Cabbage Salad

In our family, Cabbage Salad is kind of like Chinese Chicken Salad--we usually have one or the other, or sometimes both--at family gatherings, and everyone likes it.

 Ingredients:

8 cups shredded cabbage

1 or 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

3 green onions, thinly julienne sliced

1/2 cup  chopped cilantro

1/4 cup roasted slivered almonds

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 package instant ramen noodles, crushed

Dressing:

1/2 cup peanut or canola oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/3 cup vinegar

scant 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

optional: 1/2 teaspoon miso & 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

 Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, slice the cabbage thinly into a large bowl.

I used 3/4 of a medium sized head of cabbage.

 I thought I might be able to use the GreeNoodle because it was healthier than the fried kind of instant ramen noodles--an example is this Sapporo Ichiban--but in this case, it turns out the fried ones are better.

Let's compare them by their nutritional information anyway:

The GreenNoodle is quite a bit healthier, but since they're not fried, they don't work well in this salad--they're not crunchy. We aren't going to use the flavor packet, so the sodium doesn't really count in the red package, but with the GreeNoodle, the sodium is in the noodles since I buy the package of GreeNoodles without the soup packet.

 Slivered almonds add a nice crunch too, so I'm using them in the salad and putting the instant ramen noodles on the side to sprinkle on top if desired. About 1 or 2 teaspoons is enough to give it a good crunch, and you know how much you're getting per serving. It's healthier if you can leave them out all-together, but I'm compromising and putting them on the side.

 

 From top, clockwise: shredded cabbage, shredded chicken breast, toasted slivered almonds, green onions, cilantro and toasted white sesame seeds. I used one side of the breast from a rotisserie chicken, that was enough chicken for my taste, but you can add more if you like.

Mix dressing ingredients: 1/2 cup canola or peanut oil, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1/3 cup vinegar, scant 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, optional: 1/2 teaspoon miso & 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Add dressing, starting with about a 1/3 cup, toss the salad, and add more dressing as needed.

Garnish with a few sprigs of green onion and cilantro leaves and serve the crushed ramen noodles on the side.

Itadakimasu!

***

If you've been following along here on FOODjimoto.com, you may remember my Auntie Kiku--she's featured on my Sekihan post. I haven't been able to find my favorite picture of her and Uncle Art--on the day of their engagement party at my grandmother's house.

This is the picture! 

My cousin Tim sent it to me. Thanks, Tim, I love this picture!

I love it when Auntie Kiku talks about her engagement party. She remembers how handsome Uncle Art was and how she had such 'spindly arms and legs' and Uncle Art thought she was beautiful just the same.

Uncle Art has since passed on, and is missed.

 

Recently, Auntie Kiku celebrated her 88th Birthday and her son Tim invited the whole family to celebrate.

This is Tim, his wife Teresa, son Bradford and daughter Caitlyn.
After lunch we all had fun playing Bingo, with Bradford & Caitlyn calling the numbers and giving out lots of prizes--everyone got a prize!

This is my cousin Brian's son Korey and wife Tomoko. 

That's Korey of Korey's Chocolate Mochi fame from Fugetsu-Do.

This is Audrey, greeting Auntie.

This is Audrey (and Kevin's) son Brandon giving Auntie Channie a big kiss. What a greeting!

Brandon was busy greeting us all with big hugs and kisses, then ran around and rolled on the floor with the other kids at the party--the next time I saw him, he was sleeping in his stroller, all tired out.

The boys are aging well!

Except for Rick, he's still a kid.

That's my cousin Brian, on the right. When the party was winding down and we were trickling out to go home, I had to "Last Tag" Brian like we used to do when we were kids--only I realized that now we need to be a bit more careful--I Last Tagged him a little exuberantly, wanting to get the last tag in before he left. Now that we're older we need to be a little careful, if one of us falls, we might break a hip or something. 

We're all so much older on the outside, but on the inside, we're all still that group of cousins--chasing each other around the driveway trying to get the last tag in before going home after a fun-filled Sunday at Bachan's house.

 

This is Alison. She helped Auntie blow out the candles on her cake.

Auntie's cake was from Porto's--my favorite cake!

Thank you, Tim, Teri, Bradford and Caitlyn for such a wonderful celebration!

Happy 88th Birthday, Auntie!


