Low FODMAP Scallion Pancakes are easy to make, with readily available ingredients. Enjoy these toothsome, savory Chinese restaurant specialties at home with a tangy, sweet/hot dipping sauce. Serve as a starter or alongside a protein for a meal.
There are a few tips and tricks: using a little extra xanthan gum for their distinct chew, taking advantage of the lift that the bubbles in club soda provide the dense batter and having everyone ready to eat them as soon as they are done. These don’t hold well.
Scallion Pancake Technique
If you are familiar with classic recipes for scallion pancakes you will know that they usually call for an unusual folding technique. The batter is typically heavier in structure and really more of a dough, which is divided into balls and needs to rest. The balls are then rolled out into flat discs, which are brushed with toasted sesame oil and rolled up jelly-roll style. Then, this spiral tube is tightly spun into a round, coiled spiral, which is then rolled out again. Flaky layers are created this way.
Gluten-Free Scallion Pancakes
In addition to being low FODMAP, my aim was to make the recipe gluten-free. My first few attempts utilized the classic techniques of rolling out, creating spirals and rolling again. I think I was on version three and still not very happy with the results when this recipe from Bon Appetit came across my desk.
It was so easy, and so straightforward, I couldn’t believe it would hold a candle to the others, but I did still need to find “the right” way to do this, FODMAP style, so I dove in. Bingo! With the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour, cornstarch and a little extra xanthan gum, I had found my blend of ingredients and technique.
So, now that you know that process that I went through, please, no emails telling me this is not “true” scallion pancake technique. I know that. My goal was to bring you a low FODMAP gluten-free scallion pancake that folks could make fairly easily at home. Goal accomplished!
You will notice that this recipe calls for Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour in addition to cornstarch as well as extra xanthan gum (there is already xanthan gum in the flour blend). During recipe development and testing I tried various flours (like King Arthur Measure for Measure) and what I call for here below is what I found to work best. The extra xanthan provides the crave-able chewy texture that scallion pancakes are known for. I have added it because I like it in there.
Now, one caveat. I made these before I was playing with Better Blend Flour, which contains pectin. I think it would be excellent in this recipe all on its own, perhaps with no cornstarch or extra xanthan. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes.
The sauce can be made ahead. Make it the day before and refrigerate until needed, if you like, but it should be room temperature when you serve it, and it is so quick and easy to make, I just do it as I am prepping the pancakes. Your choice.
The pancake batter should be made and cooked forthwith, and the pancakes are meant to be served as soon as they come off the griddle (or with a brief wait for the entire batch to be cooked).
You can! And you can even have tow pans working at the same time to get these to the table sooner than later.
You don’t, but the dish will cease to be gluten -free and also, I find the low sodium kind provides the correct salinity balance. The sauce is all about the balance between sweet, salty, sour and spicy and is quite irresistible.
Many commercially prepared Low FODMAP Garlic-Infused Oils are made with olive oil. That’s great for your Italian-inspired food, but it doesn’t belong here. Please use Low FODMAP Garlic-Infused Oil made with vegetable oil. Make it yourself, or use Tourangelle.
Low FODMAP Scallion Pancakes
Low FODMAP Scallion Pancakes are easy to make, with readily available ingredients. Enjoy these toothsome, savory Chinese restaurant specialties at home with a tangy, sweet/hot dipping sauce. Serve as a starter or alongside a protein for a meal.
Ingredients:
Dipping Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons gluten-free low-sodium soy sauce, such as San J
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon finely minced peeled fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon Low FODMAP Garlic-Infused Oil, made with vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Scallion Pancakes:
- 1 cup (145 g) low FODMAP gluten-free all-purpose flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- ¼ cup (28 g) sifted cornstarch
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 cup (240 ml) chilled club soda
- 2 teaspoons gluten-free low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 ½ cups (96 g) chopped scallions, green parts only
- ¼ cup (60 ml) neutral vegetable oil
Preparation:
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Position rack in middle of oven. Preheat the oven to 300° F (150°C). Place a rack on a rimmed sheet pan and set aside.
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Make the Sauce: Whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, Low FODMAP Garlic-Infused Oil (made with vegetable oil), Sriracha and sugar in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved; set aside.
