Vh Soy Sauce

[tagger]

I haven't used soy sauce in years on my gluten-free diet, but I had heard that there was one out there that is gluten free. Well I've finally found it. VH products are ALL gluten free. I am in Canada so I don't know if it is available in the US. When I called the manufacturer he was well informed and quite aware of Celiac Disease and gluten-free diets. I can now cook with soy sauce which opens up a new realm of gluten-free recipes that I couldn't use before. Thank you VH!...Tagger

[ROYAL BLUE]

They told me they were all gluten-free also but in the store I saw one with malt in it. I think it was the teriaki glaze. Maybe it was old stock. I've been meaning to call again and ask.

Tracy

[tagger]

Hi Royal Blue,

Thanks for the heads up!

Tagger

[kejohe]

I have never seen that brand here where I am, but it's a pretty small city. However, i have come across a few other gluten-free brands of soy sauce San-J makes a really good tamari soy sauce, and a low sodium variety too, which is great for those of us with a high blood pressure. My husband is Asian and he loves it, says it tastes just like the regualr stuff. Also laChoy is gluten-free, but not my favorite. Finally Braggs Amino Acid is also a popular soy sauce substitute.

[lauriel234]

Kejohe - Kathleen

Question - Is caramel color gluten-free? I've tried the San J soy sauce, but my daughter thinks it's too strong. LaChoy might be better, but I didn't know it was gluten-free. Have you found any gluten-free chinese style noodles. She used to love Chinese food.

[kejohe]

lauriel234,

Sometimes caramel color comes from barley, and is not gluten-free, but other times it comes from sugar. I never have used the LaChoy brand, because I didn't like it as well as the San-J, but a dietatician swore to me that it was gluten-free, and I know a celic gal who uses it all the time without problems. Have you ever tried the San-J low-sodium kind, it's a lot less intense in flavor, or you could add water to it to dilute it a little. I use it to make my own teryaki sauce for chicken and fish and it works really well.

Also, I have found lots of great gluten-free Chinese style noodles, usually only at Asian markets though. Sometimes they will be called "fun noodles", or just rice sticks. But I recently found some really great elbow and spiral type noodles at the Chinese market that are made with rice. I can't really read anything on the package except the ingredients, but they taste like the real thing. You should check out some of the Asian markets in your area, they have tons of gluten-free stuff and they have the best rice flour too.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.

[tagger]

I'm not sure, maybe someone can tell me. I used to love going for Dim Sum. I seem to remember that the "wraps" (for lack of a better word!) are made from rice. Does anyone know? That would be fantastic if only we could take our "transportable" soy sauce we'd be all set! One thing I really miss is Lo Mein!

I used to travel to Hong Kong and China a lot on business. No fun reading ingredients there. Fortunately that was before I went gluten-free. I haven't travelled much since I've been gluten-free. If I do I'll have to go to the travel board!

Tagger

[calico jo]

LaChoy is gluten free, I use it all the time. Also caramel color if made in the US is gluten-free.

[seeking-wholeness]

Tagger,

I have never eaten dim sum before, so I don't really know what I'm talking about here, but I do know that SOME Asian foods use rice wrappers. Not all, of course, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some restaurants substitute wheat wrappers anyway because they are cheaper and easier to find. Also, even if you find that some wrappers ARE made of rice, if the food is deep-fried it may still be contaminated by wheat from other foods. I guess the bottom line is that you'll need to ask lots of questions (which gets really interesting with the language barrier...). I hope you find that you can still enjoy dim sum!

[kejohe]

There are several types of dim sum that use rice or tapioca flour to make their wrappers. But there are also a lot that use regular flour. The best example I can give you is sui mai (everyone spells it differently) but its traditionally made with a rice flour wrap and filled with a seasoned pork and shrimp mixture. But won ton, is always made with a wheat flour wrap. I have actually been working on a a rice and tapioca wrap that I can use for won ton since my family is half Asian and love them, but so far I'm not real happy with it.

It's actually pretty easy to tell when the wrappers are made with rice, because they turn nearly transparent and have a gummy look/feel to them, where as the wheat remains opaque and tears easily. But I would still caution you against cross contamination, at least with the fried products. The steamed stuff is more than likely okay, because most places (even the hole in the wall types) use dedicated steamers to prevent flavor transfers.

My husband, being Chinese really misses the dim sum restaurants from his home town of San Francisco, but we stop in everytime we visit. I hope that you find one in your area that hase lots of choices made with rice wraps, that would be great for a little variety to our diets!

Hope this is helpful.