crunchy coleslaw

So let me first say this... this is not my recipe! Bryna, my dear Idahoan friend, actually would bring this coleslaw to each of our parties we would go to. I would eat the hell out of it, and finally I asked for the recipe and made it myself. Let me tell you...this salad is addicting. It's sensational. It's unique. You can't even decipher what's in it...except you know you have to have more. It's bryna's recipe that I have tweaked a tiny bit for fun. You can also find versions of this recipe out there, but I think this one is the best. Thanks Bryna. You and your crunchy-slaw rock.

Crunchy Coleslaw

Salad:
1 1/4 heads of cabbage (I use 1 head of green, with about 1/4 head of red for fun color) coarsely chopped
4 diced green onions
1/3 cup already roasted sunflower seeds
1.5 uncooked Ramen noodle packages, smashed up

Candied almonds:

1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup sliced almonds

Dressing:

6 Tablespoons rice vinegar

5 Tablespoons white sugar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (light taste)

1.5 oriental Ramen flavor packets

 

Directions:

1. First get super excited. You're about to make a tasty salad, with cabbage, that's way easy.

2. Now, cut up cabbage to about 1/2" chunks, slice green onions and mix together in a bowl. I cover & refrigerate this bowl now.

3. Make dressing- I use a small ball jar. Mix vinegar with sugar, then add in 1.5 oriental flavor packets, and add in the oil. Put on the lid, give it some good shakes. Then I place this jar in the fridge too.

4. Saute sliced almonds. Melt butter with sugar in a sauce pan. Add in almonds. I put it on medium heat and continually stir. Once you start smelling the sugary goodness, the almonds are probably starting to turn light brown. Then you're done!

5. Pour the candied almonds on tin foil/wax paper & spread them out. This way they don't all clump together.

6. Crunch up about 1.5 packages of uncooked ramen noodles.

7. I like to put the ramen noodles, sunflower seeds and cooled almonds in a bag together...ready to top the salad.

8. Make sure to pour all of the dressing (shaken up again) and the toppings at the last minute. Toss it all together. This isn't a "dressing-on-the-side" salad... it's a full blown real deal, jam-packed-calorie salad. The salad will get soggy if its all mixed too soon, so time it right. You want this to be a crisp, crunchy salad.

Amazing. I think I need to go make another batch. Enjoy!

* side note: some people use white vinegar instead of rice vinegar- tastes the same. I just feel fancier using rice vinegar, but I've done the other way- it's great too. You can also use vegetable oil instead of EVOO. I have gotten carried away with oil- and it tastes too oily, I like the EVOO- light best, and I scaled it down in my recipe. You can also use bagged cabbage- I haven't done it. Have you actually seen real heads of cabbage? They're beautiful. So I enjoy cutting my own up fresh. Also...candy the almonds. This makes a huge difference. So tasty, and smells great. So do it.

yum.