Gluten-free diet? Try Rice Flour Instead

Flour for Thickening only?
Most people learn that rice flour and all purpose flour both work well as thickening agents for soups, sauces and gravies. Both are suitable for making roux and slurry-thickened sauces and can be used interchangeably in recipes calling for either.

We are here to tell you that our Asian diet is mainly using "Rice" and we can make Chinese Cake called: Glutinous Rice Pudding with Red Beans which with the suggestion from our department of health as "Diabetes-Friendly Recipes". If you are not sure what kind of Chinese herbs was that, then actually you can try the Chinese Diets, we also use the good common herbs such as "dried tangerine peel" (should be 5 years naturally dried) to get a healthy body.

Chinese or most Asian are thin because rice is the major diet in old days, not until we start learning to make cake, bread and drinking milk when western food met Asian food.

Or we make Rice Cake called: Making HK White Sugar Sponge Cake

Is rice always Gluten-Free?

In most cases, yes: rice is gluten-free. Plain rice — regardless of whether it's whole-grain brown rice, polished white rice, long-grained basmati rice or even exotic black rice — is always considered gluten-free, assuming it's been protected from gluten cross-contamination in processing and cooking. (I share more about the safest brands of rice below.)

But you need to beware of flavored rice mixes, since these can contain gluten ingredients, and often do.

Surprisingly, the type of rice called glutinous rice, also known as sticky rice or sweet rice, is gluten-free. Despite the name, it doesn't contain the form of gluten that's dangerous to those of us with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity; the term "glutinous" simply refers to the fact that glutinous rice gets glue-like, or sticky, when cooked.

source from: https://www.verywell.com/is-rice-gluten-free-562773
By Jane Anderson - Reviewed by a board-certified physician.

Rice Flour is different with Rice Starch

Mostly we use for the thickening in Hong Kong called Corn Starch.

Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye.

Rice flour is a particularly good substitute for wheat flour, which causes irritation in the digestive systems of those who are gluten-intolerant.

Rice flour is also used as a thickening agent in recipes that are refrigerated or frozen since it inhibits liquid separation.

So, where can you buy Rice Flour in your country, I find that in US is pretty dominant for only 5 brands. In Asia, you have lots of choices, most rice seller at least provide you 5~10 types even in jasmine rice only, exclude the Glutinous Rice.
However, I just tell you that you can make your own Rice Flour at home, if you subscribe my newsletter. haha.

When I am talking about choosing rice, I am a very choosy person and need to smell it, look at it shiny without white spot. Thus I almost pay the most expensive one from my selection. There are new rice and old rice, the new one is better when you make the congee.

The most common one we use for HK snacks are:
Rice Flour 粘米粉 and Glutinous Rice Flour 糯米粉 , you will need to mix accordingly and I will explain them their characteristic in later chapters.

The Red color is Rice Flour and Green color is Glutinous Rice Flour for this brand, it is famous, but not the best and I found there are some fake selling in China too.
Thailand has very good reputation making both of them in many different brands, you should try yourself until which one satisfy you most.

Rice Flour 粘米粉 แป้งข้าวเจ้า
Glutinous Rice Flour 糯米粉 แป้งข้าวเหนียว

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