34 replies to this topic

[Puckster]

I haven't eaten out since I was diagnosed (three weeks ago), but I'm planning on going to a sushi restaurant soon. I know I should bring my own soy sauce, and I can't eat the eel, but what can I eat?

[cornbread]

The safest bet is sashimi - just straight fish. It's expensive though. Any rolls that just have fish, rice and seaweed are fine. Just make sure there are no sauces. Most of the Japanese sauces contain some soy sauce. I usually just get sashimi but if I'm in the mood for rice, I'll get any plain fish/veggie rolls or nigiri (slice of fish on top of rice).

Word of caution though - tea! I was ordering green tea at my local sushi bar and eventually (having got sick) thought to ask what was in the tea. Turned out it contained barley.

[sspitzer5]

Make sure you stay away from imitation crab!!! Imitation crab is full of gluten. I got really sick eating California rolls early on in my gluten free diet.

Susan

[Puckster]

Thank you! I appreciate your taking the time to answer me... This is such a great forum.
Mariah

[cornbread]

Of course Susan - crab sticks! I forgot about that one...

From experience I have another piece of advice: If dining with others, request that your food is served on it's own plate. I have had a gluten-free meal ruined because all the fish was brought on the same big plate and someone else's eel sauce leaked all around the plate.

[kvogt]

Other areas of concern: ramen, gyoza, panko, tempura, curry rice mix, miso, dashi, salad dressing, marinades, tamago (omlete), flavored roe, fish cake, wasabi.

Not all have gluten, but may.

FYI - if you patronize a sushi bar, the chef will get to know your needs.

Also, you can get a great Japanese dining card at

Triumph Dining

Wakarimas ka?

[cinda]

Other areas of concern: ramen, gyoza, panko, tempura, curry rice mix, miso, dashi, salad dressing, marinades, tamago (omlete), flavored roe, fish cake, wasabi.

Not all have gluten, but may.

FYI - if you patronize a sushi bar, the chef will get to know your needs.

Also, you can get a great Japanese dining card at

Triumph Dining

Wakarimas ka?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

does wasabi have gluten??? uhoh!
cin

[elonwy]

I have yet to find a wasabi with gluten, I even have wasabi in a tube at home, and its nothing but... wasabi. I also am curious about the wasabi- gluten comment.
Miso soup by itself is gluten free, its when they get all fancy and add things to it like sauces, or at one restaurant I was at- noodles. Why would you put noodles in Miso? The whole point of miso is its broth, maybe with some green onions -grrr. I have yet to have miso out gluten-free, I make it at home though. I'm waiting for my triuph cards to re-attack my local sushi place on rolls, etc, no-one there speaks any english other that ok and thank you.
I eat sushi all the time though, and completly avoid sauces, powders and anything pre-cooked ( like eel). Haven't had a problem yet.
A girlfriend who I was explaining celiac disease to asked me " So you can eat all the sushi you want right ?? ..Whats the problem then?"
She was joking, I thought it was funny.
Elonwy

[lovegrov]

I also have yet to find wasabi with gluten.

richard

[Puckster]

Thank you all, your replies are very helpful. I heard somewhere that the sticky rice can have gluten in it, and that the seaweed (don't know the terminology) can too. Should I avoid rolls? Great news on the wasabi - I love it! What about the pickled ginger?

[cornbread]

Good to hear about wasabi - I was never sure on that one. What about pickled ginger? I'm wary of anything pickled incase it's malt vinegar. I expect it's rice vinegar in this case though, right? LOVE ginger.

