Pho

[Juliebove]

My husband keeps bugging me to take our daughter to a local Pho restaurant. He insists there is nothing in the noodles that she is allergic to. However, he has no clue about food allergies or cooking. He once took her for Teriyaki. She is allergic not only to wheat and gluten, but soy and peanuts. Gah! She was sick for two days after that.

I looked up some recipes for Pho and while it could potentially be safe, it could just as well be unsafe. If they are using canned/boxed/concentrated broth, it could contain wheat or soy. And the fish sauce could contain wheat.

Yeah, I know I could make this myself but it doesn't sound all that appealing to me and not something I want to make. I don't digest meat well and I have diabetes so I have to watch it with the noodles.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I love pho, but I don't dare trust the restaurants for it--too many gluteny beef bases and soy sauces. It's practically a given that it WILL contain gluten.

However, there is a great recipe for it in Gluten-Free for Dummies (she calls it "Faux Pho"), which I make all the time.

I hate to say this, but it sounds like the biggest problem is not food, nor restaurants, but your husband.

[tom]

Mmmmmmmm I used to love Pho - vietnamese co-workers got me started long ago - but SO many potential issues.

W/out absolute proof, I wouldn't trust the 'rice noodles' to be just mostly rice w/ a good amount of wheat.

Far more common than I used to think.

And I'd have to agree w/ Fiddle-Faddle on bases, sauces, & also meat marinades.

[Juliebove]

I love pho, but I don't dare trust the restaurants for it--too many gluteny beef bases and soy sauces. It's practically a given that it WILL contain gluten.

However, there is a great recipe for it in Gluten-Free for Dummies (she calls it "Faux Pho"), which I make all the time.

I hate to say this, but it sounds like the biggest problem is not food, nor restaurants, but your husband.

Yes. Daughter generally won't go out to eat with just him unless it is a restaurant we have eaten at before and she knows what is safe to eat. I envision problems in foreign restaurants because the people don't necessarily speak English very well. And even when they do and even in non-foreign restaurants, they don't necessarily understand things like gluten.

Thanks!

[Juliebove]

Mmmmmmmm I used to love Pho - vietnamese co-workers got me started long ago - but SO many potential issues.

W/out absolute proof, I wouldn't trust the 'rice noodles' to be just mostly rice w/ a good amount of wheat.

Far more common than I used to think.

And I'd have to agree w/ Fiddle-Faddle on bases, sauces, & also meat marinades.

That's what I was thinking. Thanks!

[tami28]

My husband keeps bugging me to take our daughter to a local Pho restaurant. He insists there is nothing in the noodles that she is allergic to. However, he has no clue about food allergies or cooking. He once took her for Teriyaki. She is allergic not only to wheat and gluten, but soy and peanuts. Gah! She was sick for two days after that.

I looked up some recipes for Pho and while it could potentially be safe, it could just as well be unsafe. If they are using canned/boxed/concentrated broth, it could contain wheat or soy. And the fish sauce could contain wheat.

Yeah, I know I could make this myself but it doesn't sound all that appealing to me and not something I want to make. I don't digest meat well and I have diabetes so I have to watch it with the noodles.

The Hoisin sauce (plum) on the side is a problem. It contains wheat. I've had the soup without that sauce and it was great. You should definitely ask though. A waiter brought out the label to my table.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Hoisin sauce and plum sauce are two different sauces!

There ARE many brands of gluten-free hoisin sauces, including Dynasty and Golden Pagoda.

gluten-free brands of plum sauce (or duck sauce, which is similar) include Lee Kum Kee and Oriental Mascot.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Check out Open Original Shared Link for a pho recipe you can make in your crockpot, as well as over 200 gluten-free crockpot recipes. This gal is amazing! And every recipe of hers that I have tried has been a winner (as well as a Godsend, since they are so easy, and yet force you to be organized).

[Juliebove]

The Hoisin sauce (plum) on the side is a problem. It contains wheat. I've had the soup without that sauce and it was great. You should definitely ask though. A waiter brought out the label to my table.