***

Cabbage Salad

 Ingredients:

8 cups shredded cabbage

1 or 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

3 green onions, thinly julienne sliced

1/2 cup  chopped cilantro

1/4 cup roasted slivered almonds

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 package instant ramen noodles, seasoning package removed & crushed

Dressing:

1/2 cup peanut or canola oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/3 cup vinegar

scant 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

optional: 1/2 teaspoon miso & 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, slice the cabbage thinly into a large bowl. Add shredded chicken, green onions, cilantro, slivered almonds and sesame seeds.

Mix dressing well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Starting with about 1/3 cup of dressing, pour over cabbage salad and toss well. Add more dressing as needed. Garnish with a few green onion sprigs and cilantro leaves. Crunchy instant ramen noodles can be mixed into the salad or served on the side and sprinkled on top.

Guest Cook: Jessica's Thai Chicken Salad

I really enjoy it when people come over and cook--since I've become a blogger, I enjoy it even more.

The other day, Jessica was here and made her special Thai Chicken Salad for us. The recipe was included with my Christmas gift with a note saying she would come over and make it for FOODjimoto.com!

When Jessica made the salad, I got to be the one that sat on the bar stools at the kitchen's island watching the cooking going on, chatting and taking photos.What fun!

Jessica's Thai Chicken Salad
serves 8

Ingredients:

6 cups chopped iceberg, romaine and/or red leaf lettuce
green and red cabbage, 2-4 cups combined, thinly sliced
1 cup carrots, chopped or stringed
1 cup unshelled edamame
2 cups combined red and yellow bell peppers, chopped
1 cup frozen or canned sweet corn
1/2 cup chopped cashews
3 chicken breasts (or 1 lb. shrimp) marinated, cooked and chopped
Trader Joe's Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette

Cut the chicken breasts into strips and pour the dressing--Trader Joe's Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette over chicken to coat, mix well. This can be done several overs before cooking or overnight. Cook the chicken strips in the oven at 375ºF for about 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven and set aside. When cooled, dice.

Chop the lettuces and layer with the other vegetables in a large bowl--a glass bowl makes it pretty to see all the colorful layers. We used a spiral cutter to cut the carrot into thin threads. Put the same colored vegetables into the same layer above the lettuces--red cabbage, carrots, green cabbage and edamame, chicken, corn and yellow bell peppers. Top with red bell peppers and chopped cashews. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Toss before serving, or serve the dressing on the side.


Itadakimasu!


Thank you, Jessica, for making your delicious Thai Chicken Salad!


Don't forget to enter our Giveaway, a few days left until the Lunar New Year, Jan. 23rd, 2012!



***

This is Jessica.
She's my son Rick's girlfriend.

This is the nigaoe of Jessica (caricature) we got when my sister-in-law was part of the Charity Nigaoe Project for Japanese Tsunami Relief earlier last year. I wrote about it after the recipe in my Easter Eggs post.

 

Jessica is quite crafty--she's also a jewelry maker--Jessica Drew Designs.

She transferred these two photos onto canvas.

I love this one--it's from when we first met.

Jessica's also a painter. She gave me a painting lesson and I painted this nectarine.

While it took me hours, she painted this scene in only a couple of hours.
She's very talented.

Here she is roasting marshmallows with us around the campfire.
Jessica has a flair for the arts--she's also a bicyclist and hiker, and is fun, friendly, and thoughtful. She has recently discovered a passion for home design. She works for a company that serves non-profit organizations. Her dream is to one day have her own charity fund.

My favorite thing about her is how she treats my son.

We feel blessed to have Jessica in our lives.


***

Jessica's Thai Chicken Salad--Serves 8

Ingredients:

6 cups chopped iceberg, romaine and/or red leaf lettuce
green and red cabbage, 2-4 cups combined, thinly sliced
1 cup carrots, chopped or stringed
1 cup unshelled edamame
2 cups combined red and yellow bell peppers, chopped
1 cup frozen or canned sweet corn
1/2 cup chopped cashews
3 chicken breasts (or 1 lb. shrimp) marinated, cooked and chopped
Trader Joe's Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette

garnish and optional: cilantro leaves, sliced green onions

Cut the chicken breasts into strips and pour Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette over chicken to coat, mix well. This can be done several overs before cooking or overnight. Cook the chicken strips at 375ºF about 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven and set aside. When cooled, dice.

Chop the lettuces and layer with the other vegetables in a large bowl--a glass bowl makes it pretty to see all the colorful layers. We used a spiral cutter to cut the carrot into thin threads. Put the same colored vegetables into the same layer above the lettuces--red cabbage, carrots, green cabbage, edamame and optional green onions, chicken, corn and yellow bell peppers. Top with red bell peppers and chopped cashews. Garnish with cilantro leaves.