<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Hi Everyone, Sorry to take so long for this summary. Got so many responses
and they were still coming in until yesterday. So here's what I have found.
In short, some people feel very strongly that sushi, if ordered correctly,
is safe and some are unsure about it due to conflicting information and
danger of cross contamination (can happen in any restaurant though). We
obviously need to ask for wheat free soy sauce, no imitation crab meat, no
tempura, no tobiko (fish roe) which can contain gluten and inquire about what
is added to the rice and ask for a clean prep area.
I have copied some of the responses in hopes of giving you the most
information I can. Sorry this is so long but I wanted to pass on all the info I
got. Thank you everyone who responded. This group is so great to get
opinions and information quickly on a subject. I don't know what I'd do without
this resource! So here's what I got back.
Rice vinegar is made from rice, and is thus gluten-free....unless there's
some pesky additive that changes things. But I eat TONS of sushi, and my
blood tests have been clear for years.
Wasabi? The real thing is fine. Some especially good places grate their
own.
Tobiko is sometimes processed with wheat starch, so I stay away from it.
That's the fine-grained flying fish roe that coats an inside-out roll.
The spider rolls, anything tempura'd or deep-fried, ponzu sauce, the sauce
used on eel and sometimes, spicy tuna are off the menu for people with
celiac.
Real fish, real sushi rice, real wasabi and your own g-f soy sauce: lots to
enjoy.
The key to answering these sorts of questions is to type "xx (item) gluten
status" into Google. That's how I double-checked the answers I've given.
Some of the seasoned rice vinegars may not be gluten-free, but if
they're just using plain rice vinegar it shouldn't be a problem. The
wasabi and ginger do not contain gluten. There is the problem of cross-
contamination with the bamboo mat and I have occasionally seen
packaged nori that had soy sauce in it (& wheat).
Rice vinegar is GF. It's more likely she's getting sick from some
cross-contamination somewhere. I only typically order sashimi (tuna,
scallop, other fish) and rice. I also eat wasabi and pickled ginger and
have not gotten sick.
Hi, not sure about the rice/vinegar, but we found that some places use
ponzu sauce like a marinade and forget that soy is an ingredient in
it.
I think it depends on the restaurant. I am in Arizona, and there is one
chain -Ra- that says the sushi rice contains gluten. However, another chain
-Kona Grill- has a GF menu that includes rolls. I have eaten sushi rolls
many times and never felt sick afterwards...
Please post your findings if there more concrete responses. Based on my
own research, it seems the only type of vinegar that is NOT gluten-free is
malt vinegar, and I don't think that is used in sushi rice. All distilled
vinegars are gluten free, even if made from wheat.
Vinegar used to be a controversial topic as far as gluten goes, so I have
a feeling a lot of restaurants don't know for sure and want to play it safe.
I do know that many times the nori/seaweed used to wrap the sushi (on the
ones that have this) may contain a wheat starch sometimes to help it stick
together. Perhaps that is where she got the gluten?
I would say it is the sticky rice used in the sushi, as it has wheat used
as a binder for the product.
We stopped ordering sushi because the chance for contamination is nearly
100%. When they use the same prep area (cutting boards and knives etc.) the
gf sushi will be contaminated by any previous sushi containing tempura,
wasabi, soy sauce, etc.
Rice vinegar IS gluten-free. All vinegars, except MALT vinegar, are
gluten-free because of the distillation process. All that being said, SOME sushi
restaurants use malt vinegar in their sushi rice. Just ask. I eat sushi all
the time (it's my "fast food"!). Have a look at this article on it - hope
it will help! Best of luck to your daughter!
_http://blog.julesglutenfree.com/2011/02/gluten-free-label-reading-101/_
(http://blog.julesglutenfree.com/2011/02/gluten-free-label-reading-101/)
Rice vinegar is absolutely gluten free. Cross contamination might be a
concern but nothing in plain sushi would contain gluten.=
Try this link to Celiac.com, there is a page addressing this question:
_http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/topic/10529-rice-vinegar/_
(http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/topic/10529-rice-vinegar/)
I would think it depends on the restaurant. We have a few that
specifically make gluten free sushi rolls but it is limited beyond just imitation
crab meat and the soy sauce. Some of the other things can have gluten -
different fish is marinated or rolled in flour and various sauces etc I have not
heard that the rice was an issue or that rice vinegar was an issue but will
ask again at our GF sushi places.
Kikkoman rice vinegar does not list wheat or malt, and wheat would HAVE to
be listed.
You may find this post from NFCA's "Ask the Dietitian" blog
helpful:_http://www.celiaccentral.org/News/NFCA-Blogs/Ask-the-Dietitian/Ask-the-Dietitian/4
94/month--201103/vobid--5029/_
(http://www.celiaccentral.org/News/NFCA-Blogs/Ask-the-Dietitian/Ask-the-Dietitian/494/month--201103/vobid--5029/)
I gotta say, I've never heard of rice vinegar containing gluten. The only
other "suspect" I can think of when it comes to sushi is fish roe, and
these almost ALWAYS contain gluten. If she is ordering spicy "anything," it
seems like these almost always have flying fish eggs, and these look like
this:
_http://www.sushiencyclopedia.com/sushi_menu/flying_fish_roe_sushi.html_ (http://www.sushiencyclopedia.com/sushi_menu/flying_fish_roe_sushi.html)
-- sometimes they are just in the sushi like a spice ... or salmon roe:
_http://www.listoid.com/image/8/thumbs/list_2_8_20101104_041336_455_th.jpg_
(http://www.listoid.com/image/8/thumbs/list_2_8_20101104_041336_455_th.jpg)
And another thing I just thought of would be eel, which is usually broiled
in a teriyaki sauce:
_http://www.listoid.com/image/8/thumbs/list_2_8_20101104_040802_587_th.jpg_
(http://www.listoid.com/image/8/thumbs/list_2_8_20101104_040802_587_th.jpg) ... but it would surprise me, as careful as she is,
that she eats this.
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