Broccoli Slaw with Ramen Noodles - Perfect Potluck Salad

Broccoli Slaw with Ramen Noodles Salad

When that sign up sheet for the office potluck goes around, put "Broccoli Slaw with Ramen Noodle Salad" next to your name. My colleague brought salad to our potluck and I ate many portions. It's a perfect potluck or Superbowl Party salad! And it's so easy to make!


Trader Joe's sells this broccoli slaw mix in the veggie section. Buy it. Your work is almost done.


Broccoli slaw is great because 90% of the work is done for you! You simply add some nuts and ramen noodles (I would eat these dry all the time in college...who hasn't?) A simple salad dressing tops the whole thing.


This was a second batch I made...this time without the green onions because I didn't have any. Still delicious!


This is a great potluck salad because it keeps, but it is also yummy for lunch or with dinner. You can add some pieces of rotisserie chicken if you wish too.

Recipe:
Broccoli Slaw with Ramen Noodle Salad

1 cup sliced almonds (it's best if you toast the almonds. I've made it both raw and toasted)
12 or 16 oz package broccoli slaw (Trader Joe's package is 12 ounces, I use 1 1/2 packages)
1 bunch green onions, sliced
2 packages "oriental" flavor ramen noodles, uncooked, broken up (seasoning packets reserved for the dressing)
1 cup sunflower seeds

Dressing:
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 packages of ramen noodle seasoning packets
½ cup vegetable oil

In a large bowl, toss almonds, broccoli slaw, green onions, noodles, and sunflower seeds to combine.

In a bowl or mason jar, whisk together the sugar and vinegar until sugar is dissolved (the original recipe said to heat the sugar and vinegar together to dissolve. I did that once and your whole kitchen smells like vinegar so I didn't the second time and it all worked out.) Add oriental flavor seasoning packets. Whisk oil into vinegar mixture.

Pour dressing over slaw mixture; toss well. Chill at least 1-2 hours or overnight.  Toss before serving.

Mochi Day 2015 - Mochitsuki

Happy New Year! Yes, I realize it is January 23, 2016, but I'm behind schedule... and many of my resolutions are already broken (one being to blog more, of course! :)

Anyway, I use this blog to tell you about some recipes, but also to keep a diary of "stuff that happens." It's fun for me to go back through old posts and remember what I was doing when I made that batch of chocolate chip cookies. Nowadays, I'm mostly documenting the trivial and delicious on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, but I wanted to capture moments from our annual mochi making day.

My Japanese American family has been making mochi every year for over 40 years. It's a family tradition. Often, it's the only time I see some of my cousins! Here are some photos of the process... for you to see, and for me to remember! My friend JustJenn make a short instagram video too!

Happy New Year!

150 pounds of rice = 3000+ pieces of hand-formed mochi. Now we're ready for the New Year.

A photo posted by Jenn Fujikawa (@justjennrecipes) on Dec 27, 2015 at 3:32pm PST

Here we go: Our assembly line for making 150 pounds of mochi for Japanese New Year oshogatsu 🍡 @foodlibrarian Family Mochi Day 2015

A video posted by Jenn Fujikawa (@justjennrecipes) on Dec 27, 2015 at 11:04am PST

Here's a short video of the process. Imagine this going on all day...

Yeah, that's 15 bags of rice for me to wash the night before mochi day.


We always have a crazy big potluck lunch...I made some Spam musubi!


The first batch...

Steaming hot rice goes into a grinder and it gets extruded (it's super hot) and someone cuts off a piece. Then someone grabs that burning hot dough and puts it into a muffin tin. The muffin tin is definitely not traditional, but it helps us keep the size consistent, and it's easy for newbies to join in the process.


Why hello there...lovely mochi!

What happens to all these 3,000+ pieces of mochi? It's traditional to eat a piece of mochi in a special soup called ozoni on New Year's Day...you get lots of good luck and health and all that good stuff. So we divide up the mochi and many people deliver some to friends and family so they'll have mochi for new years. I like to toast mine in the toaster oven and eat with soy sauce and sugar, or kinako and sugar. (The mochi is not sweetened - this is plain, pounded rice mochi).


My friend Jun came with her family for the first time. Here is Sage enjoying fresh off the line mochi. He said, "oishii" (delicious)! Next year, he's going to help out!

How many people come to Mochi Day? I always thought it was about 40 people or so... this year we counted and there were 70 people! We have a bouncy castle in the front yard, mochi making on the deck, tons of food everywhere, two rooms for mochi cooling, one room for packing up the mochi, and, of course, a video game area for some of the kids! :) I have mochi in the freezer to eat throughout the year when the fun happens again.

Happy New Year!