Chow Mein

Since I've had coeliac disease, I've spent the past few years trying to master my favourite dishes. I find that Chinese is the most rewarding because I really do miss a good chippy tea! My new favourite is chow mein, and I've even got my noodle-hating fiancé (I know, what's wrong with him?) addicted too!

Egg noodles are one of the hardest things to replicate gluten free and I don't think I've ever seen a decent alternative. Rice noodles are too bland, in my opinion. However, gluten free tagliatele works pretty well, and that's what I've used in the recipe below.

You can use any meat or vegetables to make this really simple dish. I think I might need to open my own chippy soon!

If you're following a FODMAP diet, this is a low FODMAP dish too!

Chow Mein

Serves 2

2 chicken breasts or quick-frying steak
4 spring onions, sliced into thin strips
150g thinly sliced mushrooms
1 thinly sliced green, yellow or red pepper
Garlic oil
4 tbsp tamari/gluten free soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbs rice vinegar
150g cooked gluten free tagliatelle/spaghetti/rice noodles
Salt & pepper to taste
Optional: chicken/beef/vegetable stock, extra soy sauce, chilli flakes (if you want a bit of spice!)

Thinly slice meat into strips and marinate in chilli flakes (if using), tamari, oyster sauce and rice vinegar. Place in fridge for at least half an hour (I tend to do this in the morning and leave all day).

Cook pasta/noodles according to instructions.

Heat a couple of teaspoons of garlic oil in a wok and add meat/vegetables. Cook for a few minutes til brown/softened and add the rest of the vegetables, coating in the sauce. Cook until meat and vegetables are tender and add the cooked noodles. Add a little more soy sauce. I like this quite dry, but if you want more sauce you could add some stock while the meat and vegetables are cooking.

If you're a vegetarian, simply omit the meat and instead marinate the vegetables, adding more peppers and mushrooms to compensate. You could add any veg to this dish, but ones you can slice thinly work best.

Chicken Katsu Curry

I love Asian food. Since going gluten free, I've managed to perfect a few of my favourite takeaway meals and I get a lot of satisfaction knowing I can still eat what I want with a few adaptations.  I used to love going to Wagamama, a restaurant specialising in Japanese cuisine - think ramen and dumplings! They used to have quite a good gluten free menu, but it seems to be very limited now. Chicken Katsu Curry was never an option for a coeliac because it uses panko breadcrumbs and the curry sauce contains wheat flour and soy sauce. I did try it before diagnosis and I loved it. It tastes like 'posh' chip shop curry!

I came across a recipe for it the other day and thought I'd have a go at tweaking it to make it gluten free. Everyone in our house loved it, including my fussy two year old! She did eat about half a pack of 'bum' crackers (prawn crackers, no idea why she calls them that and not sure I want to) but she used them to scoop up the rice and chicken, so I was happy.

Anyway, here is the recipe with some adaptations. Really simple. Feeding two and a half people, itt makes enough to freeze half so you have readymade curry next time, and given that it takes a while to make, this was handy. However, my fiancé didn't realise I wanted to keep it and threw it all away. Good job he's pretty.

Chicken Katsu Curry

For the curry sauce

1 large chopped onion

1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, chopped

2 medium carrots, sliced

2 tablespoons gluten free plain flour

4 teaspoons gluten free curry powder (I used Asda's own)

600ml chicken stock made from Knorr stock cube

2 teaspoons honey

4 teaspoons tamari soy sauce

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon garam masala

For the breaded chicken

2 chicken escalopes, or flattened breasts

1 beaten egg

100g gluten free breadcrumbs - made by blitzing a few slices of bread in a food processor, spreading into a thin layer on a baking tray and cooking in the oven for 6-8 minutes or until golden.

Rice and vegetables to serve.

Preheat oven to 200°c.

Gently fry the onion, ginger and garlic in a little oil in a saucepan until the onion is cooked and soft. Add the carrots and fry on low for 10 minutes. Add the flour and curry powder and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour in the stock, honey, soy sauce and bay leaf and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook on low for around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour the curry through a seive into another pan to remove the onions and carrots and you should be left with a silky, thick yet pourable sauce.

Meanwhile, put the egg and breadcrumbs in separate bowls. Dip your chicken into the egg mixture and then into the breadcrumbs, coating on all sides. Spray a baking sheet with a little oil before placing each breast on the tray and spraying more oil over them. Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with boiled rice and either vegetables or salad.