In our family, Cabbage Salad is kind of like Chinese Chicken Salad--we usually have one or the other, or sometimes both--at family gatherings, and everyone likes it.
Ingredients:
8 cups shredded cabbage
1 or 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
3 green onions, thinly julienne sliced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup roasted slivered almonds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 package instant ramen noodles, crushed
Dressing:
1/2 cup peanut or canola oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/3 cup vinegar
scant 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
optional: 1/2 teaspoon miso & 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, slice the cabbage thinly into a large bowl.
I used 3/4 of a medium sized head of cabbage.
I thought I might be able to use the GreeNoodle because it was healthier than the fried kind of instant ramen noodles--an example is this Sapporo Ichiban--but in this case, it turns out the fried ones are better.
Let's compare them by their nutritional information anyway:
The GreenNoodle is quite a bit healthier, but since they're not fried, they don't work well in this salad--they're not crunchy. We aren't going to use the flavor packet, so the sodium doesn't really count in the red package, but with the GreeNoodle, the sodium is in the noodles since I buy the package of GreeNoodles without the soup packet.
Slivered almonds add a nice crunch too, so I'm using them in the salad and putting the instant ramen noodles on the side to sprinkle on top if desired. About 1 or 2 teaspoons is enough to give it a good crunch, and you know how much you're getting per serving. It's healthier if you can leave them out all-together, but I'm compromising and putting them on the side.
From top, clockwise: shredded cabbage, shredded chicken breast, toasted slivered almonds, green onions, cilantro and toasted white sesame seeds. I used one side of the breast from a rotisserie chicken, that was enough chicken for my taste, but you can add more if you like.
Mix dressing ingredients: 1/2 cup canola or peanut oil, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1/3 cup vinegar, scant 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, optional: 1/2 teaspoon miso & 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Add dressing, starting with about a 1/3 cup, toss the salad, and add more dressing as needed.
Garnish with a few sprigs of green onion and cilantro leaves and serve the crushed ramen noodles on the side.
Itadakimasu!
***
If you've been following along here on FOODjimoto.com, you may remember my Auntie Kiku--she's featured on my
Sekihan post. I haven't been able to find my favorite picture of her and Uncle Art--on the day of their engagement party at my grandmother's house.
This is the picture!
My cousin Tim sent it to me. Thanks, Tim, I love this picture!
I love it when Auntie Kiku talks about her engagement party. She remembers how handsome Uncle Art was and how she had such 'spindly arms and legs' and Uncle Art thought she was beautiful just the same.
Uncle Art has since passed on, and is missed.
Recently, Auntie Kiku celebrated her 88th Birthday and her son Tim invited the whole family to celebrate.
This is Tim, his wife Teresa, son Bradford and daughter Caitlyn.
After lunch we all had fun playing Bingo, with Bradford & Caitlyn calling the numbers and giving out lots of prizes--everyone got a prize!
This is my cousin Brian's son Korey and wife Tomoko.
That's Korey of Korey's Chocolate Mochi fame from
Fugetsu-Do.
This is Audrey, greeting Auntie.
This is Audrey (and Kevin's) son Brandon giving Auntie Channie a big kiss. What a greeting!
Brandon was busy greeting us all with big hugs and kisses, then ran around and rolled on the floor with the other kids at the party--the next time I saw him, he was sleeping in his stroller, all tired out.
The boys are aging well!
Except for Rick, he's still a kid.
That's my cousin Brian, on the right. When the party was winding down and we were trickling out to go home, I had to "Last Tag" Brian like we used to do when we were kids--only I realized that now we need to be a bit more careful--I Last Tagged him a little exuberantly, wanting to get the last tag in before he left. Now that we're older we need to be a little careful, if one of us falls, we might break a hip or something.
We're all so much older on the outside, but on the inside, we're all still that group of cousins--chasing each other around the driveway trying to get the last tag in before going home after a fun-filled Sunday at Bachan's house.
This is Alison. She helped Auntie blow out the candles on her cake.
Auntie's cake was from Porto's--my favorite cake!
Thank you, Tim, Teri, Bradford and Caitlyn for such a wonderful celebration!
Happy 88th Birthday, Auntie!
***
Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, slice the cabbage thinly into a large bowl. Add shredded chicken, green onions, cilantro, slivered almonds and sesame seeds.
Mix dressing well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Starting with about 1/3 cup of dressing, pour over cabbage salad and toss well. Add more dressing as needed. Garnish with a few green onion sprigs and cilantro leaves. Crunchy instant ramen noodles can be mixed into the salad or served on the side and sprinkled on top.
Print This Recipe
Yum, this looks great! I have been trying to decide what to do with the leftover cabbage sitting in my fridge.
ReplyDeleteIt is so neat that all your family was able to get together for such a great occasion!