Hey it's Erin Clarke from wellplated.com and today and I'm going to be showing
you how to make my healthy Asian ramen salad. You might think you know this
recipe because it is a staple at just about every potluck but my version is
lighter, brighter, and fresher. If you like easy healthy recipes be sure to like,
subscribe, and follow. I share a new one here every week. Our
Asian ramen salad begins with its namesake and that is ramen noodles.
That's right I'm talking about the 30-cent pack that you survived on in
college. Or for me in college and a few years after college. So just tear open
the packet. The classic version of ramen noodle salad actually calls for
three of these, and the little seasoning packet that it comes with,
we're just going to toss. It's really high in sodium and we can add a lot more
other wonderful flavors that are more natural. But I mean we've just got to
have the noodles. There's no making this salad without them. So pull them out and
then you just want to crunch them in big chunks all over a rimmed baking sheet
like this. The reason that I'm putting them on a baking sheet is that prior to
putting them in the salad, we're actually going to toast them in the oven.
This really deepens their flavor. I know it probably sounds ridiculous that I'm
talking about deepening the flavor of a ramen noodle but I promise you that it
makes a really big difference and it's just another reason that this salad is
so dang addictive. Break up any great big chunks.—you just kind of want them to be
around the same size—and then eventually easy to spear with a fork. Next to give
the salad even more crunch, I'm going to add some slivered almonds. You always
always always want to toast your nuts before adding them to any salad recipe.
It deepens their flavor, it makes them nice and crisp, and it's almost like a
different food it makes such a big difference. Toasting your nuts is a
really easy way to up the level and the flavor of your cooking without a lot of
extra effort. We just kind of want to spread them into a
single layer like this. You can give the pan a little shake. Now I'm going to pop
these into a 425-degree oven for about five minutes, until they start to toast,
and then I'm going to come back and add one more ingredient that I'll show you in a
second. Okay it has been about five minutes, so I'm going to pull our almonds
and ramen noodles out of the oven. They are just starting to turn golden. You can
see some of the toastiness that is coming in on the noodles here. That is
just perfect. And so now I'm going to add one more ingredient that just takes one
minute to toast and that is sesame seeds. I cannot overstate how delicious sesame
seeds are. I think they're really underutilized. They add an instant Asian
flavor, they're great in middle-eastern food, and they just make everything taste
a little bit more toasty and satisfying. So once you've tossed your sesame seeds
on here, mix this around a little bit. It goes back into the oven
for just one minute; that's all these teeny tiny seeds need to become extra
flavorful. All right our nuts, ramen noodles, and sesame seeds are out of the
oven and cooling down a bit. So while that happens I'm going to make the dressing.
This dressing is a really delicious mix of bright pops of acid, you've got some
saltiness, and a little bit of sweetness too. So in this measuring cup, I have a
quarter cup of rice vinegar. Rice vinegar is a total staple in Asian cooking,
whether you are making a salad like this one or a stir-fry. I always have some in my
pantry. To the rice vinegar we're going to add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. And I
know dressing is something that you can wing sometimes, but when I am
making a big batch like this, I really like to measure because I want to make
sure that the balance of the flavors is just right. I tend to like my
dressing a little bit more acidic which is why you'll see more vinegar in this
recipe than olive oil and also rice vinegar is really mild so it can take a
lot. Now for some sweetness, I have a honey. We're going to measure out two tablespoons
of honey. A great tip is to measure the olive oil first into your measuring
spoon and that way when you do the honey this
is coated and the oil slides right out. Here is two. if you like your dressing a
little bit sweeter you can certainly squeeze in a little bit of an extra as
well. Next for some saltiness ew have soy sauce. Soy sauce just has the most
magnificent flavor. I love it in stir fries and salads of course. I even
sometimes like it dashed over eggs. It can add a really nice flavor, and I use
it sometimes in slow cooker recipes too. And now of course a little S&P—salt and
pepper. So now that I have all of my ingredients in here, I'm going to give
them a quick whisk. I like to use a smaller whisk like this one. I think it's
really really handy to have around, and as you can see, I'm just mixing
everything up right in this measuring cup and that saves me some dishes too.
