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Crunchy Napa Cabbage Salad

This simple salad is great for a large group. Or make the elements, store them separately, and put together small portions as you want them. 

Course Salad
Cuisine Asian
Keyword almonds, Chinese cabbage, Napa cabbage, ramen noodles
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 16 portions

Ingredients

Salad Dressing

  • 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup unflavored vegetable oil (canola or similar)
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce (can use reduced sodium)

Crunchies

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 packages dried ramen noodles, crushed
  • 3-4 tablespoons slivered almonds
  • 1/2 teaspoon seasoning from noodle package or freshly ground pepper

Salad

  • 1 head Napa or Chinese cabbage, trimmed (about 1-2" off bottom), then shredded
  • 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced (green and light green parts)

Instructions

Salad Dressing

  1. Put rice vinegar and sugar in small pot under medium-low flame. Heat, stirring, just until the sugar has completely dissolved. 

  2. Add the oil and soy sauce to the vinegar and sugar. Stir or whisk until well combined and set aside.

Crunchies

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter on a foil-lined cookie sheet. (That takes about 4 minutes.) Break up the dried ramen noodles in a medium-sized bowl. They don't have to be crushed to a pulp - just made into bite-sized pieces. Mix in the almonds. Spread the mixture on the cookie sheet. Gently mix the butter and crunchies so that the latter are lightly covered with butter. Bake for 10-15 minutes until light golden brown, stirring once or twice while they bake. 

  2. Sprinkle the seasoning powder on the crunchies, mix it in, and set the crunchies aside to cool. 

Salad

  1. Mix the scallion slices and shredded cabbage. 

  2. Just before serving, whisk the dressing again, pour it over the cabbage and top with crunchies. To reserve part of the salad, keep the 3 elements: dressing; crunchies; and cabbage/scallion mixture in separate well-sealed containers. Only the cabbage/scallion mixture needs refrigeration.