Bio: Ashley went to Johnson & Wales University for culinary school.  She has spent over 15 years in all aspects of the restaurant industry including cooking for the Denver Nuggets as a private chef, helping open a restaurant in Hawaii, cooking in 2 restaurants in St. John USVI, bartending, and managing The Palm in Denver.   

What is Kon-Tiki? The Kon-Tiki expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. Heyerdahl believed that people from South America could have reached Polynesia during pre-Columbian times. His aim in mounting the Kon-Tiki expedition was to show, by using only the materials and technologies available to those people at the time, that there were no technical reasons to prevent them from having done so. The couple hosting our event had family on this expedition.

What to expect: This is a fun and easy menu that does not take too much time to prepare.  We will be going over some knife skills and learning more about some international products.  Ashley cooks by taste but will have recipes for you to be able to use at home.  Erik will provide levity and assist in the cooking.  

Kon-Tiki Menu:

  • Ahi Tuna Poke Appetizer
  • Udon noodles with Ground Pork
  • Mango Sticky Rice

Some ingredients are hard to find.  I get the Udon noodle at World market or amazon. Here is a photo:

You can find the sushi grade tuna, Yuzu sauce, and Furikake seasoning at Whole foods or Amazon. 

Ahi Poke:

Ingredients

  •  1 lb fresh sashimi-grade ahi steak, chilled and cut into 1-inch cubes*
  •  1 and 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce (shoyu), plus more to taste
  •  1 tablespoon sesame oil
  •  3/4 teaspoon Hawaiian salt (‘alaea), plus more to taste
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced Maui or yellow onion
  •  1/2 cup chopped green onions, green parts only
  •  1 tablespoon finely chopped toasted macadamia nuts
  • 1 diced avocado
  • 1-2 teaspoons Furikake seasoning or toasted sesame seeds
  • Wonton wrappers for frying.
  1. Cut the wonton wrappers into triangles and fry in a sauté pan. 
  2. In a bowl, combine the cubed ahi, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, Maui (or yellow) onion, green onions, and toasted macadamia nuts and gently toss with your hands or a spoon. Adjust the seasoning to your liking. Serve on Wonton Chips.

Udon noodles with Ground Pork or ground chicken:

Ingredients

  • Olive or Canola oil 
  • ¼- ½  teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 lb. ground pork or chicken
  • 1 can diced water chestnuts
  • 1- ½  cups chicken stock
  • 1 bunch of scallions: 3-4 scallions with the white part in one bowl and the rest of the greens in separate bowl.  
  • 2-3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tablespoons Yuzu Ponzu sauce
  • ¼ cup of soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1-3 tablespoons grated ginger
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • ½ cup carrots
  • 1 package of shitake mushrooms sliced
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 3 7-8 ounce packages of Udon noodles
  • You can add any other veggies you would like.  Zucchini, broccoli, snow peas, or asparagus can be a nice addition.  My husband is picky about his veggies so this is how I make it.  

Slurry:

  • 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
  • 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Yuzu
  • 2 tablesppons chicken stock

Combine in a small bowl and set aside

  1. Heat large sauté pan or wok on medium high heat add oil and red pepper flakes until pepper turns light brown.  The add ground pork or chicken, break into bite size pieces with spoon or spatula,  and sauté until almost done.  Then remove from pan.
  2. In a separate pan heated to medium heat add butter until melted and then add mushrooms, salt, and pepper to taste until done.  
  3. Add a little more oil to pan and add the ginger, garlic, and white part of the scallions.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add the udon noodles and sauté for 3-4 minutes
  4. Add chicken stock, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, Yuzu sauce, ground meat, water chestnuts, and carrots.   Cook until a light boil.  Add the slurry.  This will thicken the sauce and coat the noodles.  
  5. Top with the green part of the scallions and serve. 

Mango sticky rice

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups glutinous (sweet) rice (Calrose rice)
  • 1 1/3 cups well-stirred canned unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted lightly
  • 1 large mango, peeled, pitted, and diced
  1. In a bowl wash rice well in several changes of cold water until water is clear. Soak rice in cold water to cover overnight.
  2. Drain rice well and cook as directed. 
  3. While rice is cooking, in a small saucepan bring 1 cup coconut milk to a boil with 1/3 cup sugar (add sugar slowly to get the sweetness you want) and salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and remove from heat. Keep mixture warm.
  4. Transfer cooked rice to a bowl and stir in coconut-milk mixture slowly to let the rice absorb the milk. You may have some leftover and can add it at anytime.  Let rice stand, covered, 30 minutes, or until coconut-milk mixture is absorbed. Rice may be prepared up to this point 2 hours ahead and kept covered at room temperature.
  5. While rice is standing, in cleaned small pan slowly boil remaining 1/3 cup coconut milk with remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Transfer sauce to a small bowl and chill until cool and thickened slightly.
  6. To serve, place ¼ cup servings of sticky rice on dessert plates. Drizzle desserts with sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Divide diced mango among plates.