Korean Job Discussion Forums

[crazy teacher]

Anyone know of anywhere I can get wheat free products like pasta and/or bread.

I seriously crave it and the normal stuff isnt very good for me. I end up falling asleep all the time or my stomache feels like it is going to explode!

Please help!

[simone]

" gluten-free diet means not eating foods that contain wheat (including spelt, triticale, and kamut), rye, and barley. The foods and products made from these grains are also disallowed. In other words, a person with celiac disease should not eat most grain, pasta, cereal, and many processed foods. Despite these restrictions, people with celiac disease can eat a well balanced diet with a variety of foods, including gluten-free bread and pasta. For example, people with celiac disease can use potato, rice, soy, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, or bean flour instead of wheat flour. They can buy gluten-free bread, pasta, and other products from stores that carry organic foods, or order products from special food companies. Gluten-free products are increasingly available from regular stores."


I don't have any health problems myself, but I'm pretty sick of the white bread and pasta.

Oddly enough, I've seen more rice and buckwheat flour here in Korea than simple whole wheat.... Get a breadmaker? A pasta maker?

I've been craving a breadmaker for a while - had one years ago and gained 15 lbs. I used to take the dough out and make pretzels, cinnamon buns, everything. Mmn.

So yeah, get a breadmaker, interrupt it before baking begins, and make rolls and little pan loaves... much more attractive than those awful shapes the machine bakes them into.

Oh yeah, and soba noodles, they're mostly buckwheat. Should be fine for you.

[OiGirl]

Most brands of bi bim myun are supposed to be made with buckwheat. There is also a kind of "potato ramen." But I suspect these products both have a high wheat content.

[skookum]

You didn't say whether you have celiac disease - there are other kinds of wheat allergies as well. I'm allergic to wheat but not to gluten. So, what to eat....

1- ddeok. You can get this at rice cake stores. All kinds of it exist, but if you have a hankering for bread - there are kinds that can be cut into slices (small, NOT toaster size) and you can spread butter on. These come in big white or green squares. Right now I'm hacking away at some very soft gummy ddeok that is full of beans. But there are many kinds - sweet, not sweet, plain, fancy. None of them have wheat flour except some ddeokbokki ddeok. (Much of the ddeokbokki you see on the street is made with wheat cake - I think this is something new. Anyway, the kochujang they use in that red dish also contains wheat.) The more bread-like among the ddeok family may have barley flour however, so if you have a gluten allergy, that could be a problem..... Ddeokguk - have you eaten that - its ddeok is a little like a flat oval noodle. You could always get ddeokgukddeok in the supermarket and put tomato sauce and cheese on it if you get desperate....

2- flours. They have a bad habit in this country of mixing flours. Corn starch may have wheat flour. Same with potato flour. You need to look for mil-karu or so-maek-pun in the ingredients list. You can still get wheatless flours, but hafta look around.

3- hidden offenders. Kochujang as I mentioned, also twenjang. Both are made with plenty of wheat. Supposedly they make some without it but I haven't been able to find it. Maekkoli is anywhere from 40% to 70% wheat.

4- pasta. In the West you can get all kinds of wheat-free pasta. In Southeast Asia too. But here about the only common wheatless noodle is the yam noodle they use for chap chae. You can get rice noodles in a few places - some big supermarkets, also places that sell Filipino, Vietnamese, Thai, etc. food. They are pretty expensive here. I got some packet of rice noodles with flavouring and all from a little store near the Bukbu Bus Terminal in Daegu. Let's see, maybe my old thread has some sources in Seoul....

5- Buckwheat noodles all contain wheat in this country. The traditional Daejon type have the least - around 10% wheat - the others are worse. The only 100% buckwheat noodles that I know of are made in Japan and I haven't seen them in Korea. Maybe someone else has (though they're not that common in Japan either...)

6- Pindaeduk. This is made from Mung bean flour. If you ever want a pancake-type item (though savory and not what you'd put maple syrup on) consider this tasty delicacy. Potato pancakes may or may not have a little wheat in them - I haven't had a bad reaction from them. They are tasty even though a disgusting grey color and are sold in the odd restaurant in this country. You can make your own - look for wheat free potato flour - it is out there....

7- Odeng. This fish cake is made with wheat. If you order kimbap ask them to leave out the odeng.

8- Be creative - in this country it ain't gonna be like mama usta make. That's true whether mama was a Korean or a Westerner. Fortunately I like Korean food, and cooking too.....

It's common for people to crave the item they are allergic to. Wheat may give you a bit of a high before it makes you feel bad. Try going cold turkey from wheat for a week or more, then chug down a lot of ramyun or udong. You'll notice the process more clearly.

