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.

Chinese Supermarkets

Although I love all food, if I had to choose one cuisine, I'd say Chinese would be right up there. I really miss 'proper' chippy meals, even though they're full of MSG and other bad stuff! I've perfected fried rice, salt and pepper potatoes etc, recipes for which can be found here but there are other meals I really enjoy too.

I'm lucky that I live near Liverpool, which has its own Chinatown and a couple of big Chinese supermarkets. These places are great for fresh ingredients and everything you could possibly need to create your own Chinese banquet - right down to the plates to eat it from. I've also learnt that they're also great for coeliacs. You need quite a bit of time to wander round looking at everything to find things that are gluten free, but just take a look at the small selection below to see what I found today.

I won't lie, I was in there close to an hour today. Most of the products are imported and the ingredients are sometimes difficult to read or non-existent in English (obviously I avoided those, just in case)

I was made up to find Black Bean and Hoisin sauces that state 'gluten free' on them! The salt and pepper seasoning is gorgeous, we use that often for chicken wings and potatoes. I've also had the packet noodles before. They're not really that much like Supernoodles as they're made with rice so have a different texture, but they certainly do the job when you need a quick snack. These also state that they are gluten free on the packet. I picked up the cookies on a whim and found they were also safe. They're made from mung bean powder and almond flour. They have an 'interesting' chalky texture which might not appeal to everyone, but I quite liked them! 

If you have any Chinese supermarkets nearby, I would highly recommend taking a bit of time to go and see what you can find - I'm sure there's lots to be discovered. Do let me know if you find any gluten free sui mai!

We're going to have a little banquet on Saturday night. I think I'll make duck pancakes with hoisin sauce, fried rice, chicken in black bean sauce, prawn crackers and salt & pepper potatoes - can't wait! 

Chinese 'Fakeaway'

One thing I really miss as a Coeliac is chippy meals. While it's true that some of their meals should not use gluten-containing ingredients, it is too much of a risk to take for most people. In most chip shops, they use the same woks to cook all their meals and the same oil to fry chips/battered products.

Since my diagnosis in May 2010, I have been practising different Chinese meals. The following recipe is what we call our "Chippy Tea" and my boyfriend would probably prefer this over one from a proper chippy, so I think I'm doing something right!

Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce with Salt & Pepper Potatoes, Egg Fried Rice and Prawn Crackers

Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce (serves 2-3)

2 chicken breasts cut into small cubes/strips

1 green bell pepper cut into large chunks

1 small onion cut into large chunks

1 garlic clove finely chopped

Gluten-free Soy Sauce (Tamari - can be found in most major supermarkets in their Free From section)

Freshly ground black pepper

150ml Chicken stock (either fresh/homemade or using a gluten-free stock cube, such as Knorr Stock Pot

Optional:

Chilli flakes (if you like it hot!)

Cornflour to thicken the sauce

Begin by liberally seasoning the chicken with the pepper. Fry over a medium heat until the chicken is cooked and place on a plate until later. Next, fry the garlic (and chilli if you're using it) in a little oil and add the onions and peppers. Cook for a few minutes and then add the chicken back into the pan. Pour over about 2-3 teaspoons of soy sauce and toss all the ingredients in the pan to coat. Add the stock and simmer for another 5 minutes or so until it has reduced. If the sauce is still very thin, mix half a teaspoon of cornflour with a little cold water and add to the pan a little at a time, stirring until your desired consistency is achieved.

You could also play around with this recipe to replicate your own favourite Chinese meals. Perhaps change the meat for beef or prawns, or try adding different vegetables such as mushrooms. You could even chuck in some black beans and use less pepper to make chicken in black bean sauce. The possibilities are endless here and I often experiment with different meals!


Salt & Pepper Potatoes (serves 2)

2 Medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes

A handful of spring onions, cut into diagonal slices

1 garlic clove

1 small red chilli pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

Oil for frying

Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

First of all, you need to cook the potatoes. I do this either by deep-frying them, or to be ever-so-slightly healthier, toss them in oil and cook in the oven for about 25 minutes at 200°C. Leave to cool slightly once cooked. Next, fry the chilli and garlic in a little oil in a wok for a minute or so. Add the spring onions and cook for another minute. Add the potatoes with black pepper and salt to taste (usually just a few twists of the grinder will be enough) and then toss everything in the pan to coat the potatoes.

You could also use this recipe to make Salt & Pepper ribs or chicken wings.


Egg Fried Rice (serves 2)

Cooked rice (I use one of the 125g boil in the bag ones as that serves 2 generously)

handful of chopped spring onions

Tamari/Gluten-free soy sauce

2 medium eggs, beaten

Oil for frying

Optional:

Handful of cooked frozen peas

Begin by heating a couple of teaspoons of oil in a wok over a medium-high heat. Add the cooked rice and coat in the oil. Sprinkle over 1-2 teaspoons of soy sauce and stir into the rice. Add the spring onions (and peas if you're using them) and cook for a further couple of minutes, continually stirring to make sure the rice doesn't stick. Lower the heat slightly, and push all the rice up one side of the wok, leaving an empty space at the bottom. Pour in the beaten eggs and allow them to cook slightly. Stir the egg mixture to cook a little more, and then gradually stir the rice in too, breaking up any large chunks of egg.

You could also add cooked, shredded chicken, prawns or vegetables to make this a meal in itself.

The prawn crackers I use are these ones from Asda. Don't use Sharwoods as they are not gluten free. Just check the back of the packaging and you'll probably find that most supermarket own brand prawn crackers are fine. Or you could make your own!

And that's it. It's a bit of work but doesn't take too long and is definitely worth it when you fancy a Chinese but can't rely on your local chippy!