I'd never heard of this salad until I saw Paula Deen prepare it on her Food Network show. I was intrigued because she scattered uncooked ramen noodles on top of the salad, which didn't seem very appetizing to me. I've since learned that this salad is a popular dish, frequently seen at potluck parties. I also learned that many people know that uncooked ramen noodles taste pretty good. So, if you're out of the loop on this kind of thing like I am, reading this will bring you new knowledge. But, I suspect a lot of people will be saying, "Has she been living in a cave?" I thought using the ramen was unusual and this would be a good recipe to try in honor of Glenna at A Fridge Full Of Food, who hosts a little shindig called Weekend Obnoxious But Amazingly Tasty recipes (WOBAT). If you go over to her site I promise she will have something much more outrageous than this little salad.
This recipe was very quick to make and with a few changes I think it would be better. I did make one substitution by using curly cabbage rather than the napa or bok choy cabbage. Curly cabbage is regular cabbage with textured leaves like the napa variety. It tastes good and has more staying power and won't wilt quickly after the salad dressing is poured on.
I was frankly surprised at the amount of sugar in the dressing. This is Paula Deen, of course. No butter in the salad, but lots of sugar. (By the way, I'm from the South and love Paula.) I used the full amount of the sugar and thought it tasted too sweet. On her show, Paula puts the dressing on the salad and remarks, "Doesn't the dressing look like caramel sauce?" Yes, it does, and it tastes almost as sweet. One cute detail is that the recipe uses the little seasoning packet from the ramen package. There was a faint smell of Asian spices, but the flavor was lost in the sugary dressing. A dressing with cumin, coriander, sesame oil, and citrus juices would be better, I think.
I also found the salad a little monotone in appearance and thought it needed more colorful ingredients. The next day, I saw Paula making the salad on TV (again) and realized I forgot to include the scallions. So, don't forget to add it if you make this. I did enjoy the ramen and the almonds. I could have eaten a big bowl of them as a snack. All in all, the salad tasted better than I thought it would. And with a better dressing, I think it would be very good. I do have to say that Bob liked the salad a lot. I blame Deborah Madison. She has made me rather demanding about salads.
Chinese Salad (Paula Deen)
1 head Napa or bok choy cabbage
3 green onions
1 (3-ounce) package ramen noodles with seasoning pack, Oriental flavor
1 (6-ounce) package slivered almonds
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat the broiler.
Tear the cabbage and slice the onions, and place in a large salad bowl. Crumble the noodles into a broiler pan, add the almonds, sesame seeds, and broil for 2 minutes, being careful not to scorch the sesame seeds. In a jar with a tight lid, combine the oil, sugar, vinegar, and salt with the contents of the seasoning pack. Cover the jar and shake well to blend the dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad, add the toasted sesame and almond, and toss to combine.
"many people know that raw ramen noodles taste pretty good"
I know nothing of the sort! -->jk, i'd eat it :)
Posted by: aria | August 03, 2006 at 06:14 PM
Looks good to me, and here in Utah, there are lots of variations of this salad making the rounds at potlucks.
Posted by: kalyn | August 03, 2006 at 06:45 PM
Aria,
I've actually been thinking about the ramen and almonds today. I did like that combination. I figure I'll have a raw ramen craving occasionally now!
Kalyn,
I honestly had never seen it before Paula's show. I think there are a lot of things you could do to make it better. I was thinking that julienned snow peas would be good.
Posted by: sher | August 03, 2006 at 07:17 PM
I have seen similar recipes but never made them because uncooked ramen noodles just seemed...weird. Guess I'll have to rethink that, huh?
Posted by: Julie | August 04, 2006 at 04:07 AM
I've vowed to never touch another package of ramen after I lived on it for several years, but I can impart this bit of information: packaged ramen isn't uncooked as its been fried, boiling just rehydrates it. That Paula Deen, what a kook. I want the ringtone on my phone to be here saying "Hi Y'all!"
Posted by: steven | August 04, 2006 at 05:26 AM
Yes, I know this salad. I was given a copy of the recipe back in 2000.
Posted by: Nerissa | August 04, 2006 at 01:18 PM
I love this recipe. I've had it too but it definitely fits for WOBAT. I mean, really, who sat around one day saying "Well I've got cabbage, almonds, a package of ramen, and NO TIME. I'll just crunch them all up together and, look!, it's a nice little salad." That's the part that amazes me. It is tasty but who the heck thought of it?????
Posted by: Glenna | August 04, 2006 at 06:36 PM
Julie,
The ramen is surprisingly tasty. I may just buy one occasionally and eat it like a candy bar. :)
Steven,
You're right! It is actually cooked when you buy it. If you read the list of ingredients it can be kind of scary. Oh well, life is short.
Nerissa,
See, almost everyone knows about it! :)
Glenna,
Maybe someone was going to cook their ramen and they accidentally dropped it in their salad before they put it in the boiling water........the rest is history!
Posted by: sher | August 04, 2006 at 08:39 PM
I saw Paula make this on her show a while back and I thought - This is exactly the kind of dish you would see on the pot luck table at the church picnic.
It would go next to the pistachio and pineapple pudding, ambrosia and the four different bowls of potato salad. And the banana pudding, which I always contributed. With Nilla wafers. Gotta have Nilla wafers in the banana puddin'.
I have been thinking back to my childhood for Weekend Obnoxious But Amazingly Tasty and I may have founda couple of ideas...now I gotta just convince the hubby to eat them...
Posted by: Rosie | August 05, 2006 at 08:38 PM
Rosie,
Don't get me started on banana pudding! I grew up eating it every Sunday. My grandmother always fixed it. I saw Paula make a special version that used Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies. But, we always used 'nilla wafers. Love it!
Posted by: sher | August 06, 2006 at 03:33 AM
Hi everyone...I have actually made this salad and it delicious... and i did watch the episode that showed this recipe...and the almomds, seasame seeds and the ramen are put in the broiler for about 3 minutes to brown and crisp up..you should definelty try this salad
Posted by: Stephanie | July 14, 2007 at 11:12 PM
I know this salad as Gruner Salad, it is an old German recipe(the one I have is a little different). It is a signature salad at a local restaurant in my home town in IL. We cook the dressing, boil it for 1 minute...thickens it up a tad, and we dont use the season packet that comes with the noodles.
Posted by: kathy | February 24, 2009 at 01:38 PM
We make this salad a lot during the summer months, and i agree about the overly sweet dressing, i cut the sugar to 1TBS and add 2 TBS of peanut butter, it really makes it taste like a Thai Chicken Salad. Also if you have it at home try using Rice Wine Vinegar and add a 1tsp of sesame oil to the regular sald oil. AMAZING.
Posted by: Mason Hite | July 06, 2010 at 01:05 PM
Don't use white vinegar...I've been making this for years and rice vinegar is way better!! Just checked on your site for measurements since it's been a while since I've made it. And I never use that much sugar in my dressing. However, I DO saute the noodles and almonds in butter ;) and can barely stop eating the mixture long enough to put it into the salad.
Posted by: catherine | June 03, 2011 at 11:30 AM