This month we celebrate foods from China with recipes that present Chinese style foods with all their pungent flavors and aromas and without gluten. The majority of traditional Chinese cuisine is gloriously and naturally gluten-free. The most common problem ingredients are soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce and wonton skins, which are basically a wheat noodle. Other than these few ingredients, Chinese food is a wonderful cuisine for the gluten-intolerant, as even the problem foods can be easily substituted.

Wheat-free soy sauce is widely available in natural food stores. San-J Wheat-Free Tamari is probably the most widely distributed. Gluten-free hoisin sauce can be made at home with our recipe in our Sauces, Marinades & Salsas category, or a brand is also available pre-made through the Gluten Free Pantry's online shopping mall at www.glutenfree.com. We also have a recipe for 'Shrimp & Pork Stuffed Wontons' in our Appetizer category that is incredible! In this recipe, we make the wonton from scratch from gluten-free flour. Unfortunately, we haven't found a pre-made substitution for oyster sauce, so we simply combine a few ingredients to mimic the nuance of oyster sauce like fish sauce, gf soy sauce and gf ketchup.

Other common ingredients used in Chinese cooking that are gluten-free are bean curd, bean sprouts, chili oil, cilantro, dried mushrooms, dried shrimp, fermented black beans, ginger, garlic, rice noodles, rice, rice wine, rice vinegar, sesame oil, Szechuan peppers, scallions and star anise.

Cooking techniques and food specialties vary throughout the vast regions of China. Northern China brings us the delectable and world famous Peking Duck. A few years ago, we did a class on making Peking Duck at home. It is quite an involved process, but well worth the effort. Also from Northern China comes Mongolian cooking. Try our recipe for Mongolian Beef and what we call Mongolian Fondu.

Southern China cuisine is often referred to as Cantonese. Dim Sum, little snack foods, originate from this region and are prepared largely by steaming. Critical to Cantonese cooking are the textures, flavors and colors of a dish. Stir frying slivers of meat and vegetables is considered an art that blends not only ingredients, but marries food types to create a perfect balance. Try this month's Mu Shu Chicken with Chinese Pancakes.

Stir-fried Scallops in Black Bean Sauce

Shanghai in eastern China is home to an abundant repertoire of fish and rice and soup dishes. Try this month's Stir-fried Scallops in Black Bean Sauce and Ground Beef Soup with Ginger. This soup will surprise you with its wonderful undertones of ginger and fresh cilantro.

Rice Noodles with Ground Beef

The foods of western China are influenced by India, Nepal, Laos and Vietnam. From this region comes Szechuan style cooking and presents some of the spiciest dishes throughout China. Try this month's Szechuan Beef, Halibut w/Szechuan Chili Sauce, Szechuan Chicken w/Peanuts, Noodles with Spicy Meat Sauce, Spicy Eggplant or Szechuan Cucumbers for a great appetizer to serve with an Asian style meal.

Forget the local Chinese restaurant and create your own fabulous gluten-free Chinese meals with recipes like Simmered Chicken Wings, Grilled Chinese Chicken Wings, Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Chinese Spareribs, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Shrimp & Pork Fried Rice, Rice Noodles with Ground Beef or Chinese Chicken Salad.

Next time your family craves Chinese food, amaze them with the best Chinese food this side of Hong Kong!