Chinese New Year - Chicken Ramen Noodle Salad

Chinese New Year is upon us!

In this family, we love to celebrate all the holidays regardless of our background.  Why?  It's just fun!  But since my sister adopted two children from China, we now have a real reason to celebrate Chinese New Year.  My sister and I have not lived close to each other until the last few years, so now we can celebrate together.  Where do we go?  Chicago's Chinatown, of course!

What a beautiful day!  Sun was out and it was in the teens!  Warm for a Chicago winter day!

I use the term beautiful in kind of a sarcastic way :)

But, it was fun to take in the festivities from dragons, to fireworks and fun shops.  The best part is heading inside into a warm Chinese restuarant for food!  We love dim sum!  If you don't know what that is, dim sum is a small dish of steamed or fried food...basically Chinese food appetizers.  This past year we got brave and ordered chicken feet!

Dim Sum Chicken Feet

Now when you order dim sum, the waiter/waitress brings out small plates that go in the center of your table. In the center of the table is a lazy susan so that the food can be shared with all.  I'll admit it.  Once the chicken feet arrived, they kind of sat on the lazy susan for quite a while before anyone dared to try them.  Hmmm, not sure how to evaluate them. Let's just say I won't be ordering them again...but glad I tried them!

So in honor of The Year of The Horse, I have a good recipe that you can serve on Chinese New Year.  You can go out to a Chinese restuarant or just stay home to celebrate.  Today's recipe is an easy one that the whole family will love...Chicken Ramen Noodle Salad.  Kind of an Americanized version with Chinese ingredients.

Chicken Ramen Noodle Salad

This recipe is super simple.  It originated from Greene Acres Hobby Farm Blog, but I added some chicken strips to make it into a main meal.
Here's what you need and what you need to do...

Ingredients:

1 pack slaw

1/4 cup finely chopped green onions 

1/2 cup toasted almonds

2 packs ramen noodles (chicken flavor) broken into small pieces

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 Tbsp pepper

4 Tbsp vinegar

4 Tbsp sugar

1 of the chicken pack flavorings in ramen noodle package

some cooked chicken strips to add on top (2-3 chicken strips per person is plenty)

Pour, Toss, and Chill all but the chicken strips! That's it.  Just put the cooked chicken strips on top, right before serving.  Or leave the chicken out for a vegetarian version.

Chicken Ramen Noodle Salad printable recipe

Chicken Ramen Noodle Salad

The ramen noodles add the crunchy texture to this delicious recipe.  It's a great weeknight meal too!

Check back tomorrow for another Chinese New Year celebration idea!

Gung Hoy Fat Choy!

(That means good luck)

Celebrate the little things that make life sweet!

Christine