Local Foods We CAN Eat (They Aren't That Many, sob, sigh!)

Finally back to blogging after a long long LONG break…

Truth is, sometimes living with gluten intolerance can get more than a little discouraging. The past few months I’ve been battling gluten episodes on and off, and it took me a while to figure out what was causing the problems.

I realise now that it must have been the creatine supplement I’ve been taking. Creatine on its own is gluten-free (usually creatine monohydrate) and I take it because it helps with my gym workouts (higher energy, more muscle pump, faster recovery are among its benefits). However, the latest one I’ve been taking, on the recommendation of my trainer, likely has some gluten in it (probably the ‘starch’ listed on the ingredients list). It’s annoying, but it took me quite a while to figure out it was this, because I’d tried an earlier batch (different flavour) and it didn’t seem to affect me. Maybe it’s the flavour formulation, or maybe they changed the ingredients slightly for this batch. Whatever it is, I’m going to have to dump the lot.

And that kind of underlines the problem with gluten intolerance… most times you get hit with an episode, you just don’t know where the gluten snuck in. And by the slow process of elimination, you finally get to identify which the offending item was.

Anyway, after my last post, I thought I’d move on from listing foods we can’t eat, to foods we can.

Easier said than done. It got a little depressing, when I started listing common dishes in Singapore and realised that there aren’t really all that many that you can safely eat without having that nagging feeling that you might have to pay for it the day after (or the day after that). Mostly it’s due to the presence of soy sauce, but there are other reasons too. Anyway, I’ve come to the sad realisation that the GI diner still needs to tread carefully around our famed hawker centres, and that even the so-called ‘safe’ foods are only so after you give special instructions to the hawker to omit certain items.

But anyway, here goes:
1. Number one on my list is chicken rice – this is safe if you take the white-cooked chicken (don't eat the skin -- sometimes rubbed with soy), and omit the dark soy dipping sauce. If you like the roasted version (actually it’s deep-fried), be aware the marinade has soy, so it should be avoided if you’re especially sensitive. I’m not, so I get the roasted breast all the time. And I find if you ladle soup over the rice, you don’t miss the dark soy as much, especially if the soup and the chilli sauce are good (they usually are). As it is, chicken rice is probably my staple go-to dish at hawker centres, as I don’t get any gluten reactions from it. And as far as cholesterol worries are concerned, my last two medical check-ups showed I had low cholesterol, so it doesn’t seem to be that much of a risk. It probably helps that I like my red wine, and also like chicken breast more than the other fattier parts. Oh but be aware that not all chicken that’s brown is the roasted variety. Some stalls do a soy-sauced chicken, which should be avoided for obvious reasons.
2. Char siew and shao rou rice – once again, the marinade probably has wheat in it (soy and other sauces), but it depends from stall to stall. Generally I find if you rinse off the char siew in the accompanying bowl of soup, it doesn’t affect me. However, avoid the thick brown gravy that they usually smother the meat and rice with. That will likely set you back.
3. Fried carrot cake – but only the white one. The dark one is of course loaded with soy. And be aware that if they fry other noodles on the same griddle, some stray strands may end up in your order rendering it contaminated with gluten.
4. Nasi padang – oh so delicious, but be careful what you choose. Many items are battered (especially the fried chicken) so avoid those. Not only will you be avoiding gluten, all that deep-fried splendour can’t be good for the heart anyway. The curries should be OK, as is also the potato patty bergedil, surprisingly. But proceed with caution, as some places may add flour to the potato mix (I think this is rare though). The veggies are usually OK.
5. I love Love LOVE thosai, especially with dhal curry and that divine green chilli-coconut chutney. I’m not a die-hard vegetarian by any means – must have meat most days to feel satisfied – but this is one vegetarian dish that completely bowls me over. Unfortunately, there is a cloud blocking my rainbow. I have had gluten reactions from thosai before, even though the traditional recipe is supposed to use only rice flour. I can only surmise it’s because the rice was milled in the same facility that mills wheat (and getting contaminated in the process), as it wouldn’t make sense for flour factories in India to specialise in just one or the other. Or maybe the cook just dipped his spatula into the wheat flour before the rice flour. So once again, proceed with caution.
6. Chinese economy rice – not my favourite (most times too oily for my taste) but as long as you avoid the battered items, and the darkly-sauced ones, most dishes should be OK.
7. Yong tow foo – this is up there on my list for the sheer dazzling choice of bright fresh veggies, but once again do be careful. Avoid the items stuffed with the fish paste (usually a mix of fish and flour – and it may be wheat flour) if you can. Actually, I just remove the stuffing at the table and don’t eat it. And watch where they cook the noodles – the rice noodles (koay teow or mifen) should be OK on their own, but if they’re cooked in the communal pot they cook the wheat noodles in, whoops, more contamination in the mix.
8. Chinese rojak – avoid the dough fritters please! Indian rojak – just about everything is battered and deep-fried, so generally to be avoided.
9. Fish soup – hawkers tend to cook these individually these days, and that’s perfect since the cooking medium should be free from contamination by wheat noodles. Just don’t ever order the mee sua – that’s wheat. Oh and I’ve asked about the fried fish – it’s not battered, even though it looks that way. So it should be safe to eat (and I do eat it, often, although the sliced plain fish is my favourite).
10. Porridge – generally OK. Avoid fish cake and fishballs if they serve it.  And of course never have it with the you tiao (wheat crullers) or soy sauce.
11. Beef and beef ball noodles. The Hainanese version has tons of soy in the soup and thick gravy, so it’s best avoided. The clear version (Hakka, I’m told) should be OK. The beef balls don’t contain flour traditionally and so should be gluten-free. Most stalls only serve mifen and koay teow so no worries from cross-contamination with other (wheat) noodles.
12. Zi char – fried rice is usually made without soy, so most versions should be OK. However, some places add fish cake or crab stick, which should be avoided as they do contain flour. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to tell if they add the offending items until after you get your order. Hor fun with sliced fish is usually OK, but the seafood hor fun and mui fun may have some soy in them.
Hmph. It often seems to me that the only 100% safe food in a hawker centre or food court would be white rice and a plate of fruit. That’s an exaggeration, but still it’s clear you can’t just go in and order something right off and expect it to be wholly gluten-free.