Gluten free travel in Southeast Asia
Following on from a request for such information, below is – to the best of our ability – a rundown on gluten free travel in Southeast Asia. Firstly, we’ll admit that food science is not our particular area of expertise so apologies for any omissions or errors in our post. Furthermore, regional variations as well as differences between traditional and modern recipes make the issue surprisingly complicated. However, our local tour-leaders obviously will have an in depth knowledge of their respective local cuisine and all are experienced in dealing with gluten-free diets, lactose intolerance and a range of allergies.
Note that in addition to Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam we’re extending our gluten free travel in Southeast Asia post to include neighbouring regions such as China-Yunnan and Sri Lanka which also appear on our tour menus.
Firstly, on a general note it does depend upon the individual’s gluten intolerance levels and whether it is an intolerance or gluten allergy. Wiki informs us that intolerance is a misused term and should be broken down in to “coeliac disease (an auto-immune disorder), wheat allergy (a true allergy), and non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (a digestive intolerance)”. In our experience the latter is the more common amongst our guests and on several occasions we’ve been told that the occasional splash of soya isn’t a major issue. The first thing to do would then be to explain your condition to your tour-leader.
Overall, the principal ingredients of much of Southeast Asian cooking consist of rice, vegetables and fish products along with relatively small quantities of chicken, beef and pork so is naturally, largely gluten free. With certain exceptions bread and bakery products are not common while noodle and pasta dishes more often use rice flour than wheat. Soya sauce is of course widely used in Chinese cuisine but is generally replaced by fish or oyster sauce in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. Here’s where things get complicated as Chinese and Thai soya sauce contains gluten whereas Vietnamese soya sauce usually doesn’t. Fish sauce is generally fine while oyster sauce probably contains small quantities of wheat products.
While we’re sure that gluten intolerance must affect some locals, it certainly isn’t common, so menus and restaurants offering specifically gluten free products or dishes are generally limited to areas frequented by large numbers of foreign visitors. Our friends at Siem Reap’s Paris Bakery for example, do very good gluten-free baguettes (our go-to packed lunch source for the Siem Reap to Battambang boat trip), while supermarkets in certain, larger destinations – Bangkok, Chiang Mai, KL and Phnom Penh for example – often sell gluten-free soya sauce. If the latter is the case then our local guides and tour-leaders will endeavour to carry a bottle on the tour, just in case, but this is not always possible. (You can of course bring a bottle with you.) Note also, for your ‘free’, non-inclusive meals tour-leaders will provide you with a local language note to show in cafes and restaurants which may prove more reliable than Google Translate.
Many Khmer soups and curries are eaten with a choice of rice or baguette Cambodia and Vietnam
The French influence in both Cambodia and Vietnam, and to a lesser extent Laos, means that French-style baguettes are a common element of the diet. The filled baguette rolls, known as banh mi in Vietnam or nom pang in Cambodia are ubiquitous – particularly in the former – while in Cambodia baguettes are often available as an alternative to rice when accompanying curries and soups. We have seen banh mi shops in popular tourist destinations such as Hoi An, Hanoi or Siem Reap advertising gluten-free versions but as a widely eaten food amongst locals, these are not widely available. If ordering a curry or a classic kor ko beef stew in a local cafe the waiter will generally ask if you prefer rice or bread so no problems there. As opposed to Thai versions, Khmer and Vietnamese fried rice does typically use soya sauce so if your tour-leader isn’t present for that particular meal, either show them the above-mentioned note or offer them your personal bottle of gluten-free soya.
Stir fried dishes in both countries tend to favour fish sauce – nuoc mam (Vietnam), teuk tre (Cambodia) – for saltiness but check if soya is an ingredient. (Nước tương, Saigon and the south, (xì dầu, Hanoi and the north) and teuk si yoo – ទឹកស៊ីអ៊ីវ, តៅអ៊ីវ, សាអ៊ី, (Cambodia.) In the latter case it then depends upon whether the chef uses Thai or Vietnamese soya sauce since the former usually contains gluten while the latter usually doesn’t. (We did say it was complicated.)
