Bok Choy Salad with Soy Vinaigrette

Yes, those are ramen noodles floating around in my salad. Don't worry though~ it's not what you think! This is not a dish incorporating those salty, salty seasoning packets!. It's my take on the delicious bok choy salad that everyone always brings to potlucks as their salad dish. The soy vinaigrette is sweet and tangy and is a perfect compliment to the crispness of the bok choy, green onions, cucumber and red peppers. Toasted almonds and crunchy, sweet noodles give this salad extra texture. It's easy to prepare and is can be easily transformed from a simple salad to an entree by adding soy-glazed salmon or chicken (coming soon!). Delicious!

Serves: approximately 6

Ingredients:
1 head of bok choy, washed and chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 package ramen noodles (throw away the seasoning packet, you'll just need the noodles!)
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup diced cucumber
2 green onions, diced
3 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsbp. sesame seeds

For the dressing:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/3 cup sugar
black pepper

Assembly:
Stir all dressing ingredients together except for the oil. Stream in the oil, whisking until combined. I usually use my mini-Cuisinart for this~ it emulsifies dressings beautifully!

Salad Assembly:
Heat almonds in a saute pan over medium heat, stirring after a minute or two. When you begin to smell them, they are ready to come off the heat. Allow the almonds to cool. Break up the noodles while they are still in the bag (I just pound them gently a few times with my fist). Heat the butter and add the noodles. Stir to coat the noodles. Sprinkle the noodles with sugar and cook 2-3 minutes over medium heat until they are fragrant and golden. Allow to cool. Toss bok choy with vegetables and dressing. Stir in almonds, sesame seeds and noodles. Serve immediately. If you plan to use some for leftovers, refrigerate salad, almonds/noodles and dressing separately and combine before serving.