Always looking for ways to save on dishes! All right, set that aside. And now
we are going to put everything together into a big yummy bowl. Something that
makes this salad so quick and easy is that it blends fresh ingredients like
what we have in our dressing and a few other things we'll be adding, with pantry
staples and some things that you can buy already prepped for you. One of my
favorites: bagged cole slaw mix. You can shred your own cabbage if you want to
but I find in this recipe it's just totally not necessary. I think part of
why this salad is such a staple at so many potlucks is because it is so easy.
I'm using a simple mix with cabbage. I think that's the most traditional but
there are a lot of different coleslaw varieties available now. Broccoli slaw is
another one that I like a lot. To our coleslaw mix, we're going to add
some fresh ingredients. This is a really big differentiator in what makes this a
healthy Asian ramen salad and I also just think that it makes it so much more
delicious than the quote-unquote "salads" that you usually see here in the Midwest.
If you've spent much time in the Midwest, you know we use the term salad pretty
loosely. Edamame—you can buy it frozen already out of its shells just
like this. It adds protein to the salad and I think it has a really nice buttery
texture and flavor. So we've got our coleslaw, we've got our
edamame, we've got some carrots, another veggie. Next we are going to add some
green onions that I'm going to chop up. Those add a really nice little bit of
bite to the salad. Part of what makes this recipeso great and better
than maybe traditional salads without as many fresh ingredients is that it
just really comes alive and the green onions are a way to help with that. I
almost always have green onions in my refrigerator. They're great for adding to
quick weeknight dinners, they don't take very long to chop, and if you are a
person that is very sensitive, they don't make you cry either like yellow onions.
Se have had this Asian salad at probably every potluck and family reunion that I
can remember, and if you come to any sort of parish gathering here in the Midwest
you are guaranteed to find it on a table. It is absolutely addictive, like I
almost can't explain how good it is. If you've never tried it please PLEASE
bring it to your next barbecue or joint dinner party. You will be amazed by how
much people will love it. All right now I'm going to add our dressing and give
the salad a bit of a toss. You don't have to put it all in right away. You really
just want enough to moisten the salad. You can always drizzle on more later but
it is really hard to take it away if you go too far. Could I have made a
bigger salad?? I think I need a bigger bowl! Another reason that I love this for
potlucks: in addition to the fact that it is so popular is the fact that it can
sit in your refrigerator for up to three days, so it's a great make-ahead option. I
actually think that it tastes even better a couple of hours or even a full
day after it's been resting. Okay so that'll just get us started and
now we're going to add those yummy crunchy toppings that we made. Oh my gosh
this smells so tasty and amazing. I absolutely love the way the ramen
noodles and sesame seeds get all tangled with the shreds of the
coleslaw so you get a little bit of coolness and a little bit of crunch in
every single bite. This is looking a tiny bit dry so I'm going to put on a little bit
more of dressing here. And now I'm adding a final ingredient that you just
cannot get fresh, it needs to come from a can it is one of the rules of Asian
ramen salad, and that is canned mandarin oranges. I drained off the extra syrup
because I just don't think that it needs it. This salad is sweet enough without it
with the honey and you get a little sweetness from the carrots too. I like to
scatter these right over the top to make the salad look nice and pretty. And if
you really love mandarin oranges feel free to add in some extra. I know that it
makes the salad really popular with kids so you can definitely adjust it to your
taste and your family's tastes too. And that is it! I like to leave the oranges
on top just so that they look like little jewels right on the salad. I can't
wait for you to try this recipe and to share it with friends. Would you look at this!
In addition to being so stunning and colorful, this salad is absolutely
delicious. I know your friends and family are going to go crazy for it! Don't
forget that I share a new healthy recipe like this every single week, so be sure
to like, subscribe, and follow, and I'll see you next time.
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to take a bite.
mmm. You're gonna love this one!