Le Veneziane gluten-free pasta

A few months ago, I joined a GF group on facebook, and someone had posted a picture of Le Veneziane gluten-free spaghetti, made from corn.  So far, I had only tried rice-based pastas that I had ordered from iHerb, and I wasn't quite satisfied with the texture.  They seemed to go from chewy to mushy, with no sweet spot in between.

Today, we went to our local Bikkuri Saketen, which carries lots of imported food and beverages (they're part of the Yamaya chain).  Last week, I had asked the manager about Le Veneziane, but he said the local distributor didn't carry it.  I was pleasantly surprised today when he showed me the new addition to the pasta section:



Well, I just had some for dinner (sorry I didn't remember to take a picture), and it was surprisingly good!  It was much better than the other pastas I'd tried.  I did need to cook it for a few extra minutes, though.

Also, this Top Valu Best Price meat sauce from The Big (Aeon group), doesn't appear to contain any gluten.  Mixed with a can of chopped tomatoes and some extra spices and ground beef/pork, it makes a pretty good sauce.  Just make sure you get the one that says "Best Price" and double-check the ingredients.  Oh, and leave a comment if you'd like the recipe.



It's nice to have spaghetti Bolognaise back on the menu!

Gluten-Free Soy Sauce

チビキ 小麦を
使わない丸大豆醤油
photo courtesy of
Amazon Japan

Soy sauce is such an important part of Japanese cooking (and dining) that one of the first things I searched for when I made "the switch" was gluten-free soy sauce.  Fortunately, it didn't take long to find it.  It's called チビキ 小麦を使わない丸大豆醤油, or Ichibiki (brand) no-wheat-used soy sauce.  Notice that this product is wheat-free, not gluten-free.  I bought it on Amazon, and it's not terribly expensive.  The taste is a little different from standard soy sauce, and seems a little saltier (if that's even possible), but it does the job.

I keep one or two of these 33ml sauce bottles in my car, and bring them to Hamazushi when I take my daughter there.  By the way, you can request an allergen printout at the register, and it will tell you which of their products contain wheat (or other allergens) and which are possible cross-contamination risks.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find that list online.  Also, the copy that I have is 4-5 pages long, and it's a chart with the most common allergens.  Next time I go, I may ask if they can print out a chart that only shows the products containing wheat.

Kirin Nodogoshi Nama: Gluten-Free!

After reading the ingredients label on pretty much every brand and variety of beer (and beer-type beverages like happoshu and dai-san beer), I found three drinks that listed no barley or malt in the ingredients: Kirin Nodogoshi Nama (のどごし生), Sapporo Draft One, and Suntory Jokki Nama (ジョッキ生).  It's interesting that Asahi doesn't offer anything in this category (Asahi Clear contains barley).  Of the three, Nodogoshi is by far the most popular.  In fact, it's apparently the top-selling third-genre beer in Japan.  Rather than barley malt, Kirin uses soybeans to make Nodogoshi.

Looking at the ingredients (hops, sugar, soybean protein, yeast extract), I assumed that Nodogoshi would test negative for gluten (i.e. would be gluten-free), but I wanted to be as sure as I could.  "Yeast extract" sounds a little iffy, doesn't it?  I had a few Gluten-in-Food testing kits left (see my earlier posts), so I decided to give it a shot.  Each test costs me about US$18, so I have to choose wisely.  Considering Nodogoshi's availability and popularity, it made sense to choose it over the other two.

As you can see, the test did not detect any gluten!  It would seem that Nodogoshi is a safe beer alternative.  Unfortunately, you won't find it in any bars or restaurants, so if you're a beer-only drinker like me, you'll have to find a way to BYOB.  I've asked at a few local places, explaining that I have an "allergy", and they've all been cooperative about it.  I always ask first, and I always insist on paying a corkage fee (a BYOB charge).  Of course, your mileage may vary.

Costco Hot Dogs

My previous two trips to Costco, I used a knife and fork to eat my food court hot dog, but last time, I brought some disposable chopsticks (waribashi), and when I ordered my so-se-ji dake hot dog, I also asked for a paper plate (kamizara).  They were very cooperative.

For ketchup and mustard, I also brought along some little paper bento cups that look like muffin pan liners.

Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

Late last year (2016), my girlfriend Tomoko brought me a surprise from Costco: pão de queijo, or Brazilian cheese rolls.  They're little golf-ball-sized rolls that you heat up in your oven.  Very cheesy, and gluten-free, too.  Pretty tasty, I might add.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of the ingredients on the package, and the Baker John website doesn't provide them, but apparently, they're made with tapioca flour/starch rather than wheat flour.

Recently, I found a different brand of Pif Paf brand pão de queijo at my local Gyomu Super (one of my favorite stores in Japan).  I believe these were ¥298 per package.  They're a little different from the Baker John ones, in that they don't appear to be fully baked, and they take at least 30 minutes in the oven (I have a combination microwave-toaster oven).

They're both nice snacks when you're in the mood for something bready.  Here's a photo of the fully-baked Pif Paf rolls.  I cooked these for 35 minutes, then put them under the boiler for 5 minutes.  You can also pan-fry them (after they've been baked) for a crispier crust.

They're a bit soft (mochi-mochi) inside, so unfortunately, slicing them for mini-sandwiches isn't an option.  They do, however, go well with a fried egg and breakfast sausage.

Asahi Super Dry Beer: Not Quite Gluten-Free

I was holding out hope that Asahi Super Dry might test negative for gluten, as Corona apparently has, but no such luck.  It does, however appear to be very low in gluten, as evidenced by the very faint pink test spot on the left.

This bottle of Asahi Super Dry was purchased and tested (and later poured out) in Japan.  The testing kit is the Imutest Gluten-in-Food test.  Imutest claims it is sensitive down to 1-2 ppm for gluten, including hordein, the gluten present in barley.  The folks at Imutest unofficially estimated that the gluten content of this beer is “probably less than 1 ppm,” provided I conducted the test properly.

Less than 1 ppm… that’s pretty low, considering that “gluten-free” beers generally need to be 20 ppm or less.  Maybe I can have one or two of these once in a while.

HOWEVER, after some research and discussion, I've learned that this style of gluten testing, known as a sandwich ELISA test, is not as reliable as a competitive ELISA test, which must be done in a laboratory.  I was told by Emily at Emport (US distributors of the GlutenTox testing kits) that "malting and fermenting can break apart the gluten protein in unpredictable ways."  The folks at Imutest also advised me against using their testing kits to estimate gluten content.

THEREFORE, these test results may or may not be accurate.  Perhaps if enough people test this beer, we'll get a better idea of its gluten content.  If you do decide to test it, please leave a comment here.

NOTE: This test result was for Asahi Super Dry that was produced in Japan.  Versions of Super Dry brewed elsewhere may or may not provide the same result, due to differences in ingredients, filtering, etc.

Asahi Dry Zero Tests Gluten-Free

One of the hardest parts of going gluten-free was giving up beer.  I looked into various options, and I found that there are a few non-alcoholic “beers” that don’t list barley or malt as ingredients: Asahi Dry Zero, Sapporo+, and Kirin Perfect Free.  Of these, Asahi Dry Zero is the most popular, and it’s available at many bars and restaurants (including my favorite karaoke box).

I also discovered Polos Spirytus Rektyfikowany (スピリタス in Japanese), which is a Polish spirit similar to Everclear.  It’s 192 proof (96% alcohol).  If I want to go out and have a few beers, I fill some little soy sauce bottles with Spirytus and put them in my pocket.  One 13ml bottle, mixed with one 350ml can or bottle of non-alcoholic beer, will produce a mixture with an alcohol content (by volume) of about 3.5% (as opposed to 5% for a standard Japanese beer).  Of course, I can add more if I want to.  I even found a neat little page that will do the calculations for me, so I know how much I’m drinking.

After a little more research, I discovered a useful blog at lowgluten.org.  It’s written by a German guy named Steffen, who tests various beers for gluten content.  It inspired me to test a few myself, and Asahi Dry Zero was the first one that I tested.  I used the Gluten-in-Food test kit from Imutest, which claims to detect gluten levels down to 20 ppm in food, and down to an amazing 1-2 ppm in liquids.

The test did not detect any gluten.  Hooray!  I plan to test several more beers and related beverages, like Kirin Hard Cidre.  I’ve also heard that the original Nodogoshi is made with soy protein, rather than barley, so that’s next on my list.