Mexi-inspired savoury goodness, ready to stuff into a tortilla, spread over corn chips for nachos, toss with roast potatoes, tip into a taco…so versatile! This recipe uses tinned jackfruit, combined with an easy sauce, then simmered in one pan until deliciously fragrant and soft.
New to jackfruit? It’s a huge green fruit from the same family as figs, with origins in southern India (in fact, I think it’s the largest tree-growing fruit in the world. Google images of it to see its size and prickly exterior. Apparently one tree can produce 3 tonnes of fruit per year. How’s that for sustainable?) Young jackfruit have a very bland taste, which makes it perfect for soaking up any flavour you add. You can buy tins of sweetened jackfruit, but for this recipe, it’s essential to use the non-sweetened version! I find cans at my local supermarket, bulk food shop , Indian supermarket or Asian store.
Jackfruit is also popular as a meat substitute thanks to its stringy, pulled, shredded quality. I haven’t eaten pork for about 35 years, so I can’t comment on taste or texture, but I can see why some people think it looks pretty meaty. Nutritionally, jackfruit serves up good amounts of vitamin C, minerals, protein & plenty of dietary fibre.
This jackfruit can be prepared ahead of time, leaving it to marinate in the sauce until ready to cook. But if you’re short of time, jump straight into cooking!
Recipe:
1 x 560g or 565g tin of jackfruit (in brine, not sweetened!)
1 Tbsp oil for cooking
For the sauce:
½ an onion, or 1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup milk of choice (I’ve tried coconut and rice, both good)
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
¼ – ½ tsp liquid smoke (optional but oh so epic)
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ – 1 tsp hot sauce/sriracha (start with the smaller amount, you can always add more)
To prep the jackfruit: drain the liquid from the tin and put the jackfruit chunks on your chopping board. Use your hands to literally pull apart the fruit into small pieces. You’ll find some of it’s stringy, while other parts are thick. Use your hands as much as you like, but feel free to chop any thicker chunks with a knife.
For the sauce: load all of the sauce ingredients into a bullet or good blender & blitz until a smooth red sauce emerges.
Putting it all together: if you have time, you can pop the jackfruit and the sauce into a bowl, mix it well until coated, and leave it to marinate for as long as you have. If not, it’s fine to jump straight to cooking.
To cook: heat the oil in a frying pan, add the shredded jackfruit and all the sauce. Stir well, coating the jackfruit with sauce. Cook over a medium heat, stirring often, until all the sauce is absorbed. Keep going until the jackfruit actually starts to fry, about 10-15 minutes depending on the heat of the pan. You can even take it to the edge of burning if you like, for that almost caramelized effect. Season with a little salt or pepper if needed, but I find it’s usually fine as is.
Store any leftovers in the fridge for 3 days.
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