I’ve posted this recipe before. But it was an afterthought within a menu plan.
This recipe deserves to be the star of its own post.
If you’re a regular reader, you know that I lived in Thailand. Which is in Asia. I don’t know that I ate much salad there. I think the idea is that the flavors are Asian, not that it’s an authentically Asian dish.
I did have steamed iceberg lettuce in Hong Kong once . . .
Anyway, I made this last week during our post-Disney-trip-veggie-craving-time. It’s a perfect salad to eat as a meal because it is very filling, and a little heartier than normal because it is made with cabbage. Sometimes we add diced, cooked chicken to make the meal seem more official.
Ingredients:
2 (3 ounce) packages ramen noodles, uncooked, crushed (15 cents each)
2 oz slivered almonds (This amount costs 88 cents at Walmart, and I find them in the baking aisle.)
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 lb. bag of pre-packaged cole-slaw cabbage ($1.50 – buy the one without the dressing, as you won’t need it)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
3 tbsp. white sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
3 tbsp. white sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
Make the dressing first, as it needs time to cool. It can be made ahead. (Not that I ever remember to make it ahead, but it can be.)
In a small saucepan, bring oil, vinegar, and sugar to a boil for 1 minute while stirring. Just a warning, this will clear your sinuses big time. Breathing in the vinegar fumes can be quite a shock to your nostrils. And be careful with the boiling oil.
After it cools some, add soy sauce. It’s best to chill the dressing.
One of the best parts of this salad is the crunch, which makes the next part the most important!
To avoid a mess, crush your ramen noodles while they’re still in the bag. Put on a cookie sheet with the almond slivers and sesame seeds and toast in the oven at 300 for about 10 minutes.
I generally set the timer for 5 minutes at a time, and when I start to see the noodles browning, I take it out.
If it starts to smell like popcorn . . . it’s too late. Trust me.
Toss everything together, and you have a wonderful, filling and crunchy salad. And just so you know, in case you think you don’t like coleslaw or cabbage, my mother was shocked when I made this. Because I think I don’t like coleslaw or cabbage. But I looove this salad!
Honestly, we don’t make our kids eat this. I generally have a love-it-or-leave-it dinnertime policy, but I make an exception. Consequently, hubby and I only eat about half of this recipe for a meal. Last week, I finally thought ahead enough to only toss together half of it for our initial meal, and kept the rest of the ingredients separate. When they’re already mixed together, the crunchy stuff is soggy and gross on the second day. By keeping the ingredients separate, I was able to have this for lunch for two days last week!
And our Menu Plan this week?
We have VBS, so I’m keeping things super-simple.
Monday – Spaghetti (My 9 year old is learning to make this meal by himself this summer!)
Tuesday – Jambalaya (My 5 year old assumes she is going to get to cook, so I chose this crazy-simple meal for her.)
Wednesday – Chicken Stir Fry
Thursday – Homemade pizzas
Check out more Menu Plans over at Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com.
I originally found the basis for this recipe at Allrecipes.com, but modified it to our tastes.
My sister-in-law always brings this to our potluck get-togethers. We all love it!
My mom has made this before and…. ummmm….. for us…. it’s a ‘leave it’ recipe….But as I’m writing this, I don’t think she toasted the ramen noodles…. so they were raw….. I’m the only one who likes raw cabbage around here (King Turd of Poop Mountain will eat Cooked Cabbage on St. Patty’s Day)….. so maybe I’ll give my mother the recipe to try….. Anyhoot… made your Pizza Snowballs (can you add that recipe to your recipe ‘file’, please?) and everyone loved them. Although I cheated a little…. I cut the rolls up with the kitchen scissors, but I basically layered them right in the muffin pan… I used a 1/2 muffin on the bottom – smushed out a little – then added my fillings – then snipped another 1/2 roll into smaller pieces & smushed them on top….. which we realized afterwards should have only been 1/4 of the roll…… And we all agreed, like your family, MORE filling, LESS roll….. Those will definitely be a repeat recipe!!! Thanks, Nony!
I make this recipe a lot, but I’ve never toasted the Ramen noodles or cooked the dressing before. I’m going to do it that way next time.
I saw part of a cooking show, and they did this salad and added mandarin oranges (drained). I’m going to do that, too!
Thanks for coming clean! I love your blog!
Oh I love this salad! I’ve had it at various potlucks, but never made it myself. Your instructions sound easy enough. Maybe I’ll give it a go!
We have VBS this week, too!
My Nana makes her cole slaw like this…I’m not a fan of slaw myself but my daughter could eat her weight in it.
My grandmother calls this “Chinese Cabbage Salad” and we love it! so good! She uses napa cabbage and shreds it her self, instead of using bagged.
This is my fall back potluck recipe but I’ve never thought about it as the meal!! Great idea. My girls won’t eat it though. What do you do when your kids won’t eat what you want to make?
I LOVE the idea about not adding the noodles & such until you’re ready to actually eat it… You’re so smart. My mom has made a similar recipe for years, and I love it – but after it’s been in the fridge, the deliciousness of the crispy noodles are unappealing/soggy. I’m using your expert tip! We also add green onions, because we honestly put onions in almost everything. 🙂
I make this salad with broccoli slaw. Find it in the produce area next to the bags of cabbage slaw. Somehow it feels more nourishing than cabbage to me! Lol