Sushi

[schuyler]

I just found out that I'm going to be meeting a friend for dinner @ a sushi restaurant next week. She knows about my celiac and picked this restaurant because she thought that I could get something there.

So, sushi's just fish, rice, and seaweed, so it should be okay right?

I've never had sushi before, so I really don't know much about it (I actually haven't eaten fich since I was 5, but I'm willing to try sushi). Are there any sauces for sushi; if so, are they okay?

Any info would be awesome!

TIA

Danielle

[PeggyV]

I am not much of a sushi eater, but my daughter who is also gluten intolerant eats it. She brings her own soy sauce...a lot of soy sauce has wheat.

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

Avoid the sauces, the spicy rolls, the imitation crab, any rolls that have imitation crab in them,

Also avoid Mackerel (usually has soy sauce on it).

What is safe?

Most Sashimi and Naguri sushi is ok (except those containing soy sauce, crab or mackerel or eel).

I usually get 2-4 Naguri pieces of Salmon, 2-4 pieces of Tuna or Toro (Fatty Tuna), 2 pieces of shrimp, 4-6 pieces of Octopus (my favorite) and some edamames to stat (cooked soybeans).

Hope this helps,

BB

p.s. Elonwy knows more about sushi than I do - perhaps she will chime in...

[BRUMI1968]

I was told by my Japanese restaurant server that the vinegar they put in the rice had gluten in it, at least at her restaurant. Japanese food is actually really hard. I did the same thing - made a lunch date at Japanese thinking it would be perfect; then ended up with nothing to eat. Good luck.

[missy'smom]

I don't want to scare you. I love Japanese food but, I agree that Japanese is harder than it seems. My hubby is Japanese and I speak a little and have a basic knowledge of ingredients and cooking methods but am still researching the gluten issue. We're still trying to determine how safe miso soup is because of the presence of barley. As with processed foods in the U.S., There are so may variations on a product that you have to check the individual ones. And, unfortunately things are increasingly not made from scratch the old fashioned way. Also be aware that there is mayo in many rolls. I personally feel safer at restaurants that are run by Japanese and frequented by Japanese rather than the American chains. If it is an izakaya, a place that desrves a wide variey of small dishes and alcohol, you may be able to get some tofu, seafood and veg dishes that are safe or ask that they be prepared a certain way. In my experience, Japanese customer service is very good and they are very concientious(SP?) Ask them to substitute real crab meat for the imitation. It will be more costly but safe. And remember to ask about clean knife and cutting board incase they cut the rolls with tempura on the one that your rolls will be on.

The traditional vegetable based ginger salad dressing has soy sauce in it. I agree with broncobux recommendations. That's a safe way to go.

[GF ME]

Make sure you bring your own soy sauce. You can get wheat free soy sauce at Whole Foods and some asian markets.

Michelle

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

FYI,

distilled Vinegar is gluten free

Rice Wine Vinegar is gluten free

Apple cider Vinegar - check the label, but most is gluten free

Malt Vinegar - contains gluten

Apple Cider Flavored Vinegar - contains gluten

[tarnalberry]

I've never seen sushi made with malt vinegar or cheap balsamic vinegar or a recipe for any tesu mixture that would contain gluten, so the sushi rice should be just fine. Sushi is made with "glutinous rice" - that doesn't mean that it has the glutens that bother us, but comes from the overloaded us of the term and, in this case, merely means that it is sticky rice.

Soy sauce is a concern, and wasabi can be (though it's not really really common like soy sauce), sauces on sushi and fishes are a concern too, and miso is, but there are a few things that you can be pretty confident in, sushi wise, if you keep it simple.

[schuyler]

Thanks for all the info!

I called the restaruant, and they went over all the things I could eat there.

I already have my own tamari sauce, so I'll just bring that.

Hopefully I won't gag on the sushi =)