Celiac-Safe Foods In Thailand Part 1: Breakfast, Snacks & Sauces

Believe it or not, Thailand is a great destination for Celiacs.  Because the country’s staple is rice, not wheat, there are plenty of naturally gluten free options to choose from.

Breakfast in Bangkok

Let’s start with breakfast.  In my opinion, this was the easiest meal and I think I ate more at breakfast than I did at dinner. Most hotels offer both Western and Asian items, so you’ll see everything from traditional eggs to thai curry, sushi and rice porridge.  Ask if your hotel can walk you through the breakfast selections to tell you what’s safe or not – most hotels are very receptive to food allergies.  Each morning I ate yogurt, fresh fruit, eggs (usually an omelet), Thai curry with rice and gluten free bread (if they had it).  I’m telling you, I feasted at breakfast!

Mouth full of bamboo sticky rice

Snacking is also super easy in Thailand. My favorite go-tos were bamboo sticky rice and banana leaf rice.  Both are slightly sweet and can be found just about anywhere.  The banana leaf sticky rice is easy to eat as you just unwrap the leaf but the bamboo can be a bit trickier.  To open the bamboo, squeeze the top of the stick together to create cracks in the stem.  Remove the grass from the top of the stick and peel the stick down to reveal the rice.  I promise it’s delicious and filling!  If you’re not feeling up for rice, fresh fruit is also readily available.  Smoothies are also pretty easy to find but be careful, the ice may not be made with filtered water.

Another great breakfast!

The sauces are where things get a bit sticky (pun intended).  Thailand‘s main sauce is fish sauce, not soy sauce, and while this is a mini victory for Celiacs, it’s not a 100% safe bet. Below is a list of common sauces used in Thai food and what you need to know based on my research:

·       Fish Sauce: low-moderate risk

o   Thai translation: námplaa

o   Gluten free brands (based on my research): Tiparos, Squid, Golden Boy.

o   Not gluten free brand: Three Crabs

o   Found in: noodle dishes, fish dishes, can be in curry and pad thai, also served as a condiment

·       Oyster Sauce: high risk

o   Thai translation: Naam Man Hoy

o   Found in: stir-fried vegetables, meat/seafood/noodle dishes

o   Most sauces do contain wheat flour in them.  Make sure to ask or verify before eating!

·       Tamarind Sauce: low risk

o   Thai translation:

o   Commonly found in soups and noodle dishes

o   Most tamarind sauces are gluten free; in fact, I haven’t found one that isn’t yet!

·       Plum Sauce: high risk

o   Thai translation: Hoisin

o   Commonly found in Chinese dishes; stir fries, added to meat as a glaze or served as a dipping sauce

o   Most plum sauces have wheat flour in them.

·       Soy Sauce: high risk

o   Thai translation: Naam See Eew Khao; See Eew

o   Commonly found in Chinese dishes

o   Most soy sauces contain wheat flour.

o   Note: some international restaurants will carry gluten-free soy sauce but be sure to ask before ordering!

Interested in researching other sauces, ingredients or brands?  One of my favorite resources was www.importfoods.com.

Tips for Traveling to Thailand with Celiac Disease

One of my best friends and I decided a few years ago that  one year we’d travel for both of our birthdays.  Sounds quite ambitious I know, but with enough planning and airline miles we made it work! My birthday in September was spent in Italy (posts coming soon) and her birthday in February was in Thailand.   

Thailand is a great gluten-friendly destination as most of their culture revolves around rice, not wheat. That being said, the vast majority of Thais will not understand what gluten is, so I did a TON of research before our trip.  I’m happy to report that I never once got glutened during our 11 day trip and hope that my tips and research will help you as well!

Tips for Traveling to Thailand with Celiac Disease:

1.  Use the hotel reservation comment box to your advantage.

Make sure to alert your hotel before check in of your special diet.  I was surprised to find that my hotels went out of their way to make sure they had gluten free bread ready for me at breakfast.  They also graciously walked me through the breakfast buffet and explained what was safe to eat.  I’ve found that this is the case with most hotels as long as you give them enough of a heads-up.

            2. restaurants beforehand and store their locations.  

Callie downloaded an app called CityMaps2Go and it was a real life saver.  It’s a map that allows you to store points of interest (attractions, your hotel, restaurants, etc.) but doesn’t run on WiFi – so no international roaming charges!  I highly recommend storing restaurants with gluten free selections in this app before leaving.

3. Pack plenty of snacks.

I packed about 3 meal bars for each day we were over there along with a package of rice cakes, a jar of peanut butter and a box of crackers.  Make sure to take a good amount of snacks on the plane as well.  While most of the long-haul flights offer gluten free meals, many of the shorter routes do not.

4.  Bring your translation cards.

These are absolutely essential! I took these everywhere I went and everyone I presented them too was really receptive.  I’d suggest bringing two copies just in case one gets lost or messy (I had one chef assume it was his to keep and threw it in the trash).

5. Ask your hotel concierge to write a simple allergy card.

This may seem redundant if you have your translation cards, but I found this was a much faster and more relatable tactic to use when on the go.  I had my hotel concierge write out  "No Soy Sauce. No Wheat. No Oyster Sauce.”

Quick allergy card my hotel wrote for me

6.   Have an idea of safe food options.

Plain rice, bamboo sticky rice and banana leaf rice were all my favorite go-to snacks while in Thailand and most could be purchased absolutely anywhere.  I’ve also developed an extensive translation card where I’ve noted what should be okay and what shouldn’t be okay.  (More about that in a later post)

7.    If the sauce is dark and you’re in doubt, go without.

While Thailand’s sauce of choice is fish sauce, not soy sauce, a few varieties of fish sauce actually do contain wheat.  The same goes for plum sauce and oyster sauce as well.  So, if you’re served a dark sauce and the restaurant cannot verify that it is wheat-free, go without.  [See post about safe foods for a list of gluten-free fish sauce brands]

Bangkok's Grand Palace