Ramen Noodle Salad

Ramen Noodle Salad

Quick work day lunch. Lazy dinner.  Full of veggies, bright with flavor, and satisfying. Adaptable. Easy camping meal (and yes, there is still camping left to do this year!). This dish is all of those things, which is likely why it’s become a repeat hit for us this summer. 

I stocked up on ramen noodles from Costco early last spring, and since they’ve become a fall back when I don’t want to go to the grocery store, or when I don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking. When weather turned hot, ramen went from soup to salad with surprising ease. I had extra appreciation for this meal just a few weeks ago, when I packed up a container of veggies and two packets of ramen noodles as a camping dinner. It was one of the fastest, mess- and stress-free camping dinners I’ve had! .

Ramen Noodle Salad
Ramen Noodle Salad

This is more of a concept than a recipe. What I mean is you can swap ingredients in or out based on what you have. Just keep the concept in mind, which has a few core ingredient categories: ramen noodles, veggies and herbs, dressing, and crunchy toppings. From there, make it your own. Protein, like soy beans, tofu, or chicken/shrimp are optional bonuses.

Ramen Noodle Salad

Published September 22, 2020 by
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Serves: 2   |    Active Time: 15 minutes



Ingredients:

  • 2 packets ramen noodles (remove sauce or flavoring packets; they will not be used)
  • Water, for cooking noodles
  • 2-3 cups fresh vegetables, such as: lettuce, spring greens, cubed avocado, julienned carrots, sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, diced bell pepper, snow pea, sugar snap peas, sliced radishes
  • 1/4 cup fresh herbs, such as: Thai basil, Genovese basil, mint, cilantro, sliced green onions
  • 2 tablespoons crunchy toppings, such as: toasted sesame seeds, slivered almonds, toasted cashews
  • Optional: 4 ounces protein, such as: steamed soy beans (edamame), tofu, roasted chicken, or shrimp
  • Optional, for added spice when serving: chili flakes or minced fresh Thai chilis to taste

  • For the dressing:
  • 1/4 cup white rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon sambal olek (chile-garlic sauce) or Sriracha
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup

  • Directions:

    1. Cook noodles according to directions on package, but do not use any flavor packets or sauce included with them. Once cooked through, drain noodles through a strainer and rinse with cold water to cool.
    2. Divide cold noodles amongst serving bowls. Arrange chopped vegetables over top, along with herbs, and optional protein.
    3. In a jar, combine ingredients for dressing. Place lid on jar and shake to combine. Drizzle dressing over noodles and veggies.
    4. Top with toasted sesame seeds and/or nuts. Add chili flakes or minced Thai chilies to taste for add spice, and serve.

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    Rainbow Soba Noodle Bowls

    Rainbow Soba Noodle Bowls

    You would think, with the full day spent at home, I would feel like I have plenty of time to spare now. But somehow, that’s not the case. When I think about my time two months ago, I find myself wondering how I did it all—schlepping from one place to the next. We have been staying busy, mostly with house projects, which has likely benefited my sanity.

    Stir fry is a go-to for me when I need dinner fast, and stir fry doesn’t have to be served over rice. This dish is essentially a stir fry, but soba noodles transform it into something different. Quick and easy—but also full of colorful veggies—this has been a regular lately. Like most stir fries I make, this one is cooked with soy sauce, rice wine, and sambal oelek (that chili garlic paste you’ll find in the ethnic food isle in the grocery store). It’s a salty-acidic-spicy sauce combination that isn’t just limited to this recipe: use it any time you’re sautéing veggies and want a little extra punch.

    Rainbow Soba Noodle Bowls
    Rainbow Soba Noodle Bowls

    Rainbow Soba Noodle Bowls

    Published April 30, 2020 by
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    Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 minutes



    Ingredients:

  • 1/2 package soba noodles
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 zucchini, roughly chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
  • 2 large carrots, sliced into matchsticks
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 inch ginger, minced
  • 1 1/2 cup shelled fresh or frozen shelled soy beans (mukimame)
  • 4-5 leaves dino (or lacinato) kale, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon cooking rice wine
  • 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (chili garlic sauce)
  • 1 green onion, sliced for garnish
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, for garnish

  • Directions:

    1. Cook soba noodles according to instructions on package. When noodles are al dente, strain through a colander and set aside.
    2. While noodles cook, sauté vegetables: heat coconut oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or wok. When oil glistens, add zucchini, bell pepper, carrots, ginger, and garlic, and sauté until zucchini just starts to turn become tender. Add soy beans.
    3. In a jar, combine soy sauce, cooking rice wine, cornstarch, and samba olek. Shake or whisk to combine.
    4. Pour half of sauce into skillet, and allow sauce to bubble for a few minutes. Sauce will begin to thicken.
    5. Add cooked noodles to the pan, along with chopped kale. Using tongs, mix everything to incorporate the vegetables into the noodles.
    6. Add remaining sauce to pan, and cook for 3-5 more minutes, staring occasionally to ensure everything is coated in sauce. Remove from heat, and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve.

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    Root Slaw with Lemon Vinaigrette

    Root Slaw with Lemon Vinaigrette

    It is rare to find an exciting vegetable in the grocery store in the middle of February. It’s all orange-green tomatoes, rock-hard avocados, and kale. This month, however, I was planning a crunchy root salad already when I came across pink daikon radishes. I paused for a minute, knowing that likely, not everyone that reads this blog will be able to find pink daikon radishes. But I bought them anyways, because their brink color was irresistible. Yes: you can use any sort of radish instead. Regular white daikons. Watermelon radish would be pretty. Easter egg radishes. Red cherry radishes. They will all work, and taste just about the same. I just fell in love with how bright and fresh the pink looked, and how it added little pops of pink to this salad. 

    Radishes, like many root vegetables, are a good fall back this time of year when little else is fresh or ripe. And while it’s easy to think of root vegetables as potatoes and yams, this salad proves that root veggies can also make a refreshing, bright, and light salad, too. Serve as a side with pulled pork, brisket, chili, or even a panini. 

    Root Slaw with Lemon Vinaigrette
    Root Slaw with Lemon Vinaigrette

    Root Slaw with Lemon Vinaigrette

    Published February 6, 2020 by
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    Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 20 minutes



    Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup radish, peeled and julienned (pink daikon radish, daikon radish, watermelon radish, or red radishes)
  • 1/3 cup cucumber, julienned
  • 1 large or 2 medium carrots, peeled and julienned
  • 1 golden beet, peeled and julienned
  • 2 tablespoons minced parsley 
  • Black pepper to taste

  • For vinaigrette:
  • Juice from 1 Meyer lemon 
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 
  • 1/2 teaspoon honey 
  • 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard 
  • Generous pinch of salt 

  • Directions:

    1. Combine all julienned vegetables and parsley in a medium-sized salad bowl.
    2. In a jar, combine all ingredients for vinaigrette. Place lid on jar and shake to emulsify.
    3. Drizzle vinaigrette over vegetables to taste (you may not need all of the vinaigrette) and toss to coat. Season to taste with pepper.

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