Tag: Vietnamese

Redemption, Neal’s Yard

During a recent weekend I’m London I headed to Redemption in Neal’s Yard for lunch and was certainly glad I did. Redemption is a vegan, sugar-free and wheat free cafe with an alcohol-free cafe and bar. For vegan coeliacs like myself it is a perfect spot!

Often when I eat out I either have to adapt an existing menu or have one option to eat so I was totally overwhelmed with the choice available at Redemption. Because I’m also allergic to some nuts and all mushrooms as well as having coeliac disease and lactose intolerance even some vegan and gluten free places can be tough to eat at. It was had to decide on one dish so in the end I went for the Buddha bowl with a selection of suitable tasty treats from the deli. The beetroot humous, the turmeric cauliflower and the vegan mint yogurt dressing made this salad bowl a real treat.

On the side I had some hand cut chunky chips with a mustard seasoning and some spicy mayonnaise.

To follow up I shared a gluten free banana loaf slice served with banana, vegan cream and fresh banana.

I would highly recommend eating at Redemption, either at their Neal’s Yard bar or at the other locations around London. The food is made more enjoyable by the chilled out, light and unpretentious surroundings. It’s a great choice for so many free from diets and tasty for all who visit.

Five Rivers at Cutlery Works Sheffield

I’ve been to the Cutlery Works a few times and always been excited at the amount of choice available for coeliacs and vegans. Every time I go I try a new dish from a different vendor and I was really pleased with this choice of meal from Five Rivers Vietnamese.

This is the Bún Noodle Salad featuring twice fried tofu, vermicelli noodles, carrot salad, mint, coriander, spring onion, cucumber and red cabbage.

It was so filling and delicious. I almost didn’t have space for the summer rolls filled with noodles, veggies and curry tofu.

All gluten free and vegan dishes are marked on the menu so you can plan in advance what you are having. Although you order through an app you can add notes about dietary requirements and allergy needs.

I will definitely be eating at Five Rivers again as I loved this meal.

Crunchy Vegetable and Crispy Vermicelli

This blog features a number of rice noodle recipes so itwon’t come as a surprise they are one of my favourite foods! This is another classic and I hope you enjoy it.

Chop broccoli, carrot, courgette, red pepper and spring greens and add to a large wok with oil, garlic, chilli and ginger.

Whilst the vegetables cook blanch the Vermicelli in boiling water for approximately 5 minutes. This will soften and cook the noodles whilst retaining some crunch to help them crisp when they are added to the stir fry. Drain and dry the noodles before adding to the stir fry and continuing to cook for a further 10 minutes.

I love the texture of this noodle dish. A perfect meal for all coeliac vegans!

Gluten free, vegan Vietnamese rolls

Although I have a very restricted diet due to coeliac disease, allergies and veganism I always wonder why people think I can’t get variety in my food. I love trying new things and thanks to travel, the internet and of course immigration we have so many different cuisines available in the UK.

Today I have used Vietnamese roll rice papers to create beautiful gluten free, vegan rolls using crunchy fruit and vegetables. I found the rice paper rolls in the world food section, the ones I am using are produced and exported from Vietnam but looking online I see the Blue Dragon brand are gluten free and widely available.

They may look like a fancy or time consuming meal but really this is so simple. Start by prepping the vegetables and chopping into baton shapes. I used 2 large carrots, a large avocado, half a mango and half a cucumber in mine and this made 10 super filling rolls.

Then fill a large mixing bowl with warm water. Take one of the dried rice paper sheets and soak it in the warm water for 15 – 20 seconds. It’s important the sheet is submerged or only one side will start to dissolve. The rice paper should become really pliable and flexible once it’s been held in the water.

Spread it out on a dry surface and the. Stack your choice of raw vegetables into the middle of the roll in a rectangular shape. Now comes the folding! I’ve found that it’s best if you fold in the edges that would be the short sides of the rectangle first and really press them down tightly to the vegetables. Then fold in over the paper left on the longer sides and wrap them around.

Repeat these steps as many times as you need to for the perfect number of rolls.

Served with a little sweet chilli sauce or gluten free tamari for dipping these are a healthy, easy treat to help you increase your raw veg intake. So tasty!