Eating out · Asian fusion
Low FODMAP at P.F. Chang's
P.F. Chang's is tougher than it looks: nearly every wok sauce is built on garlic, scallions and sugar, and the regular soy sauce carries wheat. The upside is that everything is cooked to order, there's a full gluten-free menu, and the kitchen's own allergen matrix tracks onion and mushroom — so "no garlic, no onion" requests are realistic here. Anchor your order on steamed preparations, plain rice and the gluten-free menu, and treat the sweet signature sauces as the main hazard.
✅ Safest picks
Steamed White Rice + Steamed Vegetable Sides (Broccoli, Carrots, Snap Peas)
Plain steamed rice and vegetable sides come with no sauce at all, so there's no onion, garlic, wheat or added sweeteners to worry about.
💬 Order it: Order the sides plain with nothing tossed on them; keep broccoli to a modest portion and lean on carrots and snap peas. Use this as the base of a build-your-own plate with a simply prepared protein.
Hong Kong Style Salmon
Steamed salmon with ginger and soy avoids breading, cream and sweet sauces — the only common triggers are the scallions on top and whatever's in the finishing sauce.
💬 Order it: Ask for no scallions (or green tops only), sauce on the side, and pair with steamed white rice instead of fried rice.
Buddha's Feast (Steamed)
The steamed version is tofu and vegetables with a light soy sauce — no wok sauce means no garlic-sugar glaze, but the veggie mix can include mushrooms and asparagus.
💬 Order it: Ask to hold mushrooms and asparagus and load up on broccoli, carrots and snap peas instead; request the soy sauce on the side.
Ginger Chicken with Broccoli (Gluten-Free)
It's one of the lightest wok entrees — a thin ginger-soy sauce rather than a sweet glaze — but the aromatics include garlic and green onion that need to come out.
💬 Order it: Order the gluten-free version and ask for it wok'd with no garlic and no green onion, sauce light, with steamed rice on the side.
Pad Thai with Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts and peanuts are all friendly — the tamarind sauce and its garlic/shallot base are what push it up the scale.
💬 Order it: Ask for no garlic and no green onion, go easy on the sauce, and eat a half portion — the noodle serving is large.
Egg Drop Soup (Cup)
Broth, egg ribbons and cornstarch skip wheat and dairy, but the green onion garnish and blended broth seasonings can carry onion.
💬 Order it: Order a cup rather than a bowl, ask them to skip the green onion garnish, and pass if your server can't confirm the broth is onion-light.
⚠️ Skip these
Good to know
- •Start from the gluten-free menu — it swaps out wheat-based soy sauce and triggers stricter kitchen handling, but it does NOT remove onion or garlic, so you still have to ask for those separately.
- •Everything is wok-cooked to order and the chain's own allergen matrix tracks onion and mushroom, so 'no garlic, no onion, no mushrooms' is a request this kitchen can actually execute — say it when you order, not after.
- •Favor the steamed preparations (steamed salmon, steamed Buddha's Feast, steamed sides) and always get sauces on the side so you control the dose.
- •The reliably plain sides are steamed white or brown rice, steamed carrots, snap peas, broccoli and the fresh fruit — use them to bulk out a modified entree.
- •Skip the dipping sauces and sauce flight: sweet chili, hoisin-style and creamy 'dynamite' sauces stack garlic, honey/sweeteners and wheat onto otherwise workable food.
- •Portions are family-style large and the sauces are sugar-heavy — box half up front, because even a well-modified dish can add up over a full serving.
At a different restaurant? Photograph any menu and get every dish ranked in seconds.
Scan a menu — freeMenus and recipes change; scores reflect typical preparations and published FODMAP research. Informational only — not medical advice. Always confirm ingredients with restaurant staff.