When I think of a classic Scallion Pancake (or Green Onion Pancake), I think of one of my favorite Taiwanese & Chinese restaurants growing up in Richardson, TX, Jeng Chi Restaurant. We frequented Jeng Chi for their soup dumplings, their noodles with ground pork mince (or “Za Jiang Mian,” also known as “Chinese Bolognese”) and, of course, for their Scallion Pancakes. Their pancakes were crisp, albeit thicker than most, but with so many flaky layers. Although these layers are impossible to achieve with Paleo flours, I definitely captured the crispness and the flavor! And these certainly satisfy my cravings considering I haven’t had scallion pancakes for more than 8 years. 🙂
Now, onto the tools & ingredients!
Just so you know! This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission when you click on links and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. However, rest assured that I would never mention or recommend any specific products that I don’t use and love myself!
What You’ll Need
Small saucepan – For heating the sesame oil and green onion. Heating the green onion in the sesame oil really brings out the green onion flavor in the final pancake.
Large bowl – For mixing the dough.
Rubber spatula – For mixing, handling, and rolling out the dough, as it can be a little sticky. I’ve linked one that I absolutely love!
Wet paper towel – To cover the dough and prevent it from drying out while you work on each pancake.
Parchment paper – To flatten out each pancake on.
Medium-to-large frying pan & spatula – For frying up those delicious pancakes until the edges are nice and crispy!
Ingredients & FODMAP Content
Almond Flour – Almond flour is low FODMAP in 1/4 cup servings, keeping this 6 serving scallion pancake dough well below the FODMAP threshold. Almond flour gives the finished pancake more of a bready texture, balancing out the gumminess added from the cassava flour and tapioca flour. I like to use the almond flour by Anthony’s Goods, which I buy in a larger quantity off of Amazon. This is the most cost-effective option for almond flour (I go through a lot of it!).
Cassava Flour & Tapioca Starch – Cassava flour is low FODMAP in 2 tablespoon servings. With this quantity split into 6 servings, that leaves 1.667 tablespoons in each serving, keeping it under the FODMAP threshold. Tapioca starch is low FODMAP in a generous 2/3 cup serving. Cassava flour and tapioca starch both give this dough its elasticity, and allow us to roll it up and out. I used a mix of both since tapioca starch is much gummier than cassava flour, and we don’t want a gummy pancake. I purchase cassava flour by Anthony’s Goods off of Amazon, and tapioca starch from Thrive Market.
Sesame Oil & Green Onion – Both a requirement for the classic scallion pancake flavor! While we use the green part only to keep this low FODMAP, the firm white portion could also rip the dough so you may want to omit them anyway if you are not on the low FODMAP diet. According to the Monash University app, there are no FODMAPs detected in the green portion of green onions.
Boiling Water – Using hot water makes the dough stretchy and easier to work with. It’s best to use a little less than the full 3/4 cup to make sure your dough is not too sticky. You can always add more after kneading, if it’s dry.
Coconut Aminos – A dipping sauce isn’t necessary, but definitely adds a little something special! A great soy sauce alternative, coconut aminos is slightly sweeter and is the base of the dipping sauce.
Sambal Oelek – I love to use Sambal Oelek to give my dipping sauce a little kick. Stay away from those with high FODMAP ingredients and opt for a simple one. The only one I use (and I find is available at most grocery stores) is the one by Huy Fong Foods. It has a rooster on the front and does NOT contain garlic! If you prefer your dipping sauce not spicy, replace this with a splash of rice vinegar.
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes – Optional, but great for an extra extra kick if you like it spicy like me. (;
Tips for Success
I’ll admit, this Scallion Pancake dough is still a little hard to work with because it is so delicate. Here are some tips to help you make these the best they can be!
- WHEN ROLLING: To prevent the dough from ripping while rolling, use a rubber spatula as a wedge between the dough and the surface if your dough begins to stick (and make a mental note to use more tapioca starch to flour the surface for the next one). When rolling it a second time into a cinnamon roll shape, try not to stretch out the outer edge of the dough by keeping your roll as loose as you can, while the sides are still touching.
