How To Make Vegan Low FODMAP Eggplant Recipe

Looking for an easy low fodmap eggplant recipe that’ll knock your socks off? We’ve got you covered with our vegan gua bao bun low fodmap eggplant recipe. Spiced eggplant encased in a crispy golden-brown crust, smothered in a rich creamy sauce, a super quick and simple pickle all sandwiched between fluffy steamed gua bao.

Doesn’t that sound enticing? In this blog post, we will guide you through making this low fodmap vegan bao bun from start to finish. We’ll also cover a few more things along the way like:

Kick back, relax, grab a cup of tea -or any beverage of your choice- and let’s get started with our vegan low fodmap eggplant bao bun.

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A Brief Intro To Gua Bao Buns

What are gua bao buns you ask? Gua bao buns are made from the same dough traditional bao buns are made from but without the filling per se. Traditional bao buns are made by encasing a meat or veggie filling with dough, formed into a round bun shape, and steamed. Whereas gua bao buns resemble a flat half-moon and are steamed without a filling. 

Think of them as steamed hot dog buns; you can fill them with anything you want. Pork belly is the traditional filling for these buns but we’ve found some pretty great meat-free fillings for our baos that we thought we should share.

Fun fact: The ‘bao’ in bao buns originate from the word ‘baozi’ in Chinese. ‘Bao’ actually means bun. So, when we say bao buns in English, we’re actually saying bun bun. 

Don’t go scouring the net for a vegan bao bun recipe because guess what? Baos are naturally vegan since they are made with wheat flour, yeast, salt, and water. Wheat flour is a key ingredient and something we should talk about. A low fodmap diet is not a gluten-free diet but there are some sore points. So, what is the deal with gluten and fodmaps?

What’s The Deal With Gluten And Fodmaps?

A gluten-free diet is not a low FODMAP diet but all-purpose flour is wheat-based which has a lot of fructans – making it a high FODMAP. Gluten is not a source of FODMAPs but because it contains fructans and GOS which fall under the category of oligosaccharides (the O in FODMAP). When consumed at high levels, it triggers gastrointestinal symptoms in some people.

And since gluten is found in wheat, rye, and barley, gluten-free items are recommended when adhering to a low FODMAP diet. Sticking to a low FODMAP vegan diet can be tough sometimes, throw gluten into the mix, and well, that doesn’t make things easier. Luckily, with moderation and portion control, some wheat and gluten products can still be enjoyed.

Monash University has not specifically tested gua bao buns but they do state that wheat flour is low fodmap at a serving size of 1/4 cup or 30 grams. Our bao buns weighed 20 grams and are within the low fodmap serving size. This is great news for anyone wanting to make low fodmap vegan dinner recipes that include flours.

Of course, there are plenty of gluten-free flours and substitutes but we’ll get into that in the ‘How to get crispy eggplant,’ section. But before that, we’re going to talk about panko, gluten, and what to use instead.

Low Fodmap Panko Substitute

Panko is a type of Japanese breadcrumbs that *insert drum roll here* has gluten. Dun dun dun… You may be wondering how on earth this is one of our low fodmap vegan recipes with all these gluten and fructans everywhere but we are anything if not resourceful. 

You can go about this two ways:

1. Buy gluten-free panko
2. Make it yourself

How To Make Gluten-Free Panko At Home

Panko makes everything extra crunchy but gluten-free panko isn’t widely available. Do you know what is though? Puffed rice cereal and corn flakes. Both of these cereals contain zero gluten and are super crispy.

Simply take your choice of cereal, add it to a ziplock bag and whack it with a rolling pin, pan, or anything to create a gluten-free and low fodmap coating for your eggplant. If you can’t be bothered with the manual labor that goes into this, you can also blitz it up in a food processor. 

Let’s move on to making this recipe.

Making This Low Fodmap Eggplant Recipe

This vegan low fodmap dinner comes together fairly quickly and is super easy to make. There are four components that make up this eggplant bao:

1. Baos
2. Eggplant: Baked, battered, and fried
3. Sauce
4. Pickles

Without further adieu, let’s start putting together this vegan bao bun.

