Ramen Cabbage Salad

At a summer potluck last year, I tasted (and loved) an Asian-inspired salad that was made with cabbage, sesame, nuts and, interestingly enough, what looked like dried ramen noodles. I couldn’t track down the person who had made the dish, and even if I had, I probably didn’t know her from Adam and would have felt it inappropriate to say “Hi” and “Can I have your recipe?” in the same breath. I did find something online that was pretty close, though, on Food.com. I modified it a little with the addition of sesame oil and brown sugar in the dressing, and I now have a great salad.

While ramen noodles are not gluten-free and may or may not be vegetarian, vegan, nut-free or egg-free, depending on the brand and flavor, the recipe could be interesting with rice noodles too, and of course you can improvise your own flavouring instead of using the packet from the ramen. The salad should only be assembled right before serving; I only assembled enough salad at a time for a meal.

¼ cup sesame seeds
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1 head cabbage, finely chopped
6 green onions, thinly sliced
2 (3 oz) packages ramen noodles, original flavour
2/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp water
¼ cup rice wine vinegar (or cider vinegar; adjust sugar and salt to taste)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper, to taste

Toast sesame seeds and almonds on a cookie sheet in oven or in a dry pan until lightly toasted. (Watch carefully, they can burn quickly.)

Mix cabbage and green onions in a large bowl.

Crush ramen noodles in the package. Open and remove broth packets.

To make dressing, mix oils water and vinegar in a jar with a tight lid. Add sugar and 1 packet of broth (or flavouring of your choice, such as MSG-free powder for chicken broth). Shake well. Taste, and add more sugar if necessary, as well as salt and pepper.

Just before serving, add crushed noodles, almonds and sesame seeds to cabbage mixture. Pour on dressing and toss well. Serve immediately.