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Make the Pancakes: Whisk the flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum, salt and sugar in a large bowl to aerate and combine. Whisk club soda, soy sauce and sesame oil in a separate bowl until blended then pour over dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Fold in scallion greens.
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Heat about 1 tablespoon of the neutral vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Pour about ¼ cup (60 ml) of the batter into skillet. Cook until bottom of pancake is set and golden, about 2 minutes; make sure it is nicely browned. Flip over and cook, pressing down on pancake with a sturdy broad, flat spatula, to create direct, firm contact with pan. Cook until second side is golden, about 1 minute more. Now, here is the unconventional part. Flip the pancake back over to the first side and cook some more and repeat with second side. These are dense and take some time to cook through. The trick is to keep moving them around the pan until golden and crisp on each side and cooked all the way through.
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Transfer pancake to a wire rack and place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining oil and batter and remaining to make a total of 4 pancakes.
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Serve immediately with sauce on the side. You can cut them into wedges or encourage diner to cut them on their own.
Notes:
Tips
FODMAP Information
Our recipes are based on Monash University and FODMAP Friendly science.
- Ginger: Monash University has lab tested fresh ginger root and has determined it to be free of FODMAPs, making it one of our go-to no FODMAP foods.
- Oil: All pure oils are fats and contain no carbohydrates, therefore they contain no FODMAPs.
- Scallions: The green parts of scallions are low FODMAP as determined by Monash University lab testing and can be used to add onion flavor to your low FODMAP cooking.
- Sugar: Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have both lab tested white, granulated sugar. Monash states that a Green Light low FODMAP serving size of white sugar is ¼ cup (50 g). FODMAP Friendly simply states that they have tested 1 tablespoon and that it is low FODMAP. Regular granulated white sugar is sucrose, which is a disaccharide made up of equal parts glucose and fructose. Sucrose is broken down and absorbed efficiently in the small intestine.
Please always refer to the Monash University & FODMAP Friendly smartphone apps for the most up-to-date lab tested information. As always, your tolerance is what counts; please eat accordingly. The ultimate goal of the low FODMAP diet is to eat as broadly as possible, without triggering symptoms, for the healthiest microbiome.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more. For a more detailed explanation, please read our article Understanding The Nutrition Panel Within Our Recipes.
The scallion pancakes sound SO good. I hope to try making them soon.
Question: would cooking them on a well-seasoned cast iron skillet or griddle work?
Yes they just need a flat surface.
Thank you for this recipe! My GF teen boy has very much missed scallion pancakes & these came out “better than a restaurant!”
It THRILLS us when we hear that all family members are enjoying our recipes. Thank you for taking the time to write us:)
Wow…. I lived in China a few years when younger and remember making these the traditional way. Not only are these easier, my gut thanks you!!! The smells brought back so many memories. They were SO tasty!!
Kari! We take this as high praise and are so grateful you wrote. This is a very meaningful Comment for us!
I tried it today. It’s actually surprisingly close to the original pancakes in terms of taste (not the texture as stated in the description). Quite impressive considering all the FODMAP ingredients.
I made a slight mistake of adding xanthar gum into a flour mix that already contained it. Didn’t alter the taste just made the pancake …..a bit “too” soft inside. Next time I’ll half the content or just leave it out.
I strongly recommend you double the recipe at least, otherwise it’s a lot of effort for 30 seconds of eating pleasure. The pancakes of a double recipe fit inside a typical 1.2L rectangular container.
Hi Sebastien, thank you for writing – and I agree that a double batch will not go to waste! Glad you figured out the flour/xanthan issue.
Thank you for sharing the tips! It is very details and easy to follow
Is the club soda necessary?
Yes. It creates a better texture.
It is so nice to enjoy this favourite snack again without having to worry about FODMAP.
Instead of using the green part of the scallion, I used Chinese garlic chives instead, and the smell was very similar to the traditional recipe.
With the club soda, does it have to be full of gas and not flat? I do not normally drink this, and have to waste much of the bottle just to make the pancakes. Is there another substitute for the club soda?
Yes, the bubbles are what work here. You could try finding a small single serve bottle or can. They are available. The chives are a great substitute!