Thanks!

[Juliebove]

Check out Open Original Shared Link for a pho recipe you can make in your crockpot, as well as over 200 gluten-free crockpot recipes. This gal is amazing! And every recipe of hers that I have tried has been a winner (as well as a Godsend, since they are so easy, and yet force you to be organized).

Yes. I have seen her site. Pho just isn't something I am interested in making at home. I most likely wouldn't/couldn't eat it and husband would only eat it if very hot/spicy. But thanks!

[Februaryrich]

It's so hard for me not to eat Pho as I am vietnamese myself lol. Pho contains a lot of MSG so it's a no for me

[lovegrov]

Addressing just the gluten angle, since I don't worry about soy or peanuts and can't say.

Pho made the real way should be gluten-free. I've yet to find a fish sauce with wheat, although I'm not saying there isn't one. The beef base should be made at the restaurant, not out of a can (and the majority of broths are in fact gluten-free anyway). I rarely if ever see an actual "rice" noodle that contains wheat, especially since wheat is more expensive than rice. Will there be CC at the restaurant? Well, that can happen most anywhere.

Bottom line? Ask. Just as at any restaurant.

richard

[Februaryrich]

The risk of CC in vietnamese restaurants is high since they use soy, and they fry a lot of rice dishes. Plus communication is not always easy

[Juliebove]

The risk of CC in vietnamese restaurants is high since they use soy, and they fry a lot of rice dishes. Plus communication is not always easy

This is why I would not go. It's a moot point now anyway. She is on a low carb diet.

[celiacshawn]

One thing that's nice about Vietnamese restaurants is that they usually have several dishes that are not made with any soy sauce and are pretty light, steamed, fresh dishes. A lot of them will have a grilled chicken and rice dish that is prety plain but still tasty. So maybe that could be an option. I'd probably find out ahead of time if they marinate the meat of their grilled dishes and if so in what. I have not had problems with a similar dish at my local Vietnamese restaurant.

[lovegrov]

The risk of CC in vietnamese restaurants is high since they use soy, and they fry a lot of rice dishes. Plus communication is not always easy

They use a lot of soy, or soy sauce? Soy itself is not a problem for celiacs (unless you are also intolerant of soy).

richard

[Menic]

I made the 365 crockpot recipe over the weekend, very good! I added some mushrooms for a little more stubstance. Wife add straw mushrooms and baby bok choi to hers.

[Jenica]

Pho is one of my most favorite foods ever. I use the rice noodles in in all types of dishes because they are gluten free. Most Vietnamese foods is already gluten free because they use rice as their primary starch and they don't use soy sauce very often in their cuisine.

Any good pho place will make their own broth from bones rather than bouillon. I have never heard of a place using prepackaged soup or broth for their soups it would not be very cost effective, it doesn't really make sense to me but I guess it's not impossible, but easy enough to just ask about. 

I had pho tonight, it was amazing, I made sure to ask that they make the broth with gluten-free fish sauce, I double checked and asked about how the chicken was cooked(it's almost always just boiled and sliced) and I did not use their hoisen sauce, I have my own gluten free hoisen sauce. I also don't do MSG so that narrows the places I can go down a lot. I recommend finding a good pho place you can talk to someone who really knows the answers to what you're asking, I always call ahead. The very sweet woman I spoke to tonight didn't speak english very well so she called her daughter who then called me and we talked ingredients. Now I know for sure I can eat at the Saigon Boat Cafe on Alki beach in Seattle. Pho is a staple for me here in the rainy northwest during winter time, I can't imagine going without it! 

[Jenica]

They use a lot of soy, or soy sauce? Soy itself is not a problem for celiacs (unless you are also intolerant of soy).

richard

Soy sauce is usually made with wheat, wheat free soy sauce is called tamari. But Vietnamese food has a lot of options that are naturally gluten free and soy sauce free.

[kareng]

Just an FYI - you are responding to a thread from 2011.