The iconic Vietnamese noodle soup, pho, uses rice noodles as do the majority of other local noodle soups while fried noodles come in wheat and rice variants so you can check first. Many local desserts also use rice rather than wheat flour.
More good news for the gluten-free diet is that both spring rolls and the popular banh xeo, (Saigon pancakes) are both traditionally made from rice flour. (Note, we say traditionally and it may be worth checking in the latter case as certain recipes we’ve found do mix some all-purpose in with the rice flour.)
Banh xeo – Saigon pancakes – are traditionally made with rice flour mixed with turmeric Laos and Thailand
Probably the two easiest destinations for gluten free travel in Southeast Asia. You will see the French-style baguette sandwiches in Laos, albeit not to the same extent as in Cambodia or Vietnam but bread is largely absent from the Thai diet outside of modern junk food burgers and hotdogs. The salty element in stir fries and curries is generally provided by fish sauce so good news for gluten-free diets but not so great for vegetarians. (Thai for soya is similar to the Khmer, si you or yoo (ซีอิ๊ว). Conversely, oyster sauce is also commonly used and does contain small amounts of wheat flour as a thickening agent. Most Thai desserts also employ rice flour although you’d have to avoid the popular street vendor rotis which are made from wheat flour. Once again, most noodle dishes are available in rice or wheat flour versions. (The Chiang Mai signature, yellow noodle soup, khao soi, is an exception.)
Chiang Mai signature soup khao soi features soft and crispy wheat noodles Malaysia and Indonesia
Malaysia in particular combines Chinese, South Asian and Malay cuisine but it’s only the first where soya is likely to make an appearance’ However, wheat flour rotis and the filled version known as murtabak are ubiquitous in South Asian cafes and markets. Unlike Cambodia Thailand or Vietnam wheat noodles – mee – tend to predominate over rice flour noodles.
The Indonesian staple tempeh – vaguely speaking an elaborate form of soya-based tofu – is a complicated one and though traditionally gluten-free can vary so may be one to avoid.
Sri Lanka
Soya sauce is not widely used and noodle dishes are less ubiquitous than in Southeast Asia proper so, as above, the main offering to avoid is rotis and similar flat breads. Good news is that the classic Sri Lankan breakfast food, hoppers, are made from rice flour however, as far as we can see, the poppadoms that accompany many dishes could be made from rice, lentil, chickpea or presumably wheat flour so just check first or skip them.
Gluten free Sri Lanka. Hoppers feature at most Sri Lankan buffet breakfasts and are generally made from rice flour China/Yunnan
Very little bread involved and noodle dishes are predominantly, though not exclusively, rice flour-based so your main issue here is soya sauce. (Soya-based tofu is also widely eaten but we’re assured it’s naturally gluten-free.) An added issue is language with very little English spoken even in hotels and restaurants – a problem exaggerated by a relative lack of Western tourists in these parts. We have seen gluten-free dishes on menus in a few boutique-style tourist lodges but it’s rare. A Chinese script note from your tour-leader is going to be of use in Yunnan. Regrettably no way around the popular dumplings or momos seen in any Tibetan eatery which are traditionally made from barley flour.
All destinations
Beer! Unlike in European countries, gluten-free beers are not commonly served in bars or restaurants in Southeast Asia and local brews are made from wheat, barley or rye or combinations of.
We’re uncertain why soya sauce contains gluten but tofu doesn’t, but as we said, we’re not food science experts. Overall then gluten-free travel in Southeast Asia is generally straightforward, aside from the soya sauce complications, and won’t preclude sampling the vast majority of local specialities. Maybe pack a bottle of gluten-free soya, ask your leader for a local language note and bear in mind rice flour noodles are generally white colour and wheat flour, yellow.
Finally, you’ll notice we’ve liberally used terms such as ‘usually, generally, traditionally etc’ and none of the above is written in stone so excuse our frequent vagueness and, at the end of the day, how careful one chooses to be, depends largely upon the individual’s level of intolerance/allergy.
