Yes…I have a victory to report! I’m very excited about a substitution I found – for those crunchy Chinese noodles! Eating gluten-free has energized a sense in me, I’m now always looking for a way I can tweak a food item to make it taste similar to the way I would eat it with gluten. Sunday night I discovered one definitely worth reporting!
Chinese noodle substitution
You know those Chinese noodles that come with nearly every take-out dish under the sun? Well we buy them often for our chicken chow mein meals. I used to eat them right out of the bag; and sure, I’d put them on my chow mein too. They are great “rice” noodles, caked with wheat!
Good substitute for crunchy noodles in chow mein!
So before our meal Sunday night, I made a statement… that up until that point – 2 weeks into my gluten-free experiment I hadn’t missed any food – but this meal I thought I might. I had been wondering what I could possibly substitute into my chow mein to give me that little crunch I was looking for.
I grabbed Glutino’s Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks and sunflower seeds. I wanted something with crunch, but potentially, not much flavor. I tried both and honestly they both were pretty good. But the pretzel sticks won out! In fact I talked Ida and the biggest supporter of my chow mein: 9-year-old daughter Emma. Both said they liked it. I think they both would do it again. And neither of them had ever had tried a Chinese noodle or some type of substitution before.
I was amazed! I gave myself a pat on the back! If you have any fun gluten-free substitution stories, send them here! I would love to hear them and I’m sure readers would love to read them!
Tags: chinese noodles, crunchy, gluten-free, pretzels, substitution
January 19th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Have you tried Saifun noodles? They are also called bean threads or cellophane noodles. They come in plastic packages in any asian food section, they start out hard. You heat just a little oil in a skillet, drop in a handful, and BANG! They puff up into fabulous crispy treats. They use these in the lettuce wraps at P.F. Changs. We love them, and better yet they are so much fun to watch. Your 9 year old would really get a kick out of watching the transformation. If you go to the 2 minute mark on this video ( http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-make-crispy-noodle-salad-242248/ )it will show you how to cook the noodles, as he says, it takes about 5 seconds! Enjoy!
January 23rd, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Goldbaums makes a Gluten Free Chow Mein Noodle
give it a try.