Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Gluten Free Chinese Food

Nick-incollege

By Nick-incollege
in Gluten-Free Restaurants

Recommended Posts

Nick-incollege Rookie
Nick-incollege
Posted

What do you guys usually get at a chinese place, and what type of things do you watch out for?

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

Chinese people who do not speak English well! Seriously, we attempted to eat in China town in San Francisco, but could not find a restaurant that really understood Our gluten-free needs. This was last year and now we check out websites recommended by folks with celiac disease. We have eaten at PF Chang's successfully and even though they have a good reputation, I still grill the manager. We have a local Chinese restaurant, but if the manager is not in, we leave. The cooks are Chinese and do not speak English well and the rest of the staff are not gluten-free savvy and Spanish is their first language.

Luckily, one of my best friends is Chinese and her Dad, a retired chef, cooks for us occasionally. That is the very best Chinese food I have ever eaten!

Adalaide Mentor
Adalaide
Posted

I'm going to second that. I would never, under any circumstances, eat somewhere where the people I was dealing with didn't speak fluent English. I suppose I would make an exception if I spoke a second language and could communicate effectively, but I don't. If I can't be sure that they understand my needs, I'm not going to risk my health for one meal. Sadly, at the time I was diagnosed there was no Chinese restaurant (that wasn't a chain) in my area that I enjoyed that had English speaking staff.

 

If you're going to insist, find out what brand of soy sauce they use. Keep in mind that if you watch all day, woks aren't always cleaned, they're often wiped out and just reused. So if their soy sauce has wheat, everything that goes in a wok is off limits. That probably just leaves white rice and steamed vegetables, at which point why are you paying someone to make you food you can microwave straight out of the freezer in it's own bag? (just my opinion of course)

  • 6 months later...
Georgia-guy Enthusiast
Georgia-guy
Posted

Why do I do this to myself? I'm taking an old friend out to lunch for her birthday during her lunch break...I told her to choose a place by her work that was good. I was expecting something like Chiles, Red lobster, O'Charleys, etc. little did I realize, the only things by her work are fast food. And the only good place is the Chinese place. :-/ I have not seen her since New Years, so she's not really aware of my Dx, and I don't want to be the person that says "I can't eat anything there" after telling her to choose. So here's the question, other than steamed veggies and rice, what CAN I eat? Is duck sauce gluten free? I know some things I can't eat, but there's many things I'm not sure about. (Chinese isn't my favorite food, so it's not been on my "need to research" list)

BlessedMommy Rising Star
BlessedMommy
Posted

Woks would not be safe for using between gluten free and regular items anyway. Woks get "seasoned" with regular use, so it seems that they would have the same CC issues as cast iron pans. 

 

Not Chinese, but I once went to a Thai restaurant and explained that I needed gluten free and asked what they had. They said, "Oh you're gluten free? The curry dish would be perfect for you. That's what we recommend for gluten free people."

 

I probed a little further on ingredients and they said, "Oh it's great for gluten free people because IT ONLY HAS A LITTLE SOY SAUCE." 

 

Needless to say, I found the door quickly and didn't get a meal there. Not sure why "a little gluten" is acceptable in a dish for a gluten free person. I'm sure that restaurant employee wouldn't eat a meal with "a little rat poison."

BlessedMommy Rising Star
BlessedMommy
Posted

So here's the question, other than steamed veggies and rice, what CAN I eat? Is duck sauce gluten free? I know some things I can't eat, but there's many things I'm not sure about. (Chinese isn't my favorite food, so it's not been on my "need to research" list)

 

My suggestion is to go as simple as possible. I once went to a Chinese place without a gluten free menu and I simply ordered tofu, veggies, egg, and rice noodles--all plain without any seasoning whatsoever. I checked ingredients of the noodles and tofu with the server just to be sure.

I brought my own San-J gluten free soy sauce packets from home and I really enjoyed the meal. It was simple, but good. The less ingredients, the better. The more complicated the meal, the higher the chance of being glutened.

 

You could bring along a bottle of your own safe Chinese sauce. I like San-J sauces, they're tasty and certified gluten free.

