A few weeks ago (or was it a few months?) jackfruit pulled pork recipes where everywhere. Having tasted jackfruit before I was a little skeptical about the “meatiness” of it. Still, I jumped on the band-wagon, and I have to say, I’m quite happy with the result.
First, you need to know that you can find jackfruit of the “green and young” variety as well as the “yellow and ripe” type. For savoury dishes, people usually stick with the green type which is kept in brine (salty water). I found mine canned at my local Asian market for around 2$ a can.
Alright, now, after surfing the internet for some inspiration, I quickly realized that most recipes required some kind of BBQ sauce for the “pulled-pork” imitation in big quantities. As BBQ sauce is not my favourite, I tried a more simple stir fry seasoning.
Keeping in mind that jackfruit is not protein rich, I also decided to add some chickpeas to it to have a more filling meal.
Here is what you need:
- 1 can (19 oz.) of young green jackfruit in water or brine, drained
- 1 can (19 oz.) of chickpeas, drained
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp oil or water
- 2 tbs of soy sauce
- 2 tbs sugar
- 1 tbs sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp of sriracha sauce (or more if you like)- this is optional
- a bunch of green onions (4-5 heads), chopped
- sesame seeds to garnish
Here is what you do:
- In a skillet, heat the oil and add the onions. Saute until translucent.
- Add the jackfruit and turn over once in a while until the fibers start to separate. I used the back of a wooden cooking spoon to press on the pieces to make them come apart. This gives jackfruit it’s pulled-pork texture.
- Add the chickpeas and mix until they are warm.
- Add the soy sauce, sugar, sriracha and sesame oil and mix until everything is well coated.
- Add the green onions and give a quick stir before serving. Garnish with sesame seeds.
The simplicity of the seasoning really helps bring out the slightly sour flavour of the jackfruit while giving everything a nice sweet and salty taste. The green onions bring some freshness to the mix, while the sesame oil and seeds round everything up.
We served this with some rice-filled tofu pockets and a young pea shoots salad. The tofu pockets really make this meal look fancier than it is, while adding a little bit of protein, and tackling into the sweet-and-salty front. It really went well with the jackfruit stir fry.
So, does jackfruit taste like meat? In my opinion, not really. However, I think it brings a nice variety to any stir fry and really has a fun texture to look at. The appearance more than the taste is reminiscent of meat for me. I really enjoyed this, and I think jackfruit will become a staple can in my pantry.
Let me know what’s your favourite jackfruit recipe that I should try out and if you try this one out!
My Lighthearted Kitchen 
The rice filled pita pockets look delicious too!!!
They’re not pita, but tofu! They have a great slightly sweet taste. Very good indeed! 😀
Oooh! and where do you get those?
You can get them canned or sealed in the fresh section in Asian markets where they sell Japanese food or in Korean food stores. 🙂 Give them a try; they are so much fun and versatile!
Want to try it but can’t find in my area…how does it taste?
It doesn’t have a strong taste at it is the unripe fruit. It is slightly sour. Comparable to palm hearts maybe?
Hi ! Looks so delicious ! I’m going now to the asian market so i can give it a try for dinner ! What’s the name of the tofu pockets, and what’s the name of the green leaves you served with please ? (i want the full experience !)
Hello! Sorry for the extra long reply! 😦
The tofu pockets are called ‘Inari’ and you can find them in the Japanese section of your Asian grocery store. And I garnished with some green onions 🙂 I hope you like it!