I remember saying when I was a kid …
“When I grow up, I’m going to eat anything I want!”,
And I did.
Until I couldn’t …
As I get older each year, it seems like I’m adding yet another thing to the list of things I can’t eat or drink. I mostly deal with heartburn and indigestion. It sucks, but there are many people that deal with a way worse problem, they can’t eat gluten, at all …
Gluten intolerance is a tricky thing to deal with. In a perfect world you just avoid beer, bread and pasta and you’re good to go, but the problem is that gluten is found in way more products than you think, and products you wouldn’t even think would have gluten, like teriyaki sauce!
If you suffer from gluten intolerance, I have great news! You can enjoy the tiki lifestyle gluten free, but there are a couple things to watch out for.
First let’s talk about the things you can’t have. Most Hawaiian mixed plates contain Kalua Pork, white rice and macaroni salad.
Unless the macaroni itself is gluten free, you will have to pass on the mac salad. Now, mayonnaise is usually made from just eggs, oil, vinegar and lemon juice, but you have to be very careful because there’s always the risk of cross contamination or some extra ingredient may have gluten. The good news is that you can eat all the rice and pork you like, just make sure no sauces were added to the pork for added flavor. Oh yeah, sadly you’re going to have to pass on the Hawaiian rolls, but that’s okay because you can fill up on tiki drinks instead!
Most tiki drinks are rum based, which has no gluten. There’s a couple of drinks like the Singapore Sling, that has gin, or the Honi Honi, which has whiskey, but that’s okay anyway because all spirits are gluten free. There isn’t much beer drinking going on in tiki bars, so no one is going to look at you funny for drinking a drink with a flower and an umbrella in it!
But what about all the other ingredients that go into tiki drinks?
I’ve had my share of tiki drinks and I’m very familiar with everything that goes in them, so here’s what I can tell you …
Lemon, lime, grapefruit, pineapple, and orange juice are gluten free.
Coco Lopez and cream of coconut are gluten free.
Pretty much all syrups that are used in tiki drinks like orgeat, falernum, passionfruit, and Don’s Mix are gluten free. I recommend making your own or using BG Reynolds syrups …
As you can see, you can enjoy the tiki lifestyle very easily while avoiding gluten. So drink up and have a gluten free Mai-Tai for me!
Thanks for this. As someone who deals with Celiac disease I can tell you it can be a bummer at Chinese / Polynesian restaurants. And unfortunately it can be much more serious than many realize. If your in the food service industry and a patron questions gluten Please Please Please take it seriously.