BlessedMommy Rising Star
BlessedMommy
Posted

Open Original Shared Link

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Georgia-guy Enthusiast
Georgia-guy
Posted

I will have to look for some San-j sauce (I've never heard of it). But what about duck sauce? Would it be safe? Duck sauce was always my favorite part of getting Chinese.

Georgia-guy Enthusiast
Georgia-guy
Posted

Open Original Shared Link

Available at publix and (I think there's one nearby) food lion. :-)

BlessedMommy Rising Star
BlessedMommy
Posted

It appears that duck sauce is likely to be safe, but of course, all ingredients should be read every time. Is the restaurant good about providing ingredient lists to people who need them?

 

If you're unsure, you could bring along a bottle of your own duck sauce.

BlessedMommy Rising Star
BlessedMommy
Posted

Great! I'm glad that you have access to San-J. I love their stir fry sauces, it's nice to have something that is for sure gluten free for my stir fry, since many sauces have gluten.

Georgia-guy Enthusiast
Georgia-guy
Posted

I've never been to this one, and I can't find a website for them (mainly cuz I'm not sure the name of the place, I just know it's in the Kroger shopping center).

Georgia-guy Enthusiast
Georgia-guy
Posted

Great! I'm glad that you have access to San-J. I love their stir fry sauces, it's nice to have something that is for sure gluten free for my stir fry, since many sauces have gluten.

I had never heard of San j, so it will be a nice new guaranteed safe thing to try. Their website shows 7 different sauces, gonna have to look more to see if all are gluten-free, cuz I tend to mix it up in the kitchen (as in combine different cultural foods such as maybe Chinese sauce on some pasta).

BlessedMommy Rising Star
BlessedMommy
Posted

Right now, we have their spicy peanut sauce, mongolian beef sauce, and szechuan sauce in the house. I really like their orange sauce too, but I can't seem to find it in as many grocery stores.

 

I like to keep a few sauces on hand and cook the stir fry mostly plain and then my kids and husband season as desired from available sauces. Stir fry is such a great, easy, and versatile gluten-free meal!

Georgia-guy Enthusiast
Georgia-guy
Posted

What does the szechuan sauce taste like?

BlessedMommy Rising Star
BlessedMommy
Posted

Very, very hot! I don't care for it, but my husband likes it. 

kenlove Rising Star
kenlove
Posted

i just  order steamed  veggies and tofu at Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and all the other ethnic Asia places in Hawaii. Its safe and I bring my own sauce. Seeing      the kitchens in Chinese places will convince anyone that cross contamination possibilities are everywhere.

 

What do you guys usually get at a chinese place, and what type of things do you watch out for?

kenlove Rising Star
kenlove
Posted

reminds me of  a new  Thai place in Kona. Tried to explain that I could not have  flour in anything and noodles had to be 100% rice no flour -- so he took the flower off the table!

 

Woks would not be safe for using between gluten free and regular items anyway. Woks get "seasoned" with regular use, so it seems that they would have the same CC issues as cast iron pans. 

 

Not Chinese, but I once went to a Thai restaurant and explained that I needed gluten free and asked what they had. They said, "Oh you're gluten free? The curry dish would be perfect for you. That's what we recommend for gluten free people."

 

I probed a little further on ingredients and they said, "Oh it's great for gluten free people because IT ONLY HAS A LITTLE SOY SAUCE." 

 

Needless to say, I found the door quickly and didn't get a meal there. Not sure why "a little gluten" is acceptable in a dish for a gluten free person. I'm sure that restaurant employee wouldn't eat a meal with "a little rat poison."

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to HAUS's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      7

      Sainsbury's Free From White Sliced Bread - Now Egg Free - Completely Ruined It

      In the U.S., most regular wheat breads are required to be enriched with certain B-vitamins and iron, but gluten-free breads are not required to be. Since many gluten-free products are not enriched, we usually encourage people with celiac disease to consider a multivitamin. In the early 1900s, refined white flour replaced whole grains, and people began...
    2. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to deanna1ynne's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      13

      Inconclusive results

      Keep in mind that there are drawbacks to a formal diagnosis, for example more expensive life and private health insurance, as well as possibly needing to disclose it on job applications. Normally I am in favor of the formal diagnosis process, but if you've already figured out that you can't tolerate gluten and will likely stay gluten-free anyway, I wanted...
    3. JoJo0611
      - JoJo0611 replied to JoJo0611's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      6

      CT with contrast.

