Whether you have a gluten intolerance or are practicing a gluten free diet for other health reasons, you probably realize how difficult it may be to plan your meals. You may be shocked to find that gluten is sometimes even found in food items such as chicken or frozen vegetables. While not impossible, it is sometimes a daunting task to find gluten free selections that taste good as well. It becomes even more difficult when you are trying to find recipes for gluten free Chinese food. Many of the ingredients that are found in Chinese food restaurants or takeouts secretly contain gluten. We hope to shed some light on the many options that you still do have if you are on a gluten free diet. If you don’t want to cook the first option is to go to P.F. Changs. They actually provide a gluten-free section right on their menu which is extremely easy and convenient.
The selections taste great as well! It may be more difficult if you attempt to go gluten free at a traditional Chinese food restaurant. Most of them will try and work with you in preparing a meal to your request, but they may themselves be unaware of which of their products contain gluten as it can often be hidden. If you do decide to make a request, we recommend sticking with a basic rice and fresh vegetable option. The safest best is to cook the Chinese food at home. You can actually research every ingredient and make sure that nothing contains gluten. Most supermarkets contain a healthy section which contains gluten free products. We recommend going to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods as they offer an extremely diverse section of products. It is important that you do not make any assumptions. Certain ingredients that you use in Chinese food can often contain gluten as a filler or through cross-contamination.
An example of this is almonds. They may not contain gluten themselves, but may be manufactured at the same plant that wheat is manufactured. The levels of gluten may not be extremely high, but they are still present. This is also a possibility when buying frozen chicken or other meats that you wish to use. The breading often times contains gluten and other undesirable fillers. A basic dish that you can easily find all of the ingredients for is chicken and broccoli. An organic brown rice will usually contain no traces of gluten. One of our favorite brands is Texmati. We recommend skinless, boneless chicken that is all natural. For the vegetables, it is important that you try to avoid frozen packets and buy fresh ones. Gluten free soy sauce and teriyaki sauce can be the finishing touches to give your gluten free Chinese food a mouth watering taste. Good luck and happy eating!