Can you tell whether your alereugi is to wheat or is it to gluten? What effect does barley (with gluten but not wheat) have on you?

[Son Deureo!]

Good post, skookum.

Crazy Teacher, are you in the Seoul area? If so, I can tell you quite a bit.

In Seoul, it's very easy to find Vietnamese style rice noodles, both vermicelli and linguini style. W2000 a pack. If you really want rice spaghetti noodles, I know of a place in Ilsan that sells them.

I have also found a bakery that sells 100% rice bread in Incheon. It's called GRB/�׸���. It's a chain, but a small one that as far as I know only has stores in Incheon and Bucheon. The bread you want is called �� ���� �� ���� �Ļ�. They will deliver free for orders of 5 loaves or more. Now if only I could find their phone number...

The branch I go to though, is outside of Exit 6 of Gyesan station in north Incheon.

If you want rice flour, be sure to ask for �������. Otherwise they'll give you sticky rice flour, which is pretty useless for most Western recipes.

Also, if you don't have an oven it's easy enough to get a small oven that's the size of a crock-pot for about W100,000 to let you do all kinds of baking on your own.

One last thing, now that you're in Korea, you can finally have doughnuts! Just go to any bakery and ask for ���� ������. They're usually filled with bean paste, but don't let that put you off if you've never tried it before, they're delicious.

Good luck!

[simone]

So a good year later, I'm having the old symptoms, and my mother tells me on the phone that a good quarter of my cousins have either celiac or wheat allergy - not sure which one.

Anyone know of a doc in Seoul familiar with celiac / wheat allergy who can give me a real diagnosis without the average 11 years it takes to be properly diagnosed ?(according to a morning of googling on the subject).

[Son Deureo!]

Sorry, I can't help you with the doctor, but I have news that's almost as good: a gluten free pizzeria that delivers! THank god for Koreans who are convinced that rice is "well-bing" and wheat is not.

It's called Im Sil Pizza, their crusts are 100% rice based, and the chain's national number is 1688-1010.

Since I've never had a wheat crust pizza, I have no idea how it compares to the real thing, but it tastes good to me!

[HamuHamu]

[moptop]

There is a bakery i go to near the Lotte Mart in Indeokwon/Beomgye area that has all rice products. Their rice bread is to die for, although a little expensive at 4,800 won for a loaf of about 8-10 slices. The slices are a pretty big size so I don't worry about it much. they have awesome breakfast cakes, regular cakes, cookies, rolls, and rice crackers. I don't know about the gluten content, but i have a pretty bad wheat "sensitivity" that gets no reaction if I eat these products. Next time I go there I can get the name and information for you. i usually go every few weeks and stock up on loaves to freeze. It's a half hour trip from my new place, but well worth it. The staff is super friendly and the last time I went I was able to supply the whole office with "service" treats they gave me. They also have a points plan that will get you discounts if you shop there a lot. If you can't get down south here, let me know because I often come into Seoul and can maybe swing some loaves your way. I'm actually going on Wednesday (tomorrow) so if you get the chance, PM me.

In a different direction, does anyone know the general testing procedures for Celiac disease? I was given a blood test by my doctor in Canada and she said I was borderline but not enough to get me the tax credit. I got the feeling she didn't really know what she was doing, though. I find it so bloody hard to eat anything that doesn't give me a reaction, and it's pretty much all grain based. It's getting worse too, and I worry about the health repercussions down the road. Any info would be appreciated...thanks.

[simone]

Wow, thanks for all the insta-feedback!

As far as bread goes, I have a breadmachine, so I'll be doing home baking... Just now looking for tapioca flour.

It's funny, I've never really been a huge bread fan - I just see it as a "easy meal" because the hubby likes to make sandwiches. Perhaps it's just been the kind of bread.... ?

So as part of my "non wheat"experiement, I'll actually be living on sandwiches - which I just tended to avoid. Maybe I'll be loving the sandies from now on!

Thanks for the pizza chain, too, Son Deureo!

[khyber]

I haven't read other people's posts OP but I'll just answer from my experience.

I was having the same problems.
I was eating rice (fairly big portions) every day. I did Atkins (don't get started on that...).

The one really REALLY great thing that I learned why doing that is my diet has an EXTRAORDINARY affect on my mood and my body. Like you, my body would CRASH after I ate. About an hour after dinner, I would fall asleep TEACHING a class. It was really terrible. Found out that my blood sugar levels were swinging worse than a chimp in a tire.

If whole wheat products STILL don't help...I'd suggest spending a couple weeks REALLY limiting all your carbs.

After about 5 days, I felt like a million dollars. ALL the time.

If I EVER start to feel like that again, I know EXACTLY what to do and that's comforting.

[HamuHamu]

[chronicpride]

[Son Deureo!]

[Novernae]