Asian Salad with Red Peppers

I've been blogging for almost 2 years now.  Back in the early days, when I had no idea what I was doing, I posted a recipe that has always been a big hit in my family for an asian slaw/salad.  Though the salad is great, I cringe a little lot when I go back and look at my early posts.  The pictures are pretty awful.  Hard to believe I was using the same camera then as I do now.  I'm always working to improve my photography skills and I still have a lot to learn, but looking back makes me realize just how far I've come.  Wonder what things will look like in another two years...

Somehow nearly two years has passed since I've made this salad.  Which is a shame, because I remembered how much I love it when my family served it at our Christmas day dinner this past year.  It's refreshing.  It's crunchy.  It's green onion-ey.  It's sweet and tangy all at the same time.  And it's incredibly easy to make.

When I saw a head of cabbage at our local farmer's market, it was on.  I decided to waiver slightly from the original recipe by adding some finely sliced red peppers.  I had an excess of red peppers in the fridge from a Costco run. I thought they would complement the other flavors in the salad nicely, not to mention bringing a pretty burst of red among a rather monotone landscape of colors.  Hubby and I enjoyed the addition of the peppers and I will plan to include them going forward. 

We typically eat this salad as a side dish, but if you add some grilled chicken or rotisserie chicken, this could easily be a main course.  I like to toss the dressing with the salad about 10 minutes before I plan to serve it to allow the dressing to slightly soften the hearty cabbage. This dish is a crowd pleaser and would be great for a party.   Did I mention this is easy to make?  It is super easy.  And you should totally make it and thank me later. ;) 

Enjoy!

Asian Salad with Red Peppers

Serves 6-8 people

1/2 head thinly sliced cabbage or 16 oz bag of cabbage mix

1 package chicken Top Ramen

2 Tablespoons sesame seeds

1/2 cup slivered almonds

4 green onions thinly sliced
1 red pepper, stem and seeds removed, thinly sliced

Dressing:

Whisk together the following and chill

3 Tablespoons sugar

3 Tablespoons white vinegar

1/3 cup vegetable oil (do not substitute olive oil)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Flavor packet from Top Ramen

Place uncooked ramen noodles in a ziploc bag and crush into small pieces using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Place crushed ramen, sesame seeds and almonds on a baking sheet. Toast in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden. Toss slaw, red peppers, green onions, ramen, sesame seeds, almonds in dressing. Let the salad sit for about 10 minutes before serving to allow dressing to soften the cabbage a bit.

KFC Cole Slaw

I admit it.  I like Kentucky Fried Chicken.  What's not to like?  Crunchy deep fried chicken and tasty sides.  Mmmmm.  As much as I like it, we don't eat KFC a whole lot.  Maybe once a year or even less.  But when we do I MUST get the coleslaw and mashed potatoes and gravy.  Oh, and I guess some chicken too.  But really, it's all about the coleslaw.  The cabbage is drunk with delicious tangy and sweet dressing.  It's good stuff.  So good that Hubby better order his own because homegirl isn't sharing.

But I guess I should start sharing now since I found a great copy cat recipe to make at home.  It's pretty darn close to the real deal.  The key is letting the coleslaw marinate in the sauce for a at least a four hours or even overnight so the cabbage can drink in all the delicious sauce.

The KFC coleslaw was a great accompaniment to the barbecued baby back ribs we made this past weekend.  And a little cornbread didn't hurt either. 

If you too like the Colonel's coleslaw you should give this recipe a try!

KFC Coleslaw
food.com

8 cups finely shredded cabbage (about 1 head)
1/4 cup shredded carrots
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Place cabbage and carrots in a large bowl and toss in the minced onions.  Using a small food processor, hand blender or even a whisk, blend together sugar, salt, pepper, milk, buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar and lemon juice until smooth and sugar is dissolved.  Pour dressing over the the cabbage mixture and stir to coat cabbage.  Cover bowl and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight before serving.

Asian Slaw

Our Asian Chicken and Roasted Pepper Sandwiches last week called for an asian inspired salad. I had a fresh head of cabbage from my recent Farm Fresh to You delivery. More on that in a future post. I have never made this particular recipe using fresh cabbage before. I always used the bag o cabbage because that's what my step mom who shared this recipe with me uses. But the fresh cabbage was excellent and took the slaw up a notch! I would have also liked some fresh carrots to shred into the mix but cabbage did fine all by itself.

My step mom has been making this salad/slaw for a number of years and so have I. She got the recipe from her sister. I am not sure where her sister got the recipe so I don't know who to credit for this. But kudos to whoever came up with it! Asian Slaw is a great dish to bring to a pot luck, BBQ or summer bash. This crowd pleasing dish holds up well as far as a salad goes because of the sturdy cabbage. Even when its dressed, it fares well during a party. It's one of those dishes that people request the recipe for. And Hubby likes it so it's a win win in my book!

Asian Slaw Recipe:

1/2 head thinly sliced cabbage or 16 oz bag of cabbage mix

1 package chicken Top Ramen

2 Tablespoons sesame seeds

1/2 cup slivered almonds

4 green onions thinly sliced

Dressing:

Whisk together the following and chill

3 Tablespoons sugar

3 Tablespoons white vinegar

1/3 cup vegetable oil (do not substitute olive oil)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Flavor packet from Top Ramen

Place uncooked ramen in a ziploc bag and crush into small pieces using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Place crushed ramen, sesame seeds and almonds on a baking sheet. Toast in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes until lightly golden. Toss slaw, green onions, ramen, sesame seeds, almonds in dressing. Let the salad sit for about 10 minutes before serving to allow dressing to soften the cabbage a bit.