Ramen slaw

Still feel like summer in your neck of the woods? Hit the season's last cookouts with this ramen slaw, which has a basic coleslaw or broccoli slaw base, punctuated by crunchy ramen bits.

My friend Lani makes the most amazing salads.

They’re always a technicolor delight with colors spanning the rainbow – green, purple, orange, red. A dish pleasing to the eye always entices eating, that’s what I say. Sweet, sour, salty, crispy, crunchy – they have all the required elements to ignite a flavor explosion in the mouth.

Yes, Lani’s salads are so fine even the most hardened of veggie-haters will succumb to their charms.

There’s the broccoli salad she brought to a spring potluck. It contained raw broccoli (raw!) yet it was gobbled up in no time; although the crumbled bacon may have had something to do with its appeal.

And just last week, I was introduced to her lovely ramen slaw. My dear husband threw me a surprise birthday party and all my friends showed up bearing, instead of gifts, a potluck dish each!

I loved Lani’s ramen slaw at first bite. It was a sweet and tangy mess of shredded broccoli, carrots, and cabbage, and, best of all it contained ramen bits! I squealed like a little girl when I found ramen bits tossed throughout. It reminded me of one of my favorite childhood snacks – Mami, short for Maggi Mee. We basically ate the ramen out of the package, throwing out the seasoning packets (I think, I hope!).

Needless to say, I was eating ramen slaw for the next three days until sadly, it all disappeared.

Ramen slaw
Makes a good sized potluck serving (12 to 14 people)

Lani’s mom has been making this salad since she was a little girl in Utah. Her mom uses a mix of broccoli- and cole(cabbage)- slaw but Lani prefers just broccoli slaw. I couldn’t find either so I picked up a bag of Asian slaw which was very similar to coleslaw with the addition of cilantro and green onions.

Sweet, tangy, and crunchy, it’s a great pot luck dish that everyone will love. Plus, the ramen bits are definitely a conversation starter! Who knew ramen could actually be “healthy?”

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup distilled white or apple cider vinegar
2 (3.5-ounce) packets ramen noodles (chicken flavor), crushed
2 (12-ounce) bags of your favorite slaw
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds (almonds or peanuts would be tasty too)

1. In a large serving bowl, mix together the oil, vinegar, sugar, and seasoning packets (you can use one or both; or, if you’re watching your sodium intake or are sensitive to MSG, season with salt and pepper instead) until the sugar completely dissolves. Let the dressing sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour.

2. Give the dressing a quick stir. Add the slaw followed by the crushed noodles and seeds. Toss to mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Note: You can halve the amounts for a family-sized serving

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