Low-FODMAP Vegetable Stir-Fry
Garlic oil instead of garlic. The flavor compounds are fat-soluble, but the fructans are not.
- Preparation
- 15 min
- Cook/bake time
- 15 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
Garlic oil instead of garlic. The flavor compounds are fat-soluble, but the fructans are not. Anyone watching their FODMAP intake has to avoid onions and garlic, and with them the foundation of almost every savory dish. The solution is a physical one. You draw the flavor into the oil and leave the problematic sugars behind in the water.
Why this works
The FODMAPs in onions and garlic are fructans, which are chains of fructose molecules that are not broken down in the small intestine and ferment in the large intestine. The crucial factor is their property of being water-soluble and not fat-soluble. The flavor compounds, on the other hand, especially the sulfur compounds allicin and its breakdown products, dissolve very well in fat. So if you steep garlic cloves in oil and then remove them, you have the flavor in the oil and the fructans in the discarded garlic. The same principle applies to leeks and scallions. The white part contains the fructans, while the green part has almost none, so it can be eaten. This is not a compromise, but the foundation of all low-FODMAP cooking.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Prepare the garlic oil
Heat the oil over low heat and let the halved garlic cloves steep in it for 5 minutes until they are light golden. Then remove and discard them. The flavor is now in the oil, and the fructans are in the garlic, which is exactly the point.
- 2
Sear the tofu
Sear the smoked tofu in two tablespoons of the garlic oil over high heat for 5 minutes until it has color all over. It is already cooked and only needs the crust. Frying it for too long makes it tough.
- 3
Hard vegetables first
Add the carrots and beans and fry them for 5 minutes, then add the bell pepper and zucchini for another 5 minutes. The order follows the cooking time. If added to the pan together, the zucchini would be mushy before the carrots are cooked.
- 4
Finish
Remove the pan from the heat and season with soy sauce, sesame oil, and lime juice. Fold in the green parts of the scallions. Unlike the white part, they contain hardly any fructans and are therefore allowed.
