Asian Salad with “Crunchies”

Dare I say this will be the best salad you’ve ever tasted?

This Asian Salad (or Chinese Noodle Salad) is hands down my favorite salad. When my husband and I were dating, my Mother-In-Law began making it for every big meal and I’ve been hooked ever since. We often like to add chicken to make it a heartier salad.

These “crunchies,” as we like to call them, are so darn good that I tend to bake up a batch and put them on other salads as well.

The nice thing about these faux croutons is you can make them ahead of time and tailor the recipe to your tastes.

Preheat your oven to 350. Place one stick of butter on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven to melt. I do this while it’s still pre-heating to save time.

Once the butter is melted a bit, I crunch up 2 packages of ramen noodles (while they are still in the bag) and pour them, along with 1 cup of sunflower seeds, 1 cup of sliced almonds, 1 cup of sesame sticks and 1 cup of Chinese noodles on the pan to brown. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the crunchies are toasted. Be sure to give them a good shake every few minutes.

For the greens, thinly slice one head of Napa cabbage, a few romaine hearts, 1 bunch of green onions and a small bunch of cilantro. I have even bought pre-packaged bags of coleslaw and romaine lettuce when I’m short on time.

Asian Salad Dressing: 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup vinegar, 3 Tablespoons soy sauce. For how many people this salad feeds (probably around 10 side salads), I don’t get too worked up about the calories/sugar in this dressing.

Chill the dressing for a few hours in the fridge before serving. The ingredients will settle, so give it a good shake until it’s mixed. Add the dressing right before serving or the crunchies will get soggy.

This is definitely a crowd-pleaser and super easy to make double batches for entertaining crowds. Enjoy!