Baos

The baos are the easiest part of this recipe if you’re buying them frozen. All you have to do is steam them for about 10-12 minutes or as directed on the package. If you’re thinking of making them yourself, we have a mantao bun recipe you could use as a base. 

Don’t be threatened by the prep time. We often make bao buns from scratch and the dough comes together in minutes. Most of it is really leavening time. 

Eggplant: Baked, Battered, and Fried

The eggplant in this vegan low fodmap recipe requires a two-step process but it is worth it. Our eggplant is melt-in-your-mouth tender and seasoned with a low fodmap rub made from cumin and ginger paste. Who said plant-based low fodmap recipes had to be dull?

While we’re at it, here’s a handy guide to low fodmap spices sorted by cuisine, courtesy of Monash.

Bake Your Eggplants

To make this vegan bao bun filling, cut your eggplants into 1-inch slices. You can leave them circular or cut them in half. We did both and found that the semi-circles were easier to eat and serve.

Add salt, olive oil, ground ginger, and cumin to the eggplant slices and ensure they’re coated in the marinade. 

Add some water to the dish and cover with aluminum. This will create steam and allow the eggplants to soften. Bake for 30 minutes and that’s step one done. Once the eggplants are cooked and cool, start assembling your dredging station.

Battering Your Eggplants

Start by adding flour of your choice to a plate (we used rice flour), make the batter by adding flour and any plant-based milk, and another plate with panko crumbs. Place the eggplant in the plate of flour and coat on both sides. Shake it to remove excess flour. Don’t skip this step because doing this allows the batter to stick onto the eggplant.

Coat the eggplant slices in the batter

Finally, toss it in the panko crumbs

Repeat this step until all your eggplants are covered and then move on to shallow frying them in a pan filled with oil:

Fry eggplant on both sides until golden brown:

Place eggplant fritters on a paper towel to absorb excess oil

Sauce

For this vegan low fodmap recipe, we used our favorite vegan mayo. The sauce adds a rich and creamy element to this low fodmap eggplant recipe. It is made by combining 200 grams of vegan mayo and 13 grams of ketchup to give it a zing and sweetness. Of course, you can add more to your liking but the acidity from the tomato elicits a negative reaction from Lisa’s bowels, so we kept it at that level (which is also the low fodmap serving size according to Monash).

Pickles

Not sure if you can have vinegar on a low FODMAP diet? Click here to read all about low FODMAP vinegars.

Now, on to the final component of this low fodmap vegan dinner: the pickles! These pickles are packed with flavor, these pickles are hardly a labor of love. Start by using a potato peeler or vegetable peeler to create thin ribbons. You can also just slice your vegetables thinly but we liked the look of ribbons.

Leave the core of the cucumber as it is not as crunchy, use it to flavor water or save it later for a snack. 

Make your pickling liquid by adding warm water, sugar, and vinegar into a bowl. Mix everything until dissolved and add your vegetables. Let the veggies sit in the plicking liquid for a minimum of 10 minutes or make ahead of time and leave it for as long as you’d like. 

Tip: When assembling the baos, make sure to drain the pickles on a paper towel to remove excess pickling liquid. This will turn the crispy exterior of the eggplant soggy.

With all of the components done and dusted, you can move on to assembling your baos. 

Assembling The Baos

You can make these baos to serve or set up your ingredients, form a line, and let everyone make their own baos. Now, that’s a conga line we want to be a part of. 

Once you’ve steamed your baos, start assembling your baos by spooning on the sauce, close your bao to make sure both the top and bottom of your bun is sauced. Nestle your fried eggplant in between the appropriately sauced buns and top it up with pickles. 

Look at that, a low fodmap eggplant recipe that promises big bold flavors without the unnecessary pain caused by high fodmaps. Delicious crispy flavorful goodness sandwiched in a soft fluffy bun.

If you’re looking for more low fodmap eggplant recipes, check out our other low fodmap eggplant recipe that features an incredibly soft Asian-fusion braised eggplant.

Not a fan of eggplant? Try out vegetarian tofu bao buns!

Not sure about vinegar FODMAPs? Click here to read all about low FODMAP vinegar.

Curious about ginger and FODMAPs? Click here to read, “Is ginger low FODMAP?“

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