Ramen Broccoli Slaw

I’ve been making this slaw for a long time and it’s time I shared it with you because it’s addictive stuff.  It’s cool and crunch and nutty and slightly onion-y but also has a hint of sweetness.  It’s a perfect summer slaw but you can make it any time.

 

The original recipe from Cook’s Country uses our old friend instant ramen; those wonderfully cheap and filling little packets of dried noodles and sodium envelopes that sustained many of us from college, through graduate school, and into early adulthood (is it any wonder hypertension is rampant in this country?).  I had already made this a few times before I read the directions carefully enough to realize that they expected you to actually use the “flavor” packets that come with the noodles.  All this time I had been tossing them aside with great disdain and superiority.  Why would I use something that was essentially beef- (or chicken- or, God help us, shrimp-) flavored pixie stix?

 

I can’t even imagine what this would taste like if you did use them and it is sheer perfection as it is so I have left them out of my adaptation.

 

Ramen-Broccoli Slaw

Adapted from Cook’s Country
Serves 6-8
Dressing:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Salad:
12 oz. broccoli slaw mix (annoyingly, these are sold in 10 oz. packages.  Sorry!)
2 3-oz. packages instant ramen (any flavor is fine since you won’t be using the flavor packet), crushed, flavor packet discarded
4 scallions, sliced thin
1 cup dry-roasted sunflower seeds
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
For the dressing: whisk sugar, vinegar, and oil in a medium blow until sugar dissolves.
For salad: combine slaw, ramen, scallions, sunflower seeds, and almonds in a large bowl.  Drizzle dressing and toss well.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.  Toss again before serving.