[elonwy]

I have not come across any pickled ginger that was made from anything besides rice vinegar.
You're talking about Nori, which is the seaweed they use to make the rolls. It should be fine, unless its specially treated. The seaweed that is trouble is the kind they sprinkle on rice , its all chopped up with stuff added to it like sesame seeds and soy sauce( wheat) and right on the bottle - wheat gluten.
Regular Nori whould be fine, I've got some in my cupboard ( I shop at the Japanese marts here) and the ingredient is..seaweed. The thing with rolls, is they can add or drizzle sauces, and obviously anything with tempura is off limits and that can sneak in. Which is so sad because my favorite thing ever is a spider roll ( sigh). I'm hoping when I get the Japanese dining cards that I can convince them to do rice batter tempura ( or that they do already, I haven't been able to ask because of the language barriers).
Sticky rice is reffered to as glutinous rice because glutinous means sticky. Different thing. Unless they are completely insane, all sushi rice has is water, rice, rice wine and rice vinegar. The mix varies, depending on schools of thought. I make sushi at home sometimes and tend to skip the rice vinegar step cause it takes an extra half hour. Making sushi rice is an art, believe it or not. I have an entire book dedicated to it.
I'm also trying to find out if Age is gluten free - the fried soya cake they wrap the sweet rolls in. yum.
Kombu is a dried seaweed used in making dashi ( common japanese soup base) or sometimes in battleship rolls ( the ones topped with fish eggs, look like little battleships) It can be cured in soy sauce or sake, so if you dont know the source may not be safe.
Miso is usually made with dashi, so probably should be avoided out, as its very hard to determine gluten-free or not. Again, I make my miso at home, without the dashi base.
The rolled omelette usually is made with soy sauce so isn't safe.

A side note - The Gluten Free Bible recommends eating Miso out, as a safe bet. This is the latest in a series of inaccuracies ( mentioned by several others all over this forum) I wish I had not bought this book.

Elonwy

[otnemem]

Always double check with the restaurant or present a card with your needs. A few notes on sushi:

Wasabi is often made with wheat starch. The guy at my local sushi place knows everything about all of his food. He said that I can't have their wasabi, their miso soup, or their ginger/citrus salad dressing. These are all things to make sure about before eating.

I was down in Washington, DC a few weeks ago and my friend and I went out for sushi. I brought my Triumph card. The waiter consulted the chef and came back with a list of crossed out items. A lot of their fish was premarinated. This is something that I've never heard of before with sushi, and I'm not sure why it is, but the point is making sure is really important.

Another interesting note about that DC visit was that the chef said I couldn't have the sesame seeds either. I'm not sure why, but since then I order all of my rolls sans sesame seed and I haven't gotten sick.

I usually stick with raw maki or nigiri. Salmon, tuna, yellowtail, etc, with vegetable. And PS if you're uncomfortable carrying a bottle of gluten-free soy sauce everywhere, Kari-Out offers gluten-free soy sauce packets through their distributor. I believe it's about $10 for 100 packets... It's a huge convenience. The distributor's number is: 203-865-4119.

[skbird]

Sushi is just about the only place I eat out regularly. I bring my own sauce (Braggs Liquid Aminos, I can't have fermented tamari) and get simple rolls, fish, avocado, asparagus, etc. Last night we went out and for the first time I ordered the eel but when it came out I saw the brown and asked - yep, soy sauce or something in there. So that is a no-no.

Sashimi is also great. I avoid the miso soup - some misos are made with barley - better to be safe than sorry. Also, I am wary of broth.

I have found that even when my stomach is churning, sushi is a great meal for me - sometimes the only thing I can really get down. Thank goodness there's still something good I can eat!

Stephanie

[elonwy]

The thing with the sesame seeds is sometimes they use a seasoned sesame mix, and if it a dry shake-on type thing and its japanese its 90% of the time going to have wheat in it.
Where are you finding that Wasabi is made with wheat? Perhaps you mean the imitation wasabi? There is alot of that, especially in the non-traditional restaurants and fast-foody sushi, but pure wasabi is just ground root. The fake wasabi is usually made of horseradish, mustard and food coloring. I've been reading ingredients very carefully, have yet to come across anything in wasabi to cause concern.
Elonwy