Chinese Cabbage Salad

I think this is probably the best salad I've ever had. Given that I'm a bit salad obsessed that's saying alot. Generally I pretty much hate any recipe that includes pre-packaged ingredients. Almost as much as I hate canned cream of anything soup in recipes. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule and this is definately one of those. This recipe uses a pack of ramen noodles. Who would've thunk? Oh yeah, and as a fair warning don't be tricked by the "salad" part. There's no pretending that this is a healthy recipe, but it's darn tasty!

Note: I've substituted sunflower seeds for the sesame seeds every time I've made it.

Chinese Cabbage Salad

· 1 (3 ounce) package chicken flavored ramen noodles
· 1/4 cup butter
· 1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted
· 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds
· 1 large head napa cabbage, shredded
· 6 green onions, chopped
· 1/4 cup vegetable oil
· 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
· 1 tablespoon soy sauce
· 1 tablespoon sesame oil
· 1/8 cup white sugar


1. Crush noodles, place them in a medium skillet and brown in butter over medium heat. Add almonds and sesame seeds. Stir often to prevent burning. Add seasoning mix from noodles and cool. Toss in a large bowl with cabbage and onions.

2. Prepare the dressing by whisking together the vegetable oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar. Pour over salad, toss and serve.