Oriental Cabbage Salad

This is an old DeBord family recipe.  My mom has used it for years and she generously shared the recipe. I have fond memories of this salad on special occasions like Easter, 4^th of July and Memorial Day.  It was always at big events in our family.  Dinner was always served al fresco in our backyard with a vibrant sunset in the background.  Mix in some kids doing cannonballs into the pool or my dad successfully spraying the pool deck with a can opener jump and you can almost be sure that this salad was present.  I might be a bit biased because of my history but this is one of my favorite salads.

It’s a crowd pleaser even if it is a little unconventional, you’ll see what I mean…

Salad Ingredients:

            ½ head of cabbage

            1 large red bell pepper

            3 green onions

            1 cup slivered almonds

            1 to 2 tsps sesame seeds

            1 package Top Ramen noodles, chicken flavored

Dressing Ingredients:

            ¼ cup sugar [you can also use agave nectar as an alternative]

            4 tablespoons oil [I prefer vegetable oil as I’ve tried olive oil and it doesn’t mix as well- it’s too thick and clumpy instead of nice and runny like dressing should be]

            3 tsp rice vinegar

            1 seasoning package from noodle package

            ground pepper- about a teaspoon or 3 strong cranks on the pepper grinder

Brown the almonds and sesame seeds in a 350˚ oven for about 10-12 minutes.  Be careful to make sure the almonds don’t burn.  There’s a fine line where they turn from a nice toasty brown to a burnt crisp of a nut.

Chop the ½ head of cabbage.  Be sure to remove the very hard center portion of the head.  It’s not fun to eat.  I’m picky about my cabbage so I make sure all of the gross white membrane doesn’t get into my salad.

Chop the red pepper, remove the seeds, and cut to small to medium size pieces.

Chop the green onions.

Smash up the Top Ramen noodles before you open the package to avoid getting the noodles all over the counters and the floor (learn from my mistakes, people!).  I know what you're thinking: "Top Ramen, really?  Those ten cent noodles that you eat in college when you only have twenty dollars left in your checking account and you'd rather spend the rest of it on beer?"  Yup those noodles.  They're the perfect amount of crunch and flavor to take this to the next level of delicious. 

Add all of the salad ingredients to a large bowl or Tupperware container.  I prefer to use my Pampered Chef mixing bowl because it has a lid and it’s an easy way to toss the salad with the lid on. 

Next up is the dressing.  This dressing is best if it’s prepared in advance, chilled and then drizzled over the salad about 10-15 minutes before eating to allow all of the flavors to blend.

Combine oil and vinegar.  I like to mix the liquids first before adding any of the granular ingredients.  

Add the sugar, slowly, mixing to prevent clumping.

Add the seasoning from the noodle package. [An alternative is to only add 1 tsp of the seasoning + 1 tsp of regular kosher salt or PinkHimalayan Salt. I know you fancy readers are out there.]

Grind in your ground pepper.

Now shake the jar filled with dressing vigorously before placing in the fridge to chill out for about an hour. The contents will separate in the fridge so make sure you shake the substance again when you are ready to consume. 

Honestly you don’t completely have to chill it before serving it just tastes a little bit better. When I don’t already have this prepared and I’m starving for dinner you better believe I eat this within 5 minutes of making! 

Enjoy!