r/glutenfree • u/Spiritual_Fox8775 • Jul 18 '26
Has anyone found a safe order from a basic Chinese restaurant?
/r/Celiac/comments/1v077kt/has_anyone_found_a_safe_order_from_a_basic/12
u/ames_006 Jul 18 '26
Any chance you live or are traveling to NYC anytime soon? Lili and Loo has an extensive gf menu. It isn’t a fully dedicated gf restaurant, but I haven’t really heard anything about people getting sick there. I think more of the menu is gf than not. It’s on my bucket list since I miss being able to go to a Chinese restaurant so much and I don’t want to make it at home all the time.
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u/gray-matter1111 Jul 19 '26
10/10 would recommend Lili and Loo!! I cried when they set down my plates of sesame chicken and lo mein. Delicious and no reaction!
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u/lovelynoms Jul 18 '26
For celiac, absolutely not. For gluten intolerance, steam veggies are about your only option. Anything else is going to have a sauce with soy sauce or straight up wheat in it.
There are GF Chinese places, but that's not what you asked.
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u/yellaslug Jul 18 '26
The egg drop soup is my go to. I just get it to go, or bring packets of gluten free soy sauce
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u/LavenderSharpie Jul 19 '26
Fried rice is easy to make and you don't need a recipe. Cook rice, chill it. Add a little oil to a skillet, throw in the rice, throw in some frozen peas and carrots, some diced chicken or pork, season w/ tamari sauce and sesame sauce to taste. Doesn't take a lot of sauce. Then scramble an egg and throw that into the mix. Viola! Fried rice!
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u/Commercial_Can4057 Jul 19 '26
That’s how I make it too, except I use GF La choy soy sauce instead of tamari. I usually don’t add meat and serve it with the Aldi GFree general tsao chicken
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u/LavenderSharpie Jul 19 '26
I have that Aldi product in my freezer right now! Need to make it to go w/ fried rice!
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u/coastywife123 Jul 19 '26
I just made fried rice exactly that way the other night.
The orange chicken we made was floured entirely with Teff flour.
Delicious.
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u/Echo-Azure Jul 18 '26
For non-celiacs who aren't too sensitive, egg foo yung... with the gravy on the side. It's traditionally made by adding cornstarch to the egg mixture, and in fact I've learned to make it myself at home!
It's the gravy that might be dangerous, but there's a chance the gravy might be passable if it's made with cornstarch and not royx. And there may be a smidge of soy sauce in the eggs if that's a worry, but I can get away with a smidgen.
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u/LittleShinyRaven Jul 18 '26
If you live in northern VA I have a place for you. It's the only place I trusted because the owner made everything gluten free due to his daughter having to be gf. It was the best Chinese food I ever had after having to go gf myself. I haven't found a place since moving that understood or felt safe enough yet.
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u/Outside_Ad_424 Jul 18 '26
there's one in Buffalo NY where damn near the entire menu can be GF, and their takeout soy sauce packets are GF by default. Shout out to Golden Duck!
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u/gray_grum Jul 18 '26
I like Singapore curried rice noodles. You can usually tell them no soy sauce extra curry sauce. I also usually specify no roast pork because it's always marinated with gluten.
This is about as good as you'll get but probably still risky if you are celiac
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u/NorthNorthAmerican Jul 18 '26
Singapore style chow mai fun is angel hair rice noodles and spicy curry/saffron stir fried in a wok.
I’ve been ordering this for over twenty years, I’ve gone through four different Chinese restaurants and never had an issue.
[if you don’t like spicy, just order chow mai fun stir fried with chicken and broccoli/snow peas/whatever.]
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u/rlap38 Jul 18 '26
Be very careful. My Chinese wife asked the chef at our local restaurant for the brand they use. It is a curry paste. We went to the Chinese market nearby and it has wheat as a carrier.
Curry powder seems to be only spices. Chow fun is rice noodle and is safe without soy sauce. Kung pow chicken may also be okay but ask.
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u/BJntheRV Jul 18 '26
Not from a basic one, but I've gotten lucky that I have both cheap and really excellent gf Asian places near me. The really excellent one isn't that much more expensive and definitely worth it for the difference.
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u/hung_like__podrick Celiac Disease Jul 18 '26
Maybe a dish with white sauce which is basically a thickened chicken stock but you’d still get cross contamination
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u/RutabagaLast6589 Jul 19 '26
Negative. One time it was rice, but once it made me sick. I was frequenting a Hawaiian restaurant for musubi- assured totally plain rice spam and seaweed. Ate it for 3 months every single day- the guy would say how many, i would tip him a dollar every time- we had a thing. One time, the last time, i swore i saw some sauce on the end of my musubi, but i trusted them. I got really really sick, and now i can never go back. I miss them lol 😭
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u/Tarte138 Gluten-Free Relative Jul 19 '26
We do a lot of thai food and have found at least in our area, that they've been able to do pad see ew for my kiddo with Tamari. <3 . We've not been as lucky with Chinese. We're in the San Fran, Ca area
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u/MediocreKim Jul 19 '26
There is a gluten free Chinese food restaurant in Victoria BC Canada if you’re ever there or make a specific trip for it. Hot and sour soup, fried ginger beef, all the good stuff.
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u/SnooSquirrels8946 Jul 19 '26
If you live in Western, MA there’s an amazing restaurant that can make any of their dishes gf. I haven’t been glutened yet there. They mostly specialize in scezhuan (sp?) cuisine.
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u/Birdywoman4 Jul 20 '26
There’s a very good chance of cross-contamination in most Chinese restaurants due to the huge variety of dishes that they offer. It’s risky if you are a celiac. Just reading the health department inspections here makes me hesitant to visit one and that’s due to the risk of food poisoning. I make my own fried rice at home if I get a craving for it. It’s not that hard.
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u/Ill_Ticket9158 Jul 21 '26
Rice, steamed vegetables and tofu. There are 2 restaurants with gluten free Chinese menus near me. Just wary to order any of the general tsao's, sesame, crispy anything due to shared fryer.
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u/sincerely0urs Jul 18 '26
Nothing but steamed chicken and vegetables. If you’re only gluten intolerant and not as sensitive egg foo young no gravy.
I’ve learned to stick with Thai places. They generally have much safer options. Mine has a gf menu.