There are a lot of things we give up when we go gluten free: our favorite beer, fabulous deep-dish crust pizza, a baked goodie at your local coffee shop. But one of the things we certainly didn’t think of at first was chow mein noodles that add a yummy crunch to your meal.
But we have come up with a perfect solution in our house:
Glutino Pretzels.
*Disclaimer: While I do get occasional free goodies from Glutino…I have not received any of their plain pretzels. I am not getting paid for this post. This post is all about telling people what I have learned over time. The chow mein noodle substitution is a question I get often.
Back to the article: I am not kidding. Sticks are better than the curvy ones, but I think that’s all in my head. Technically they taste the same.
Adding a Gluten Free Chow Mein Crunch
If you have read this website for a while, you know my daughter, brother and dad are all gluten free because of celiac disease. I have not been diagnosed with it (yet) and get tested often. But a few years back I went gluten free to understand the challenges first hand (as opposed to through my daughter), and to, honestly see if it made my occasional migraines subside (the answer was no). So one day everything was going fine and I made chicken chow mein. I sat down to eat with the family and thought…”Well crap, this stinks. I can’t have the chow mein noodles”. That is when my investigation began.
Any gluten free chow mein noodle I tried either deep frying from rice noodles or buying in the store did NOT cut it for flavor or substance in my book. So I threw some of Glutino’s Pretzels in one day and sure enough! It was a match made in gluten free heaven! It is the perfect crunch AND with the salt on the pretzel, it worked and tasted exactly right.
My daughter and our exchange student (also celiac who stayed with us from 2008-2009) were eating the chow mein with no crunch. I suggested the pretzels, they did, and never looked back. I think my dad uses them too! I know I never would have thought about doing this had I not put myself through the experience.
So the next time you want chow mein noodles with your meal, try out Glutino pretzels.
Tags: celiac, Chinese, gluten-free, Glutino, Noodles, pretzels, substitute
March 12th, 2014 at 10:37 pm
Great idea!
March 14th, 2014 at 9:42 pm
In our household we’ve been using Pik.Nik shoestring potatoes! They are the best. And if we are without either cashews or almonds will do on our chow mein. 😉
November 12th, 2014 at 10:34 pm
I was trying to find gluten free chow mein noodles for a cookie my husband makes with chocolate and that I look forward to each Christmas. I found chow mein noodles @www.goldbaums.com. Unfortunately for me they will not work as they have spices such as sweet pepper, but you might enjoy them.