Saturday, June 1, 2013

Asian Almond Ramen Salad

Salads for summer . . . Tastes & Treasures cookbook is filled with great salads. Here is another one to try with the ever-popular Ramen noodles.

Asian Almond Ramen Salad
Ingredients Dressing:
3 tablespoons rice vinegar or cider vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ cup canola oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon honey
½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
Ingredients Salad:

1 package (3 ounces) ramen noodles, any flavor
½ cup snow peas (2 ounces), sliced lengthwise into thin strips
½ cup shredded carrots
1 scallion, chopped
1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 can (11 ounces) mandarin oranges in juice, drained
¼ cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Directions:
To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients in a medium serving bowl until blended.

For the salad, discard the ramen seasoning packet. Crush the ramen in the bag into very small pieces with a heavy skillet or your hands. Add them to the bowl with the dressing and toss to coat. Let the ramen stand at room temperature, stirring now and then, until the liquid is mostly absorbed, about 45 minutes.

Gently fold in the snow peas, carrots, scallion, and water chestnuts. Fold in the oranges and then scatter on the almonds and sesame seeds. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate for up to 2 days and serve cold.

TIP:You can replace the dressing with store-bought light sesame-ginger dressing.