- TO FLATTEN: I use a rubber spatula instead of a rolling pin or my hands to flatten, as the rubber spatula is best at not sticking to the dough. To keep the green onion & sesame oil from busting out of the edges, I flatten the outside edge first, putting pressure from the outside to the inside, to encourage the green onion mixture to stay in the middle. It’s likely inevitable that some will bust out, because, physics (and the nature of this Paleo dough), but it’s totally fine! You can see from the images that mine are in no way perfect, and they’re still delicious.
- WHILE LIFTING: The flattened dough can be delicate! When transporting the dough from the parchment paper to the frying pan, minimize the distance you have to travel. Bring your parchment paper with your flattened dough over to the stove. When lifting the dough with your hands, lift the top edges with your forefinger and thumb. Use your other fingers and place them underneath the lower portion of the dough to cradle and support as much of the pancake as possible. This will prevent the dough from ripping on transport.
Enjoy! 🙂
If you make this scallion pancake, let me know how you liked them in the comments below! Or snap a pic and tag me on Instagram, @thefodmapfactor. I love it when you guys make my creations. And I’d love to know if you enjoy them as much as I do! 🙂
Looking for other Asian flavors? Check out my Beef Sambal Noodles or my Thai Green Curry.
Scallion Pancake – Low FODMAP, Paleo, Whole30, Vegan
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Large Bowl
- Rubber spatula
- Wet paper towel
- Parchment paper
- Medium-to-large frying pan
Ingredients
Scallion Pancake Filling
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 cups chopped green onion tips
- a dash of salt
Scallion Pancake Dough
- 1 cup fine, blanched almond flour
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons cassava flour
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup boiling water
- extra tapioca flour for rolling out dough on surface
- avocado oil for frying
Dipping Sauce
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek
- 1 teaspoon water
- generous pinch of crushed red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Prepare the dipping sauce and place in fridge.
Prepare the Dough
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, heat sesame oil until oil is hot and shimmering. Remove from heat and add chopped green onions and a dash of salt. Give it a good stir to evenly coat green onions until they are wilted. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, mix almond flour, cassava flour, tapioca flour & fine sea salt. Stir to mix thoroughly, being careful to break apart any clumps of almond flour. Add boiling water and use a rubber spatula to mix the dough. Continue to fold the dough into itself with rubber spatula until all ingredients are evenly combined. Dough may be slightly sticky, but should still be easy to shape and work with and should not stick excessively to your hands. If it too sticky, add a little more almond flour.
- Split dough into 6 equal parts. Cover dough with wet paper towel as you are preparing each pancake.
- Add tapioca flour to your clean countertop and to your sheet of parchment paper. You will need to add additional tapioca flour before working with each pancake.
Assemble!
- Take first of the 6 portions of dough and roll into a ball. Place dough on your floured countertop. Using a rubber spatula, spread out dough into an oval about 6" on the long end. Place about 2-3 teaspoons of green onion mixture and spread across dough, keeping green onions away from the edges.
- Carefully roll up dough on the long end (like a hotdog). If your dough is sticking to your surface, use the rubber spatula to carefully lift the dough as you roll, to prevent the dough from breaking. Once fully rolled, pinch the ends into each other to seal the openings.
- Once rolled up lengthwise, gently roll dough up to form a little cinnamon bun, being careful not to rip the dough. Pinch the end into the body so that it does not unravel.
- Place dough ball on the floured parchment paper surface. Use a rubber spatula to flatten the dough into a flat circle starting from the outside and working inwards, ~6-7 inches across. Some green onion and sesame oil may come out of the sides which is fine.
- Heat your frying pan with some avocado oil on medium-high heat. Once your first pancake is ready and the pan is heated, gently lift the pancake off of the surface, being careful to cradle the bottom of the pancake with your other fingers. Place into frying pan and heat on one side for 2-4 minutes, until the bottom is golden brown. Flip and repeat on other side, adding more oil as necessary.
- Prepare the other pancakes while waiting and flipping each of the pancakes as they cook. You can also prepare all first, but may want to leave them on additional sheets of parchment paper after rolling, since they are delicate.
- Cut into triangles and serve immediately with dipping sauce, or re-heat in pan or air fryer later.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @thefodmapfactor on Instagram and hashtag it #thefodmapfactor. <3
