If You Have A Head Of Cabbage And Pack Of Instant Ramen, You'll Have A Lettuce-Free Salad In Minutes

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Instant ramen is the height of modern convenience thanks to it being precooked (it's steamed and fried or dried) into blocks of noodles that can be rehydrated with the addition of hot water. While we usually doctor up instant ramen noodles with unexpected toppings and extra seasonings, the noodles and seasoning packets themselves can become separate ingredients to add to your next salad. Just take a pack of instant ramen and a head of cabbage to whip up a quick lettuce-free salad.

Since instant ramen noodles are precooked, they're safe to eat right out of the package, and their fun shape and crunchy texture will put croutons to shame. Plus, the seasoning packets become the flavor agents for your cabbage and ramen salad dressing. To make the salad, simply shred a head of cabbage by hand or with a knife, adding it to a salad bowl. Break apart the dry ramen into small bite-sized chunks and sprinkle them over the cabbage; an optional step is to toast the ramen to bring out more depth of flavor. Use the seasoning packets to make a dressing by mixing them with ingredients like sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, and soy sauce before tossing the cabbage and noodles in it.

One thing to note is that cabbage is a hearty cruciferous that's a lot more fibrous and tough than lettuce. Drawing inspiration from the Japanese izakaya cabbage preparation method, consider salting the shredded cabbage for around 15 minutes before adding the ramen and salad dressing. This will help make the cabbage more tender and also less bitter.

Cabbage and a packet of instant ramen are the bare necessities for this quick and easy salad. But you can get as creative as you like by bringing more ingredients into the picture. It could be as simple as shredding purple and green cabbage for a pop of color. Make your salad a veritable rainbow by adding equal parts julienned carrots, red bell pepper, cucumber, scallions, and daikon radishes to the mix. Since egg is the perfect addition to instant ramen, you can also dice some hard-boiled ones into the salad for a buttery flavor, bouncy texture, and extra protein. For even more crunch, garnish the salad with toasted sesame seeds or chopped peanuts.

Instant ramen comes in many different brands, each with a unique set of flavors, and the seasoning packets can dictate the direction in which you take your salad and the dressing. For example, Maruchan's pork flavored ramen, which we ranked as our favorite out of all Maruchan flavors, will bring an ultra savory and salty punch to your salad dressing. You can balance this with brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, and mirin. Buldak's ramen flavor lineup includes various different global cuisines, from Korean to Indian and Italian. Use the Buldak kimchi ramen for a tangy and funky dressing that you know will work well with cabbage. Play up the spicy flavors of kimchi with red pepper flakes or a drizzle of store-bought chili crisp.