This is Molly’s spicy version of her mom’s go-to fruity potluck salad that featured crispy ramen noodles. She turns up the heat with the dressing using chili crisp which is a super flavorful, crunchy and spicy condiment – one of Molly’s obsessions.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 25 min |
| Active: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- One 3.5-ounce (100-gram) package ramen noodles, flavoring package discarded (or used for something else)
- 1 tablespoon (18 grams) chili crisp
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese mustard
- Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons (45 grams) black vinegar
- 1/3 cup (67 grams) neutral oil
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
- 1/2 small red cabbage, finely shredded
- 2 medium carrots, coarsely shredded
- 1/2 cup (60 grams) blanched slivered almonds, toasted
- One 11-ounce (312-gram) can mandarin oranges, drained and patted dry
- 2 romaine hearts, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Place an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Break the ramen noodles into a few chunks then crush in your hands on the baking sheet. Spread in an even layer and toast in the oven for 11 to 12 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
- To make the salad dressing: In a large serving bowl, add the chili crisp, honey, Chinese mustard and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Whisk to combine. Then, whisk in the vinegar and then the neutral oil. Add the shallot and let sit for a few minutes to slightly soften.
- Into the bowl of salad dressing, add the cabbage, carrots and all but a handful of the toasted ramen and almonds. Toss well. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the mandarin oranges and romaine and toss again, taking care not to break up the oranges too much. Sprinkle with the remaining ramen and almonds.
- This salad is best served as soon as it is made, but the vinaigrette can be made ahead of time and the ramen/nuts can be toasted ahead of time as well.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 301 |
| Total Fat | 20 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 28 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 12 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 498 mg |
Reviews
Made this last night to go alongside a spicy chicken with jasmine rice. The toasted ramen is a total game changer! Super simple but a huge step up from the normal midwestern ramen salad. Made it exactly per the recipe, used the substitutions in the episode (rice vinegar), and I used Dijon for the Chinese mustard, it’s what I had on hand. I will make it again soon!
Followed the recipe with 1 exception – I only used 1/2 tablespoon of the chili crisp (was worried about the heat). I’m in the minority here, but I found the dressing only ‘okay’. After adding more chili crisp it got a bit better, but I still feel that it could’ve used SOMETHING else. Maybe more mustard or vinegar. I’ll tweak it more next time because it seems to have potential. Just very pedestrian as is. IMO.
I was dubious about the vinaigrette, but it’s really good. I made the salad to go along with the Mapo dish and it really complimented it well. Love the texture and of the chili crisp!!!!
delicious salad..to sdhmonday I find that romaine works best if you dry each leaf after washing, its a tedious process but it helps
Really delicious dressing ! The only thing I would love to know is how to get the romaine lettuce crunchy. Mine always gets kind of soggy.
I swapped out oranges for tomatoes. It’s easy and amazing.
Made the dressing exactly as written and loved it. I used sunflower oil. For the chili crisp, I used Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion, which is flavorful while being relatively mild (mild is my preference). For the salad mix, I used what I had on hand, adding also green cabbage to the red, cilantro, green leaf lettuce for the romaine, and fresh orange chunks for the mandarin (though I wouldn’t hesitate to use the canned mandarins, which I love). Didn’t have the ramen noodles–will try in the future–or possibly deep-fried wonton strips. But the almonds gave the salad enough crisp. Was testing this for serving to company and am happy with the result. I think my guests will be pleased. Thanks, Molly!
On the show she used the seasoning packet from the noodles in the dressing, but I don’t see that application in print. What should I do?