Thursday, June 2, 2011

Oriental Salad with Ramen Noodles


This is a delicious, hearty salad I often serve in the summer.
I especially like to take this to potlucks
because I can make most of it ahead
and quickly toss it together before I head to the barbecue.

You can add cubed chicken to make this a summer meal.

Oriental Salad
1 bag of cole slaw
1 bag of broccoli cole slaw (shown below)
1 pkg. Oriental ramen noodles
1 small bag of slivered almonds
cashews or peanuts (optional)

Dressing
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 TBS. soy sauce
Season packet from the Ramen noodles

Preheat oven to 300-degrees.

Line a cookie sheet with foil to save on clean up.
Spread the bag of slivered almonds over the foil.


Break up the uncooked noodles in the
packet of Ramen noodles and spread them
out with the slivered almonds.


Bake noodles and almonds
for about 12 minutes or until golden like this:


If you are making this ahead to serve the
salad later, allow to cool,
then seal in a ziplock bag until ready to toss salad.


While noodles and almonds are baking,
mix up the dressing.

I start by measuring the sugar,
then mixing in the oil so the sugar doesn't stick to
the oil in the measuring cup.

Stir all the ingredients together and
set aside until you're ready to toss salad.


To toss salad, add the cole slaw
and broccoli cole slaw to a large bowl.


Mix the slaws together.


Add the toasted almonds and Ramen noodles
and mix.


Add 1/2 cup cashews or peanuts
if desired.  I think the nuts really add flavor and crunch.

This day, I only had unsalted peanuts, but I prefer cashews
in this salad.


The dressing constantly separates,
so right before you add it to the salad,
stir well.


Then pour it quickly.


The salad will be tastier when marinated
with the dressing for one to two hours before serving.

If you bring this salad to a potluck,
they'll EAT IT UP!

31 comments:

  1. Now that I am cooking at home. I will be a frequent visitor here. :)

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  3. I tried to make that salad today and it was very delicious! Thanks for sharing the receipe...

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  4. OK Jill!!!!! How come I didn't know before that you had a food blog? It's great! Mine is just everything rolled into one! Anyways... I have been making a Chinese Noodle Salad for 25 years now and everyone loves it too! I shared it on my blog this Spring. Yours is a bit different than mine but looks delicious!

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    Replies
    1. So how do you make your version of this salad please?

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  5. I loved this. It was amazing. My husband and kids both enjoyed it too! they are normally very picky eaters. I can make this without them even noticing all the good stuff that they would normally object to. great Recipe!

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  6. This is great; I add a can of mandarin oranges to mine & dried cranberries sometimes too!

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  7. Are the noodles and nuts supposed to marinate for the 2 hours, or do you put them in at the very last minute?

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    Replies
    1. Marinate WITH the noodles and nuts. They do not get soggy after two hours. Enjoy!

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  8. I've made this salad for years, and loved it. Your recipe has the soy sauce in the dressing and a bit more sugar. i tried it for a friend's luncheon (tripled the recipe!)and really love it. It's my new go to recipe. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. Had this at a party it was great one them salads you want to eat on a hot day.

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  10. What is the serving size on this recipe?

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  11. Thanks for the recipe! It was great!

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  12. how do you add chicken to this? Just cube/cook it? In the oven on the stove? How do you do it?

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    Replies
    1. cook chicken however you would normally cook chicken... on the stove or in the oven and then add it to the finished salad.

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  13. great recipe! i did a few changes, fresh ginger and less sugar in the dressing, as well as a few drops of sesame oil to give it that extra asian oomph. i also used cuties for my oranges.
    your recipe is a great inspiration. thanks so much!

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  14. This was excellent - I tripled the recipe and ended up making extra dressing and added some rice vinegar as well. I kept the cashews on the side and bought some fried strips in the Asian section of the store. Super yummy. Those who have made and tried the recipe before (some of whom claimed not to like it previously) had seconds and asked for the recipe! This was great!

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  15. Have you not heard that processed Ramen noodles are very dangerous for the digestive tract? You should do more research before publishing recipes that could harm people.

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    Replies
    1. if you dont like it, dont eat it

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    2. This is untrue. Go to http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/noodles.asp
      for information.

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  16. This was AWESOME! I love that you added the soy sauce, it gave it some extra oomph. I put my dressing ingredients into an 8 oz jar and shook it up and it was wonderfully mixed and even thickened a bit. Will definitely be making this again!

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  17. I couldn't find the Dole Slaw, so I bought another brand. The bag comes with a dressing packet inside... should I use it?

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    Replies
    1. I wouldn't for this recipe, but I'm sure it would be fine if you were not trying to make this particular recipe! :)

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  18. I mix my dressing in the blender. No problem with separating dressing. Yummy!!

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  19. Just for your info. 1 TBS of Soya Sauce = 880 mg of sodium, and a Season packet of Ramen noodles = 1320 mg of sodium. Do the math. I submitted my recipe which is about the same as the one here to my nutritionist and she did not recommend it for me: hypertension. But still it is so good.

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    Replies
    1. If you're concerned about the sodium or msg - you can make your own ramen noodle seasoning. Just mix it in the blender and serve it with angel hair pasta or rice noodles. It's a pretty good substitute for this slaw recipe too! Here's what I use:
      2 Tablespoons low sodium Poultry Seasoning
      2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
      2 Tablespoons Onion Powder
      2 low sodium chicken-flavored bouillon cubes
      1 teaspoon black pepper

      Hope this helps!

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  20. How many servings does this make?

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