      Thank you.
    4. deanna1ynne
      - deanna1ynne replied to deanna1ynne's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      13

      Inconclusive results

      Thank you all so much for your advice and thoughts. We ended up having another scope and more bloodwork last week. All serological markers continue to increase, and the doc who did the scope said there villous atrophy visible on the scope — but we just got the biopsy pathology report back, and all it says is, “Duodenal mucosa with patchy increased int...
    5. cristiana
      - cristiana replied to HAUS's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      7

      Sainsbury's Free From White Sliced Bread - Now Egg Free - Completely Ruined It

      Thanks for this Russ, and good to see that it is fortified. I spend too much time looking for M&S gluten-free Iced Spiced Buns to have ever noticed this! That's interesting, Scott. Have manufacturers ever said why that should be the case?
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,438
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    rednecksurfer
    Newest Member
    rednecksurfer
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Sainsbury's Free From White Sliced Bread - Now Egg Free - Completely Ruined It

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      In the U.S., most regular wheat breads are required to be enriched with certain B-vitamins and iron, but gluten-free breads are not required to be. Since many gluten-free products are not enriched, we usually encourage people with celiac disease to consider a multivitamin.  In the early 1900s, refined white flour replaced whole grains, and people began developing serious vitamin-deficiency diseases: Beriberi → caused by a lack of thiamin (vitamin B1) Pellagra → caused by a lack of niacin (vitamin B3) Anemia → linked to low iron and lack of folate By the 1930s–40s, these problems were common in the U.S., especially in poorer regions. Public-health officials responded by requiring wheat flour and the breads made from it to be “enriched” with thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron. Folic acid was added later (1998) to prevent neural-tube birth defects. Why gluten-free bread isn’t required to be enriched? The U.S. enrichment standards were written specifically for wheat flour. Gluten-free breads use rice, tapioca, corn, sorghum, etc.—so they fall outside that rule—but they probably should be for the same reason wheat products are.
    • Scott Adams
      Inconclusive results

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Keep in mind that there are drawbacks to a formal diagnosis, for example more expensive life and private health insurance, as well as possibly needing to disclose it on job applications. Normally I am in favor of the formal diagnosis process, but if you've already figured out that you can't tolerate gluten and will likely stay gluten-free anyway, I wanted to at least mention the possible negative sides of having a formal diagnosis. While I understand wanting a formal diagnosis, it sounds like she will likely remain gluten-free either way, even if she should test negative for celiac disease (Approximately 10x more people have non-celiac gluten sensitivity than have celiac disease, but there isn’t yet a test for NCGS. If her symptoms go away on a gluten-free diet, it would likely signal NCGS).        
    • JoJo0611
      CT with contrast.

      By JoJo0611 · Posted

      Thank you. 
    • deanna1ynne
      Inconclusive results

      By deanna1ynne · Posted

      Thank you all so much for your advice and thoughts. We ended up having another scope and more bloodwork last week. All serological markers continue to increase, and the doc who did the scope said there villous atrophy visible on the scope — but we just got the biopsy pathology report back, and all it says is, “Duodenal mucosa with patchy increased intraepithelial lymphocytes, preserved villous architecture, and patchy foveolar metaplasia,” which we are told is still inconclusive…  We will have her go gluten free again anyway, but how soon would you all test again, if at all? How valuable is an official dx in a situation like this?
    • cristiana
      Sainsbury's Free From White Sliced Bread - Now Egg Free - Completely Ruined It

      By cristiana · Posted

      Thanks for this Russ, and good to see that it is fortified. I spend too much time looking for M&S gluten-free Iced Spiced Buns to have ever noticed this! That's interesting, Scott.  Have manufacturers ever said why that should be the case?  
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.