For my 2nd post this month I asked my youngest daughter, Aubree, to share her some of her gluten free recipes. She's a wonderful cook and has recently gone gluten free so adapting recipes to fit her health needs. I thought it was a great idea to have her as a guest writer, I'm sure I'll have her share more recipes in the coming months. Enjoy, Bamah
I am writing a post as a "guest writer" for my mother. Recently I had to go gluten free for health reasons, and I also went grain free to assist with decreasing some damage from years of eating gluten. One of the hardest things about being gluten free is not being able to eat pretty much any Chinese food as soy sauce has gluten in it. So, I Googled some recipes and then adapted them to my tastes. I'll include links to the originals for reference at the bottom. For my Chinese food night, I make Cashew chicken, gluten free egg rolls, and cauliflower fried rice. As I am my mother's daughter, I love using fresh produce from the local farmer's markets wherever I live, and what I put in my food depends on what I pick up each week.
Gluten free egg rolls:
Ingredients- 1 lb. ground pork, chicken, beef, or seafood. Or no meat if you want vegetarian.
- 2 cups~ Green Cabbage
- 1 cup~ Cauliflower
- 1 cup~Bok Choy
- 1 cup~bean sprouts
- 2 tsp fresh ginger (use more or less depending on how much you like)
- 1/4 cup Coconut Aminos or gluten free soy sauce
- 1 Tbs Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbs sesame oil
- 1 Tbs Tastefully simple Onion Onion, Garlic Garlic, spinach and herb dip, and Bacon Bacon. (these are my staple seasonings, but you can use regular spices of whatever you like.)
- 1 tbs sea salt and pepper
- 2 Tbs fat (I used bacon, butter, coconut oil or avacado oil; I will also use a mixture of several depending on my mood )
Instructions
1. You can either pulse a half of cauliflower in a food processor to "rice" it, or you can buy the pre "riced" cauliflower in the freezer section. I also shred and/or finely chop cabbage, sprouts, and bok choy.
2. Transfer the mixture to a large skillet, add your fat and let them cook about 8-10 minutes over medium high heat; stirring often. I also add the soy sauce and a little rice wine vinegar, and some sesame oil.
3. Add your meat to the skillet along with the veggies and continue for another 5-7 minutes (or until the meat is cooked through). At this point I add the remaining ingredients, give a good stir and turn the heat to low and let mingle for about 5-10.
4. I use coconut wraps in place of a won ton wrap and it works great (get them on Amazon, link below). I just hold the wrap over the hot pan to let it warm up (it's easier to work with); put a scoop roughly about a tablespoon and a half on the wrap; fold up both sides carefully and then roll (you can also see youtube videos on rolling egg rolls for reference). I usually go an extra step by browning them in a skillet that has my coconut or avocado oil heated up at medium high heat; it just takes a few seconds on each side...they come out a bit more crunchy.
If you are not a fan of the coconut wraps, or if you don't want to try them, you can always just spoon some of this onto a plate or bowel for an "unwrapped" egg roll. I have tried it both ways, and its good no matter what.
**As with all of my Mum's recipes, depending on the veg in my fridge, I have added shredded broccoli, brussel sprouts, some bell pepper or green onion, spinach and arugula. Feel free to have fun with variations on this recipe.
I also sometimes make this mixture up the day before as it is probably the longest cooking element and its easier to just scoop and heat the wrap when the other dishes are almost done. Plus I only have 2 skillets and so not enough to run 3 things at once. ;).
Cashew Chicken:
Ingredients
- 3 raw chicken (thighs, breasts or combo of both, your choice).
- 2 tbsp avocado or coconut oil (or some of both)
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 1/2 medium Green Bell Pepper (or other colors if you prefer, I like Red and Orange)
- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp gluten free soy sauce or Coconut aminos
- 1/2 tbsp chili garlic sauce (available in most ethnic grocery store sections, its a red paste used in a lot of Asian cooking)
- 1 tbsp minced garlic (you can use fresh or I use tastefully simple Garlic Garlic)
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
- 1/4 medium white onion
- Salt + Pepper
Instructions
1. Heat a pan over low heat and toast the cashews for 8 minutes. Toast them until you start to see some browning. Remove and set aside.
2. Dice chicken into 1 inch chunks. Cut onion and pepper into equally large chunks.
3. Increase heat to high and add oil to pan.
4. Once oil is up to temperature, add in the chicken pieces and allow them to cook through.
5. Once the chicken is nearly fully cooked. Add in the pepper, onions, garlic, chili garlic sauce and seasonings(ginger, salt, pepper). Allow to cook on high for 2-3 minutes then reduce down to medium.
6. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and cashews. Cook on medium and allow the liquid to reduce down until it is a sticky consistency, There should not be a lot of liquid in the pan upon completing cooking.
7. Serve in a bowl, top with sesame seeds and drizzle with sesame oil.
1. Heat a pan over low heat and toast the cashews for 8 minutes. Toast them until you start to see some browning. Remove and set aside.
2. Dice chicken into 1 inch chunks. Cut onion and pepper into equally large chunks.
3. Increase heat to high and add oil to pan.
4. Once oil is up to temperature, add in the chicken pieces and allow them to cook through.
5. Once the chicken is nearly fully cooked. Add in the pepper, onions, garlic, chili garlic sauce and seasonings(ginger, salt, pepper). Allow to cook on high for 2-3 minutes then reduce down to medium.
6. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and cashews. Cook on medium and allow the liquid to reduce down until it is a sticky consistency, There should not be a lot of liquid in the pan upon completing cooking.
7. Serve in a bowl, top with sesame seeds and drizzle with sesame oil.
I have also added spinach to this dish, and enjoyed the results. Also, I don't quite measure everything, so if I think there is too little liquid in the pan, I'll add some more.
Cauliflower Fried Rice:
Instructions:
3. Place pulsed "rice" into pan and flatten out over entire surface. Allow to cook through for 10 minutes (cauliflower should brown/get crispy). This is also where I add the soy sauce, Rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil when the rice is almost cooked.
4. Stir rice and add onion, garlic, veggies, and season with salt and pepper (I also add some onion seasoning and sometimes the garlic chili sauce from the previous recipe for a nice bite. You can add any of your favorite seasonings) You can turn the skillet down to medium high depending on how its cooking. (sometimes medium if the "rice" is overcooking)
5. Continue to cook and stir over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
6. Push "rice" to one side of pan, grease the empty half and crack two eggs into pan
7. Combine eggs and "rice" until eggs are cooked through.
8. Turn off heat and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve warm and enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower (or 1 package pre "riced")
- 1/2 cup Frozen Peas/carrots (I use Edamame, snow peas, bok choy, or whatever I have in the fridge/freezer)
- 1 tbsp avocado or coconut oil (again, I like to combine them)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
- 2 tsp Sesame Oil
- 1 Tbs Rice wine Vinegar
- 1 tbsp gluten free soy sauce/ coconut aminos
- 1/2 cup white onion
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- salt and pepper
1. If you are using a fresh head of cauliflower, you will need to pulse it in a food processor to get a "rice" consistency. Or use the pre "riced" cauliflower in the freezer section. Personally, I find the frozen cauliflower has a better cooked consistency vs the fresh.
2. Add oil to pan and turn it on high heat. Let it get hot before adding cauliflower, but don't burn it.
3. Place pulsed "rice" into pan and flatten out over entire surface. Allow to cook through for 10 minutes (cauliflower should brown/get crispy). This is also where I add the soy sauce, Rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil when the rice is almost cooked.
4. Stir rice and add onion, garlic, veggies, and season with salt and pepper (I also add some onion seasoning and sometimes the garlic chili sauce from the previous recipe for a nice bite. You can add any of your favorite seasonings) You can turn the skillet down to medium high depending on how its cooking. (sometimes medium if the "rice" is overcooking)
5. Continue to cook and stir over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
6. Push "rice" to one side of pan, grease the empty half and crack two eggs into pan
7. Combine eggs and "rice" until eggs are cooked through.
8. Turn off heat and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve warm and enjoy!
As always, I have added other veg to this recipe including spinach, bok choy, and sprouts.
This meal does feel uniform by using the same core Asian foodie ingredients of rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, garlic chili sauce, and gluten free soy sauce. These recipes are adapted from several blogs which are listed below, and those authors should get most of the credit. I have merely taken their ideas and put my spin on them. I have also made this meal vegan and paleo for various friends with other dietary issues. All the spices I use with almost everything I cook are from Tastefully Simple since Mum sells it and they are awesome. But, feel free to use any of your normal spices, or fresh. I make this frequently as leftovers are nice, and I often crave some Chinese.
If you want to try buying a head of cauliflower and "rice" it, you can try it in a food processor, grate it, or just really finely chop it. I did this at first, but love the convenience of the pre cut and frozen from the store. Also, the consistency is much more "rice" with the pre cut frozen type vs fresh; the fresh can be more mushy. (this can be minimized with rolling the cauliflower up in towel and twisting to get some water out, but this also condenses the cauliflower and adds to the mushiness.
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