Low FODMAP Vietnamese Pancakes – Bánh Xèo
Our Low FODMAP Vietnamese Pancakes, Bánh Xèo in Vietnamese, are easy to make and just as good as those you can get in a restaurant. You might know these as Sizzling Pancakes, Happy Pancakes, Vietnamese Crepes, Crispy Pancakes, or Sizzling Pancakes, among many names. And you might think they are a kind of omelet, but they are not! Their yellow color is from turmeric, and no eggs are involved. Ours have a pork and shrimp filling (our favorite), but we give you vegetable options, a well.
Low FODMAP Serving Size Info: Makes 8 Pancakes; 8 servings; 1 pancake per serving
Ingredients:
Nuoc Cham:
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 small hot red chile pepper, seeded and minced, or 1 teaspoon dried red chile flakes
- 1 cup (240 ml) warm water
- ½ cup (99 g) sugar
- ½ cup (120 ml) fish sauce, such as Red Boat brand (highly recommended)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 teaspoon low FODMAP garlic powder, such as FreeFod or Fodmazing
Vietnamese Pancake:
- 1 ¾ cup (298 g) prepared Bánh Xèo pancake flour (preferred), or rice flour
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 2 cups (480 ml) water, at room temperature
- Vegetable oil or Low FODMAP Garlic-Infused Oil, homemade or purchased, made with vegetable oil
- ½ cup (32 g) finely chopped scallions, green parts only
- ¼ cup (15 g) finely chopped leek bulb
- 1- pound (455 g) lean pork, such as pork loin, cut into ¼-inch (6 mm) dice
- 1- pound (455 g) small or medium deveined, shell-off shrimp
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups (270 g) mung bean sprouts
Preparation:
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Make the Nuoc Cham: Combine the vinegar and chile and heat gently, either stove top or in a microwave safe bowl in microwave that is large enough to hold all the ingredients. All to sit for a couple of minutes. Whisk in warm water and sugar until sugar dissolves, then whisk in fish sauce, lime juice and low FODMAP garlic powder. Set aside. This may be done up to 3 days ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
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Make the Pancake: Place rice flour in a large mixing bowl and whisk in turmeric. Whisk in water until combined; the batter will be thin.
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Heat pan over medium heat and add a thin layer of oil. Add about a quarter of the scallion greens, leek bulb, shrimp and pork, season with salt and pepper, and stir-fry until shrimp and pork are cooked through. Set aside, keeping warm, and repeat with remaining scallions, shrimp and pork.
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Wipe out pan with paper towel. Heat pan over high heat and add a thin layer of oil. Pour in pancake batter (it will be about 1/3 cup (75 ml)) and tilt pan as needed to thinly coat entire bottom of pan. Allow batter to cook for a few seconds to begin to set bottom, then sprinkle some of the shrimp and pork filling over half of the pancake, then immediately cover the pan. Cook until the edges of the pancake are golden brown and looking crispy you can lift the edge of the pancake to see if the bottom is crispy as well. You should hear it sizzling! This will only take a few minutes and often is even less than that. Immediately sprinkle a generous amount of bean sprouts on top of the shrimp and pork mixture, then fold the other half of the pancake over the filling. Serve immediately with the nuoc cham in a bowl alongside. Encourage people to drizzle the sauce on the pancake and they are best eaten as quickly as possible.
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Repeat with remaining batter and filling. This is a production affair where you will be cooking and people will be eating, and you will be cooking, and people will be eating. You could try to keep the pancakes warm in the oven, but I think they suffer.
Notes:
FODMAP Information
All recipes are based upon Monash University & FODMAP Friendly science at time of initial publication.
• Garlic-Infused Oil: Make your own Garlic-Infused Oil or buy a commercial equivalent for the easiest way to add garlic flavor to your food. Fructans in garlic are not oil-soluble, so garlic-infused oil is low FODMAP.
• Leeks: Both Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have lab tested leeks – greens (leaves) and bulbs. Monash University recommends a low FODMAP serving size of 100 g for the greens, and 14 g for the bulb. FODMAP Friendly suggests a serving size of leek greens of 37 g, with a low FODMAP max serve of 83 g. Their recommended low FODMAP leek bulb amount is 46 g.
• Low FODMAP Garlic Powder: Conventional garlic powder is made from dried and granulated, or powdered, garlic cloves and is considered high FODMAP. There are a couple of low FODMAP garlic powders on the market: FreeFod Garlic Replacer and Fodmazing Garlic Substitute Replacer. The FreeFod has been lab tested and is certified low FODMAP by FODMAP Friendly. Both brands contain the same ingredients – maltodextrin and natural garlic flavor. We find them to be excellent additions to your herb and spice collection. Use them as you would conventional garlic powder.
• Scallions: Monash University lab testing found no FODMAPs detected in scallion greens; they suggest a 75 g serving size. FODMAP Friendly has also lab tested scallions: their recommended serving size for the green parts is 16 g, with a max low FODMAP serving of 161 g. They have also tested the bulb and it is low FODMAP in 19 g portions, which is about 2 tablespoons finely chopped.
• 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 1/4 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. As the fructose is never in excess of the glucose, white sugar will never be high FODMAP, even in large amounts.
• Wheat Flour: The low FODMAP diet is neither wheat-free nor gluten-free. Small amounts of wheat are low FODMAP. For instance, 35 g of wheat bread made with white wheat flour – about 1 slice – has been lab tested by Monash University and is deemed low FODMAP.
Please always refer to the Monash University & FODMAP Friendly smartphone apps for the most up-to-date lab tested information. Foods will be retested from time to time; in the case of raw ingredients, such as fruits and vegetables, results may vary. All lab tested results are valid and represent a snapshot in time. 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.