Ramen Noodle Teriyaki Salad - 52 Ramen Noodle Upgrades

There is nothing more boring than a bit of lettuce and store bought salad dressing.  Hard to even call that a salad, but most folks (and many restaurants) do just that.

Instead, this salad has a fresh mad Jam Jar Dressing.  Loaded with a mix of unusual flavors.

It also has a few interesting Fixins... Sweet juicy Mandarin Oranges and Crunchy slices of Water Chestnuts.  I had a half a bag of Pecan pieces in the pantry and tossed those in as well.

But the star is the buttery crunchy crispy Ramen Noodles.  Think Croutons on a salad but cheaper, easier and an exotic flavor.

Not much of a trick to these.  Melt a little butter and let the noodles soak up the buttery goodness as they simmer in the melted butter.  As the butter is absorbed, the noodles will start to brown and crisp up... like a toasted crouton.

This is a great addition to uses for Ramen.  Almost any leafy green salad is improved with the addition of these Faux Croutons.  It only takes a few minutes but ups the ante of your presentations...

Give this idea a shot next time you have a boring head of lettuce and store bought dressing!

OK... Here's what I did...

Ramen Noodle
Teriyaki Salad

Ingredients

• For the Teriyaki Salad Dressing
• 1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 Cup Rice Wine Vinegar
• Pinch each Salt and Pepper
• 1/3 Cup Teriyaki Sauce
• 2 TBS Sugar
• For the Crunchy Ramen Noodle Topping...
• 1 Bag Ramen Noodles, Crunched and busted up to small pieces
• 2 TBS Butter
• For the Salad
• 1 Bag Mixed Greens
• 1 Can Mandarin Oranges, Drained
• 1 Can Water Chestnuts, Drained
• 1 small Bag Pecan Pieces

Cooking Directions

1. To Make the Teriyaki Salad Dressing ... Add Olive Oil, Vinegar, Salt, Pepper, Teriyaki Sauce and Sugar to a Jam Jar (a pint size Mason Jar). Shake like heck for a couple of minutes to mix.
2. To make the Crunchy Ramen Noodle Topping ... In a saute pan, Melt the butter over medium high heat. Add 1 package of Ramen Noodles (without the flavor package) and stir until coated. Continue to stir and heat for several minutes. Soon the noodles will start to brown. Once they reach a desired color, remove from heat.
3. To assemble the Salad ... Arrange a plate with the greens. Add the "Fixins", a few Mandarin Oranges, a few Water Chestnuts, a few Pecan pieces, and a few of the Crunchy cooked Ramen Noodles. Drizzle a couple TBS of the Teriyaki Salad Dressing.
4. Serve Chilled and ENJOY!