Tagged: pescatarian

Pretty. Easy. Chilled Soba Noodles

by Aida Mollenkamp —

Pretty Easy Cold Soba Noodle Recipe

While poking around the other day, I realized I’ve shared a good amount of pastas with you, but have all but failed you in the other noodle categories. I mean, yes, I’m Italian-American so cooking pasta comes as naturally to me as being dramatic, but it’s a total misrepresentation of the noodles that grace my kitchen. There’s a whole shelf filled with various pastas as well as rice sticks, pad thai noodles, udon, and, my favorite, soba.


Continue Reading: Pretty. Easy. Chilled Soba Noodles →

Weeknight Shrimp and Tofu Pad Thai

by Aida Mollenkamp —

Aida_Mollenkamp_Shrimp_Pad_Thai_Recipe

One of the most common questions I get asked is what I cook when I’m not cooking.

Between recipe testing, styling, and shooting, work leaves me with plenty of leftovers,  but there are a few easy, quick recipes I always rely on and have “most” of the ingredients on hand. (Meaning, I keep the dry ingredients as pantry staples so I only have to stop by the store for a handful of fresh things.) I’m going to start sharing these easy weeknight recipes with you beginning with Pad Thai.
Continue Reading: Weeknight Shrimp and Tofu Pad Thai →

Poke, My Way

by Aida Mollenkamp —

Aida Mollenkamp Easy Healthy Dinner Recipe Ahi Poke Tostada

For the last recipe of my Hawaiian coverage, I wanted to share with you my California-fied twist on a classic Hawaiian recipe.

Poke (pronounced poh-kay) is one of those classic Hawaiian dishes I can’t get enough of and I eat my share when I’m on island. If you haven’t had it before, it’s like a Hawaiian-style ceviche where, at the most basic, sushi-grade seafood is mixed with classic Hawaiian flavors of soy sauce and onions. From there, the options are limitless and you’ll find all sorts of poke flavors made with everything from octopus to squid, all over the state.

The problem is that a lot of poke is seriously high in sodium and just does’t have a balance of freshness and flavor that I like. I’ve spent a fair amount of time, money, and meals comparing and contrasting poke throughout the state and finally realized I should be making it myself and have become a self-proclaimed poke master. (Bold words I know seeing as I’m not born-and-bred in Hawaii.)

Speaking of which, my favorite way of serving poke has been super untraditional as a sort of Mexican tostada with Hawaiian flavors. Anytime I spend more than a few weeks away from California, I start craving Mexican food, so, to get the best of both worlds, I decided to make my own poke and throw it atop a crunchy tostada base.
Continue Reading: Poke, My Way →

The Original Fusion Food

by Aida Mollenkamp —

Aida Mollenkamp Easy Healthy Dinner Recipe Shrimp and Vegetable Saimin

I had a revelation this trip: food in Hawaii was fusion long before the term was ever coined.

Sure, some modern dishes are historically Hawaiian and others have been slightly tweaked from a distinct ethnic dish, but a good amount of food in Hawaii is the result of a mash up of numerous cuisines and flavors. One such dish is Saimin: it’s origin dates back to sugar cane plantation days when various immigrants worked and cooked together and saimin reflects all those influences. Saimin has a broth reminiscent of Japanese dashi, uses egg and wheat noodles reminiscent of Chinese chow mein noodles, and is garnished with an assortment of toppings hailing from Chinese, Hawaiian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Filipino cuisines.

My first taste of saimin was a late-night meal at the Hawaiian fast food chain, Zippys, which was forgettable, to say the least. Fortunately, I’ve had better tasting saimin since, but every one has been so MSG-filled that I walk away feeling like I’ve made out with a salt lick. Recently, my friends in Hawaii asked me to craft them modern, homemade, healthier versions of their favorite local grindz (aka only-in-Hawaii foods) and when I asked which to start with, one of them blurted out, Saimin!
Continue Reading: The Original Fusion Food →