Recipes | Appetizers

Low FODMAP Scallion Pancakes

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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.

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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.

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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!

Do I Have To Use Xanthan Gum?

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.

Can These Be Made Ahead?

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).
 

Can I Double The Recipe?

You can! And you can even have tow pans working at the same time to get these to the table sooner than later. 

Do I Have To Use Gluten-Free Low Sodium Soy Sauce?

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.

Use Low FODMAP Garlic-Infused Oil Made With Vegetable Oil

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.

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4.86 from 7 votes

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.

Makes: 4 Servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Author: Dédé Wilson

Ingredients:

Dipping Sauce:

Scallion Pancakes:

Preparation:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.

Course: Appetizer, lunch
Cuisine: American, Chinese

Nutrition

Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 732mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g

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.