I know many of you have probably had jackfruit if you are vegan, but I know many others will be saying “jackfruit” what the “bleep” is jackfruit?” Here’s what jackfruit looks like growing on a tree and the fruit itself. They are HUGE!
Really want to know what jackfruit is, check this out: What is Jackfruit?
The first time I saw jackfruit was in Thailand in 2012. There were trees at a wildlife sanctuary we visited and the guide pulled one off the tree and gave it to one of the Sun Bears! It was also the first place I tried jackfruit (a fresh one, I didn’t steal it from the bear!)
Vegans, vegetarians, etc. use unripened jackfruit as a substitue for meat. In its unripened state it shreds and is great for many different types of dishes, but lends itself especially well as a substitute for chicken and pork in Mexican dishes. I love Mexican food, maybe because I grew up in SoCal. Any cuisine that uses cilantro, cumin, salsa, avocado, and chili peppers is okay in my book! Pulled jackfruit sandwiches are awesome too. Convert any of your former non-vegan sloppy joe recipes to use jackfruit. Wait, that’s a great idea for a recipe. I’ll have to do that soon!
I don’t buy the whole jackfruit. I’m pretty sure I don’t have a knife that would hack through that bad boy and I really don’t want to lose a finger trying to cut it open. So I grab my jackfruit at the local Asian market. You want to make sure you buy the canned unripened (green) jackfruit. I finally found it in brine or water. When you are using jackfruit for a savory dish, you want to make sure you use the green, unripened version. Don’t use the jackfruit in syrup as that is ripe jackfruit and should be used in deserts only, otherwise your meal will taste a bit odd!
Because it was in brine, I soaked it in water and rinsed it well to remove as much of the brine as possible.
Jackfruit Chipotle Tacos
In a large bowl put:
1 20oz can of drained, rinsed jackfruit in brine (you can get this cheap at a local Asian food store or even Trader Joe’s and other grocery stores
Shred the jackfruit, you can do some by hand and other using a knife, put it in a bowl and set aside.
In a small bowl put:
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. onion powder
dash of Himalayan sea salt
Mix the above seasonings (from chili powder to sea salt) together and then add it to the shredded jack fruit and mix well to coat jackfruit.
Now on to cooking:
In a large saucepan add:
3/4 cup veg broth
1/2 cup water
1 TBS. tomato paste
1 canned chipotle chili in Adobo, chopped [ if chipotle chiles are too hot, substitute: 1 4 oz. can Hatch mild green chilies (drain and rinse well)]
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 TBS. Bragg’s Aminos (or use 1 TBS. low-sodium soy sauce, nama shoyu, tamari (gluten-free) or coconut aminos
2 TBS. fresh lime juice
1 TBS. maple syrup
Mix all the above items together and then add the shredded, seasoned jackfruit to the large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, partially cover the saucepan and cook for about 45 minutes.
At this point, you still have liquid in the saucepan and you don’t want your tacos to be soggy, so take the jackfruit and sauce and cook over medium-high heat in a skillet, sauteing it until most of the liquid is gone and the edges of the jackfruit start to brown a bit. I don’t saute in oil and did this step in my cast iron skillet, no extra liquid or oil needed. Worked out great.
Taco Assembly Time:
5-6 corn tortillas
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 avocado, sliced (or you could use freshly made guacamole)
Fresh salsa – for this recipe, to cool the chipotle spice I used Trader Joe’s papaya mango salsa. You could also make and use a pineapple mango salsa or regular salsa.
Cashew Sour Cream – recipe below, I don’t like the commercial vegan sour cream products because they are full of oils and other icky stuff! Make sure you have your cashews soaked ahead of time for a smoother sour cream
You can also add other taco toppings that you might like on your tacos.
Assemble the tacos putting the jackfruit in the middle of the tortilla and adding your toppings. I usually do the cashew sour cream next, then the salsa, cilantro and avocado.
Cashew Sour Cream:
1 cup raw cashews (soaked overnight, or if you need to do it faster, boil some water and let soak for 20 minutes
1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (make sure it’s unsweetened or your sour cream will taste weird. Soy works, so does cashew milk and almond milk, stay away from coconut milk unless you want a coconut taste in your sour cream.
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
pinch of sea salt
Soak 1 cup of raw cashews overnight. If you forgot to soak overnight, you can soak in boiling water for 20 minutes. Dump off the soaking water and rinse the cashews well.
Put the cashews in a blender (I use my VitaMix since it makes it nice and smooth.
Add the soymilk, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and salt. Blend until very smooth. Refrigerate (this will help make it thicker). If it ever gets too thick, just add a little more soymilk.
This was ABSOLUTELY delicious and I can see using this as a great filler for not only tacos, but also burritos, enchiladas, tamales, etc…
Happy Vegan Eats!