(Disclaimer: It’s still dark in L.A. and I have terrible jetlag, so pardon the title.)
One key to adapting to celiac is finding products to simulate a normal diet. Gluten has surprised me in a few forms, but the most devastating has been soy sauce. Must this take away all Chinese and Japanese food? But I’ve been able to find a decent alternative thanks to San-J.
The company makes tamari, a healthier version of soy sauce made with soy beans. 
They make several versions (including two with wheat), but have two wheat-free varieties. It’s fermented and preservative-free, so it’s mostly better than regular soy sauce. It has a deeper caramel flavor. Nutritionally, it’s similar to low-sodium Kikkoman. The soy sauce has 10 calories per tbs, while tamari has 15 and a tad more sodium.
I keep my soy sub in a Ziploc bag in the fridge and bring it with me to sushi restaurants (when I remember. I’m still working on that part.). I’ve come to like it better than the real thing for imparting flavor in cooking. (You’ll soon see!)
And you can benefit from tamari in the kitchens of a few restaurants. You should always call ahead to be sure, but Scott Drewno of The Source often has it on hand.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Metrocurean // Jun 8, 2008 at 1:17 am
You know, I’ve bought this before without much thought to what it actually was. And I use it to make tamari almonds.
2 melissa // Jun 8, 2008 at 9:45 pm
amano wheat-free tamari (the one with the green label) is also great — when i stopped seeing “gluten-free” and started seeing “this product manufactured in a facility that processes wheat” warnings on the san-j sauce (this may only be in canadia), i switched to that one.
if you go for sushi frequently, your restaurant of choice may simply do what they do for me — keep your bottle of tamari in the drink fridge for you. so much better than having to remember and cart around the bag of soya sauce.
3 Gluten-Free Steak, Chicken and Veggie Fajitas | Gluten Freebird // Jul 11, 2008 at 4:43 pm
[...] if you want it to stand out in a boring tortilla with flaccid vegetables, which get a boost from wheat-free tamari. And leftovers go great on a CSA-butter-lettuce salad. So here [...]
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