Recipe reproduced with permission from Glenda Bishop. Glenda is a Registered Nutritionist, wellness coach, neuroscientist and educator.

Today’s recipe was created by Corinne Nash, who is currently studying a Master of Human Nutrition.

As someone who follows a low FODMAP diet, I know how challenging it is. So when I teach nutrition professionals about FODMAPs, I get them to follow the low FODMAP diet for a week so they know what it feels like for you. Corinne jumped into this activity without complaint, but quickly found it very challenging because she is a vegetarian who normally eats a lot of legumes. Since legumes need to be limited on a low FODMAP diet, it meant a substantial change to her main meals (along with the other changes that everyone else deals with).

Another thing Corinne struggled with a little was the flavour side of things because she normally makes lots of curries and similar sorts of meals that have very potent flavours. To counter this, she adapted one of her favourite recipes, to make a low FODMAP satay sauce. She knew this would provide a ton of low FODMAP flavour back into her vegetarian meals, helping her to feel less restricted on the low FODMAP diet.

As with most sauces, the garlic and onion needed to be replaced to make it low FODMAP. This was relatively simple since the garlic could be replaced with garlic-infused olive oil and the spring onions could be changed so that only the green parts were used. But aside from that, the recipe is the same as Corinne normally makes.

I’d never made a satay sauce before, so I happily tested the recipe myself. And it is seriously good! The ginger gives it a beautiful freshness and the flavours were so well balanced. Admittedly I left out the chilli, because my belly hates chilli, but it still had loads of flavour.

What I like most about this sauce, apart from the flavour, is how easy it is to make. Toss most of the ingredients into the food processor and blend until smooth, then heat in a pan with some coconut milk. So simple! I can’t believe I had never tried to make satay sauce before this.

This recipe does make a fair bit of sauce though, which is fine if you’re feeding a big family. But there’s an easy solution... Corinne assures me that you can freeze this sauce for later use. So I’ve put leftover sauce into small containers with little portions that I can defrost when I’m ready to use it again.

What can you use this Low FODMAP Satay Sauce for? It’s based on the Indonesian-style, which means it’s perfectly suited to use with Gado Gado, an Indonesian vegetable dish. It’s also really good for adding flavour to tofu, fish, chicken or beef.So how about whipping some up today to add more flavour to your meals.

Low FODMAP Satay Sauce

Makes: 2 cups

Serving size: 1/4 cup (3 tablespoons)

Special Equipment: Food processor with chopping blade

Ingredients

2 green onions, green tops only, chopped roughly
2 chopped chilis (if you tolerate them), or use a pinch of hot paprika, or leave out altogether if you want it completely mild
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce (Nam Pla)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic infused oil
1/2 cup (140g) peanut butter
300ml coconut milk
To serve: chopped fresh coriander

Instructions

Put all of the ingredients, except for the coconut milk and coriander (if using), into a food processor with a chopping blade. Process until a smooth paste forms.
Scoop the paste into a small saucepan. Add the coconut milk and mix it into the paste. Put the saucepan over a low heat and cook gently, stirring often to stop it sticking to the base. The satay sauce is ready when it’s colour changes slightly and becomes a bit darker, which takes around 5 minutes.

To serve:

This satay sauce goes beautifully with tofu, fish, chicken, or beef.
Use as a sauce for Gado Gado, which contains brown rice topped with hard-boiled egg, raw tomato and cucumber wedges, bean sprouts, boiled potato, blanched green beans and carrot, plus any other lightly cooked low FODMAP vegetables.

Ingredient Notes:

Based on the recommended portion sizes of individual ingredients in the Monash University’s Low FODMAP Diet app at the time of publication, this recipe should be low FODMAP provided that the recommended serving size for this recipe is not exceeded.
Garlic-infused olive oil is a low FODMAP ingredient because FODMAPs are not soluble in oil.It is safest to use a commercially-prepared garlic-infused olive oil. I like to use the CobramEstate Garlic Infused Extra VirginOlive Oil, which you can find in supermarkets.
Make sure that you only use the green tops of the spring onions (scallions), since the white bits are high in fructans.
I prefer the Ayam brand of coconut milk because it has no added thickeners.
This recipe is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free. However, if you have an allergy to any of these items, or have coeliac disease, please check the labels on any purchased ingredients to ensure they are safe for your requirements.

Rachel is a university qualified Clinical Nutritionist based in Balmain. She is also the busy working mum of two teenagers, so is practical and realistic with her advice . Rachel offers private consultations to improve your family's health and well-being. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram for more healthy tips and tricks.

If you'd like help implementing a low FODMAP diet I can help you. Find out more about my services here. If you’re after more delicious low FODMAP recipes go here.

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