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Oops- Japanese Food = Wheat

BRUMI1968

By BRUMI1968
in Gluten-Free Restaurants

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BRUMI1968 Collaborator
BRUMI1968
Posted

I went to my favorite old stomping ground today for lunch with my mother; Aoki, my favorite Japanese restaurant. I knew it would not be the best, but thought sushi would be alright.

My server, Yoko who remembers my name no matter how long I am absent (I moved away years ago), was so great with the "wheat allergy". Anyway, I said maybe sushi, and she let me know that the vinegar they use to make sushi rice has wheat in it.

I had salmon ochozuke (rice, salmon, some spices, some seaweed, some wasabi, and green tea poured over the top). It was good. We'll see if "no wheat" equals "no gluten" in this instance - it was my first eating out experience since being dx'd and I guess I'll have to get used to asking to see the box.

anyway, boo hoo. I guess I'll have to learn to make my own sushi with gluten-free rice vinegar!

-Sherri

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queenofhearts Explorer
queenofhearts
Posted

Yikes! I thought they used rice vinegar! Sushi (no eel, no "spicy", my own soy sauce) was my safe haven for eating out! I'm a newbie so I don't get clear symptoms when I mess up. Am I glutening myself?

Leah

eKatherine Apprentice
eKatherine
Posted

I would be very suspicious of the authenticity of any Japanese restaurant that didn't use rice vinegar in their sushi rice.

queenofhearts Explorer
queenofhearts
Posted
I would be very suspicious of the authenticity of any Japanese restaurant that didn't use rice vinegar in their sushi rice.

My sushi spot is very authentic but communication is tricky since the sushi chef can't really speak English, & some of the servers have trouble too. Does anyone know the Japanese for vinegar? wheat? rice?

Leah

eKatherine Apprentice
eKatherine
Posted
My sushi spot is very authentic but communication is tricky since the sushi chef can't really speak English, & some of the servers have trouble too. Does anyone know the Japanese for vinegar? wheat? rice?

Leah

vinegar=su

wheat, barley=mugi, komugi

raw rice=komi

cooked rice Japanese style=gohan

Probably broken, but...

I can't eat wheat.

Mugi to komugi wa taberaremasen.

Is there wheat in the sushi vinegar?

Mugi to komugi wa sushi no su ni arimasu ka?

eleep Enthusiast
eleep
Posted

Another push for the Triumph dining cards -- there's one for Japanese cuisine and it covers all these specifics in both Japanese and English!

BRUMI1968 Collaborator
BRUMI1968
Posted
  • Author

Aoki is very authentic, thus the difficulty in communication. But I asked her specifically, "isn't it rice vinegar?". She said, "yes, but we get it in a huge box and the the box that it comes in says wheat." so I trusted that and got the ochozuke. She said they get several customers in with wheat allergy - though I bet not more than once.

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NicoleAJ Enthusiast
NicoleAJ
Posted

Many varieties of rice vinegar actually do contain gluten because they are brewed with grain alcohol--this is why she said it wasn't ok. You just have to check with the companies about which rice vinegars are ok and which are not.

tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted
Many varieties of rice vinegar actually do contain gluten because they are brewed with grain alcohol--this is why she said it wasn't ok. You just have to check with the companies about which rice vinegars are ok and which are not.

grain alcohol is distilled, and hence gluten free. (not to mention often comes from non-gluten containing grains.) distilled vinegar, even if it is derived from a gluten-containing grain, is gluten free.

queenofhearts Explorer
queenofhearts
Posted

Thanks for the info-- I ordered some Triumph cards today. I don't eat out all that often, but when I do it's usually ethnic, so that should help some!

Leah

kvogt Rookie
kvogt
Posted

BEWARE:

Imitation crab contains wheat starch. It is sometimes used in a lobster roll to fill it out. Also used for nigiri sushi; possibly used in seafood soups.

Ponzu sauce. Eel sauce. Chef might prepare/keep for you if you provide gluten-free soy sauce and you are a good customer. Suspect any brown sauce.

Prepared products they shake over rice, particularly for chirashi. These are usually dried bits of seafood, sesame seed, nori mixtures. Ask to read the label; some contain wheat flour.

Clear broth soups may contain tempura bits.

Best practice is to patronize a sushi bar and get to know the chef. Explain your needs and he will help you. He wants to keep you coming back.

munchkinette Collaborator
munchkinette
Posted

Also beware of miso soup, unless you made it yourself.

Miso soup is made with koji, which is aspergillus mold and a starter. That starter is usually rice or barley. You never know which one it is unless you buy it yourself. I've made it myself at home before.

NOTE: For those of you that live in a city on the west coast with a lot of Japanese people, you can MAKE your own sushi. My friend and I had a sushi party last month. We went to the Japanese market and bought the fish, which is sushi grade and in small packages. We made our own unagi (eel) sauce with tamari instead of soy sauce. It was great! I recommmend it to anybody who likes sushi.

skbird Contributor
skbird
Posted

Making sushi is fun and not hard to do. A couple of years ago my coworker and I made up the rice the night before and bought cucumber, carrot, avocado, imitation crab (HAS WHEAT!), sushi grade tuna and smoked salmon. We brought it in with nori (seaweed wrap) and a lot of plastic wrap, got everyone in the company in the break room, and we had a "Roll Yer Own Sushi Lunch". It was fun - people had a blast and had no idea it was that easy.

Another friend from that workplace just made and posted this video on YouTube.com - how to make sushi. It's really easy.

Stephanie

PS I miss miso. The real good stuff is awesome. BUT - I'm allergic to aspergillus (it's also in citric acid and fermented tamari, tofu) so :(

Enjoy some for me!

loraleena Contributor
loraleena
Posted

Whole foods uses gluten free vinegar in their sushi.You can have the raw tuna or salmon ones or veggie ones.

BRUMI1968 Collaborator
BRUMI1968
Posted
  • Author
Whole foods uses gluten free vinegar in their sushi.You can have the raw tuna or salmon ones or veggie ones.

Thanks. My nearest whole foods is about 1.5 hours away, but I happen to be off to that very place today. I'll check it out.

sspitzer5 Apprentice
sspitzer5
Posted
Whole foods uses gluten free vinegar in their sushi.You can have the raw tuna or salmon ones or veggie ones.

Hi, I've read that the sesame seeds on the sushi rice might contain spices that have gluten. Do you know if Whole Foods using plain sesame seeds?

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