been sick since turning vegetarian last year.

In Hong Kong, quinoa costs about HK$35 for a 340 gram box. Gourmet raw food chef and instructor Dr Wendy Yang says it is easy to find on the shelves of supermarkets, which shows there is steady demand for the low-key superfood even though most residents might not have heard of it.

What makes quinoa a real winner is its ease of preparation, whether raw and sprouted or cooked. Its mild, slightly nutty taste and pleasant crunch are easy on the palate, and it readily absorbs whatever seasoning you choose.

Julie Teo, 38, who has been eating quinoa for the past four years, says she enjoys its distinctive nutty flavour. The mother of four first introduced the food into her family's diet as a way to boost the nutritional quotient of the meals she prepared for her vegan husband; now quinoa patties are a firm family favourite.

Yang says her clients find that tabbouleh made with quinoa (see recipe) is tastier than the kind made with bulgur wheat, and its texture is more interesting.

An informal tasting for a group of first-timers drew comments that the grain tasted similar to rice, only less starchy. A five-year-old boy at the table insisted on replacing his white rice with quinoa, which had been cooked in chicken broth and garlic.

Although quinoa is easily used as a grain replacement, it is technically not a grain but a seed. The plant, Chenopodium quinoa, is classified as a herb and is related to beet and spinach. The plant's leaves, stem and seeds have medicinal uses in treating inflammation, pain and urinary tract infections. It is even used as an insect repellent, according to an FAO book on neglected plants. The whole plant is used as animal fodder to feed cattle, pigs, sheep and horses.

Its decline as a major food staple in the Andes started with the fall of the Inca empire in the 1500s; the Spanish invaders despised quinoa for its role in what they saw as Pagan rituals and forced the Incas to grow wheat and other crops instead.

Quinoa's revival appears to have begun in the late 1980s - ironically, thanks to the Spanish. Brigido Martinez, president of the National Association of Quinoa Producers in Bolivia, said earlier this year that the crop's modern-day popularity can be traced to a visit by Spanish royalty to Bolivia in 1987, where the king and queen's sampling of quinoa was noted by the media and the world.

As awareness of the food's nutritional powers grew, so did its popularity. In 1999, quinoa exports from Bolivia - the world's largest producer of the seed - were estimated at US$1 million per year; by 2009, it was US$25 million. Its wholesale price has reportedly soared sevenfold since 2000.

But quinoa's popularity has had some adverse effects. It was recently reported that the poor in Bolivia can no longer afford quinoa and are turning to cheaper, less nutritious starches such as wheat. Chronic malnutrition among children in Bolivia's quinoa-growing areas is rising.

Regardless of the politics of quinoa, its nutritional standing remains undisputed. An ancient people's sacred food could well become the food of the future.

12

to 18 per cent of quinoa is protein, compared with 7 per cent of rice

- It's also a good source of fibre, iron, calcium and other nutrients