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Ramen belongs in salad

The difference between a sad salad and one worth making again.


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Wait. Don’t toss that out.

Frankie Celenza Β  Β  | Β  Β  August 2026

Ramen Napa Cabbage Salad is my answer to that. In the new episode of Struggle Meals, the salad is cold, crunchy, a little sweet from apple and orange, and substantial enough to count as dinner. Toasted ramen and pecans give it some real texture. A little rotisserie chicken makes it more filling if I want it, but I can also opt to leave it out. The salad is doing plenty without it.

Ramen is one of the OG Struggle Meals ingredients, but this use is pure ’90s nostalgia. There’s something about that time period, when celebrity chefs were really playing with the visual and textural possibilities of ingredients. One over-the-top example I haven’t seen in a long time is crispy fried cellophane noodlesβ€”and my crunchy ramen is really an easier version of that. Giving packaged ramen such a starring role in an adult dish like a salad feels like the perfect homage to my dear friend that filled my belly in my dorm room more times than I can count.

I put the noodle blocks in a zip-top bag and break them into rough, one-inch pieces with a frying pan—small enough for a fork, but not smashed into dust. Then they go into a skillet with a little neutral oil, and I keep them moving until every side is deeply golden, about three to five minutes. I pull them onto a plate right away to stop the cooking. Pale, under-toasted ramen is too hard. Properly toasted ramen shatters like the top of a crème brûlée. Voilà! 

Napa cabbage is what lets all of that crunch work as a salad instead of a pile of toppings. It has the heartiness of regular cabbage with the daintiness of lettuce, so it can hold the ramen, fruit, pecans, and dressing without collapsing under them. Regular green cabbage works when that's what I've got; I just slice it very thin so the salad stays light.

I season the toasted ramen with everything bagel seasoning, which I think of as an American introduction to furikake. They’re not the same thing, but both bring that salty, savory, seedy finish. If I keep the individual spices around, I can probably make my own everything bagel seasoning. With some crushed nori snacks, I can take it a step closer to furikake.Β 

Then the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and sesame oil carry those flavors through the dressing. Everything goes into a mason jar, the lid gets tightened, and I shake hard until the sugar dissolves and the oil and vinegar stop looking like separate things. I can see the moment it emulsifies, and whatever's left over is already sitting in its storage container. Fewer dishes. A beautiful concept.

BEFORE YOU GO

The rest of the week is mapped out here. β†’ See this week's meal plan.

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