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There are many things to consider when choosing gluten free flours.

* The glycemic index is a concern if you are diabetic, a celiac or just trying to lose weight.
* If you are allergic to other things as well.
* There is taste to consider. Not all flours taste the same to everyone.
* Whole grain. We all know it is healthier to eat whole grain. If it is important to you, you would choose whole grain flours.
* How a mix performs for you. Not all mixes are the same. You have to find one that is right for you.
* Digestion problems. People do not tolerate are flours well.
* Affordability. Some flours are very expensive. Since I own my own wheat grinder I grind my own brown rice flour and save a bundle. You can buy brown basmati rice anywhere they sell bulk foods. Try Asian markets as well.
* Availability. Sometimes you just can’t find the flours that a recipe calls for. That is where online shopping comes in handy, but now we are back to affordability again. I would rather tell a store manager what I need and see if he will get it for me. Remember if you want to buy it they want to be the one to sell it to you.

Sorghum Flour

This has become very popular gluten free flour and is ground from the seeds of the Sorghum plant. On the farm this was grown with the corn. The dairy farmers would harvest the sorghum and corn together, chop it and put it in a sloping pit, cover it with black plastic and pile old tires on top. In winter the plastic would be peeled back and the steam that rose off the top smelled sweet and earthy. It is called corn silage and the farmers serve this warm mixture to the dairy cows, who love it. The sorghum has a sweet nutty flavor and adds texture to gluten free bread.

Sweet Rice Flour

I buy brown basmati rice and grind it fine, unless I am making bread and then I grind it just a little bit coarser. It is also called sticky rice and it is the rice the Japanese use. I make Swedish Pancakes using the sweet rice flour. I have made them out of all-purpose flour for years and loved them. Then when I discovered I was allergic to all grains I started making them out of the sweet rice flour. May I tell you I find that they are more delicate out of the sweet rice flour and melt in your mouth? Sweet rice flour is the best at thickening sauces and gravies. If you miss fried chicken and never thought you could have it again, try this flour. It will be crispier than you remember your chicken being. It works well for anything you want to coat in flour.

Brown rice and white rice flour

Chinese food traditions have adapted freely with time. Over the course of more than 5000 years, these culinary practices have been devised and improved and have withstood the test of time. For example, steaming, a basic cooking technique, was used extensively long before the creation of the first dynasty. Through trade, non-native ingredients made their way to the kitchens of the court combining with the homegrown harvests to produce exceptional, unusual and surprising dishes.

A well prepared Chinese dish is expected to appeal to more senses than just taste. Its hues should be tantalizing to sight, the ingredients should be of uniform size and it should be fragrant. There should be contrasting tastes and textures within the meal; if one dish is crisp, it should be paired with another one that is smooth. A mild dish is paired with a spicy one, thereby always trying to create a balance. It is important to have this equality of yin and yang.

Real Chinese food is mostly vegetarian. Fats and meats are applied sparsely for punches of flavor and very few dishes involve deep frying. This is because fats and meats can be scarce and expensive in China. As a result, true Chinese food is quite beneficial to your health because most of the recipes are low calorie and low carb. Chinese people also prefer to use soy products instead of meat and dairy. Soy products or tofu is full of good fats and proteins and are a great alternative to meats because its texture can simulate the meats we all love.

Furthermore, Chinese food is quite cheap and easy to cook because it is a style of cooking that is very open to flexible interpretations of recipes and you can often use leftover ingredients to create new dishes. Chinese chefs have learned to make a lot with very little, and this can be applied in our kitchens to save money. Frugality is definitely a virtue in the Chinese culture, and it is sometimes said that a Chinese chef can make dirt and bark taste good. This is a tribute to the ingenuity and practicality of Chinese cuisine.

In conclusion, if you love Chinese food but feel guilty about eating it, then you should make it at home with fresh and healthy ingredients. You will find a new appreciation for the culture and genius of the Chinese people and improve your health at the same time.

Varieties of Chinese Noodles

The most famous way of making noodles in China is ‘la mian’ (or ‘chen mian). Noodles are made by simply stretching the dough with both hands. This type of noodle dishes are typical from Northwestern and central China. There is another famous way of making Chinese noodles, called ‘dao xiao mian’. In this case, the chef holds a well kneaded dough in one hand, and a knife in another. The desired shape of the noodles is achieved by ‘slicing’ the dough. There is a third variety of Chinese noodles, which is the one that I am going to discuss next in more detail. This third variety is called ‘shou gan mian’, which can be translated as hand-made noodles by using a rolling pin. The reader may have already guessed that ‘mian’ means ‘noodles’ in Chinese (it also means ‘flour’, depending on the context).

Typical Northeast Chinese noodles are really light, even if they are cooked with meat. They are very different from the ones that can be found in restaurants in Western Europe. The concrete recipe I will be describing in detail is called ‘da lu mian’. It is a very suitable dish for spring or summer, and very home-made, almost impossible to find in the restaurants in China.

Making the Noodles

Making good dough is the first step towards making good noodles. Firstly, the dough cannot be too soft, so one should be careful with the amount of water being used. To make the noodles more stretchable, it is a good idea to add salt and eggs to the flour when making the dough. The use of eggs, however, is not a must.

After making the dough, trying to roll it as thin as possible needs patience and determination. A useful device is the ‘pasta maker’ (in China it is obviously called ‘noodle maker’). The noodle maker is very helpful for cutting the noodles into even strips, as well as for saving a lot of energy. The disadvantage is that it is not easy to clean afterward. Here, I will describe how to make the noodles by hand.

To prepare the noodles by hand, follow the steps given next (the ingredients given are for three or four people).

• Mix three cups of plain flour with three quarters of a cup of water, one big egg and one table spoon of salt. Knead the dough well.
• Roll the dough into a thin sheet.
• Fold the dough sheet twice, make sure that you dust plenty of flour on the surface before folding.
• Chop the folded sheet into thin strips.
• Loosen the strips, dust more flour if needed.

Then, boil the prepared noodles in water (you can add salt to avoid the noodles getting stuck together). And, after removing the noodles from the sauce pan, rinse them well in cold water. The noodles are cold now and ready to be served.

The Sauce