Chinese Napa Cabbage Salad

I've come to the conclusion that any recipe which involves sesame oil is going to be a winner. I really enjoy the flavor of sesame oil in stir fries, and our favorite short rib marinade and it adds a very lovely nutty complexity to this cabbage salad. I've read that sesame oil is the "Queen of Oils" because of it's healing powers and nutritionally, it contains Vitamin E (an anti-oxidant which helps lower cholesterol), magnesium, copper, calcium, iron and Vitamin B6.

The sesame oil is only one of the great flavors in this salad. The topping of toasted ramen noodles, almonds, and sesame seeds add a wonderful crunch and the green onion taste is mild, yet significant. The dressing is delicious, so much that I would mix it up and use again to dress any Asian salad combination.

This recipe makes a large portion, so I separated the cabbage and onions into three different containers and will add the dressing and topping to it when I eat it, so it doesn't get soggy. It would be a great side at a potluck or large meal.

Ingredients:

1 (3 ounce) package of chicken flavored ramen noodles

1/4 cup of butter

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 large head of Napa Cabbage, shredded

6 green onions, chopped,

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce - I was out and used Teriyaki Sauce, which tasted fine, too!

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/8 cup white sugar

Directions:

Crush noodles and place them in a medium sized skillet. Brown in butter over medium heat heat. Add in the almonds and sesame seeds, stirring often to prevent burning. Add seasoning mix from ramen noodles and cool (I only used 1/3 of the packet and found that to have more than enough of the chicken flavoring).

Prepare the dressing by whisking together the oils, vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Pour dressing over salad and toss with topping.