Our world-traveling chef takes on one of the stranger fruits out there
Jackfruit doesn’t taste like pulled pork. It just doesn’t. And anyone who tries to tell you that it does is not your friend and the truth is not in ‘em.
To be fair though, if you put enough barbeque sauce on it, jackfruit might remind you of a freshly microwaved Hungry Man dinner, but no card-carrying Southerner would ever betray their heritage with such an atrocity. Don’t get me wrong though. Even though jackfruit doesn’t taste like pulled pork, it’s freaking delicious and can be used to make both savory and sweet dishes.
In fact, it can be prepared in a way that gives it a sort-of meatlike texture, which is one of the main reasons the vegetarian and vegan communities have gotten worked into a frenzy over this gigantic ball of spikes and possibilities.
Jackfruit are the absurd looking behemoths of the fruit world. They can grow to the size of a toddler, are covered in hundreds of cone shaped nubs and generally look like something Theodor Geisel dreamt up after a rugged dose of Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Morphine Syrup.
If you manage to find fresh ones at your favorite Asian market, you may see what looks like two different types, but they’re the same fruit—one is ripe and the other is young. Picking the right one for the dish you’re making can make the difference between eating something new and delicious or eating something that tastes like you’ve been teabagged by Willy Wonka’s gobstoppers.
You can avoid the guesswork by buying canned jackfruit, which is clearly labeled as either green/young for unripe, or ripe for, well, the ripe stuff. Canned is easier to work with, but just like any fruit or vegetable—fresh is better.Young jackfruit is used in the cuisines of many Asian countries. It’s usually boiled and used in curries, salads or as a vegetable in a variety of main course and side dishes.
Young, unripe jackfruit has a mild, almost bland taste that takes on any flavors you throw at it. Its texture is a bit stringy, which is why it’s being touted as this year’s meat replacement de jour, but I prefer to let jackfruit just be jackfruit.
Those who try to fruit shame it with meat-centric labels like “vegan pulled pork” or “vegetarian animal flesh substitute” do a disservice to the millions of hard working jackfruit that died for your dinner.
Ripe jackfruit, on the other hand is very sweet with a pronounced fruity flavor. Where young jackfruit is a blank starch canvas ready to take on other flavors, ripe jackfruit is yellow, sweet and tastes like a pineapple had sex with a mango and made a bubble gum baby.
Its similarity with the flavor of chewing gum, particularly Juicy Fruit, is so pronounced that there’s a persistent myth that ripe jackfruit’s flavor inspired the flavor of Juicy Fruit gum.
In actuality, Juicy Fruit smells like jackfruit because they both contain a chemical called isoamyl acetate, a common ingredient in bubble gum that jackfruit produces as it ripens.
If you get your mitts on a fresh, young jackfruit, you’ll need to take some precautions before preparing it. First, cover your work surface with newspaper. Jackfruit contains natural latex that is really, really hard to remove, so slather your hands and the blade of your knife (serrated works best) with vegetable oil to keep the latex from sticking.
Slice it into large chunks, slice off the skin and drop it into boiling water for about 40 minutes or until the flesh is soft and stringy. Pro tip: if you use a pressure cooker, cooking only takes about 10 minutes.
Once it’s cooked remove the seeds, dig out the pods and all that stringy, fleshy stuff between the pods. Now it’s ready to use. If you are stuck using canned young jackfruit, it’s already been boiled, so just drain, rinse, squeeze the excess moisture out, and cook it according to your recipe.
Ripe jackfruit in the can is yellow, springy, a little fibrous, and super sweet. It can be made into ice cream, chips, jelly, candy; you can slice it into a fruit salad or on top of ice cream; you can even eat it straight out of the can or buy a fresh one and eat it straight from the pod.
Personally, I’m more of an unripe jackfruit guy, so I recommend a savory dish like Thai curry. Bonus gift: I’m including a recipe for red curry paste that will make you swear off the store-bought stuff. Happy jackfruiting!
Thai Jackfruit Curry
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 med onion, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
- 4 tbsp Thai red curry paste (see below)
- 1 tsp coconut sugar
- 1.5 lbs fresh, young jackfruit or 1 20-ounce can green/unripe jackfruit
- 1 cup sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks and blanched until a knife can pierce easily, but not mushy
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup Thai basil leaves (horapha), chopped
- 3/4 tsp salt
Directions
1. If using fresh, young jackfruit, cover your work surface with newspaper. Jackfruit contains natural latex that is really hard to remove, so coat your hands and the blade of your knife (serrated works best) with vegetable oil to keep the latex from sticking. 2. Slice the jackfruit into quarters and keep slicing until you have large chunks of fruit - then slice off the skin.
3. Boil the jackfruit chunks for about 40 minutes or until the flesh is soft and stringy (kind of like chicken). Pro tip: if you use a pressure cooker, cooking only takes about 10 minutes.
4. Once the jackfruit is cooked, peel off the skin, remove the seeds and dig out the pods and all the stringy, fleshy stuff between the pods. Pro tip #2: The seeds are edible. Roasted, they taste sort of like chestnuts; they can be boiled and eaten like little potatoes; or they can be ground into a flour that has a hint of chocolate flavor.
5. If you’re using canned jackfruit, just drain it, rinse it, and cut into chunks.
6. Heat the oil in medium saucepan over medium heat, add the red curry paste and cook until it begins to give off a fragrant and spicy aroma –you’re wanting to partially cook the raw ingredients in the curry paste with this step.
7. Add onions and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes.
8. Add garlic and ginger and cook for another minute, continuously stirring.
9. Add sugar, jackfruit, and sweet potatoes, stirring constantly to coat, and cook for about 3 minutes.
10. Add coconut cream and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes. The cream will begin to separate.
11. Add the coconut milk and stir to incorporate thoroughly. Continue cooking until vegetables are tender.
12. Remove from heat, stir in the basil leaves and serve immediately with jasmine rice.
Thai Red Curry Paste
Ingredients
- 8 dry Thai red spur chilis (phrik chee fah)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander root, cleaned and thinly sliced
- 1 kaffir lime
- 1 tbsp sliced lemongrass
- 1 tbsp thinly sliced galangal 3 tsp white peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 10 – 15 cloves Thai garlic
- 4 shallots – peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon Thai shrimp paste
Directions
1. Soak the chilis in water for 10 – 15 minutes to soften, drain, and cut into 1/2” pieces (the more seeds you keep, the spicier the paste will be). Set aside.
2. Roast the cumin seeds and coriander seeds in a hot pan until they begin to give off a pleasant aroma (about 5 minutes on med-high heat). Set aside
3. Cut the peel from half of the lime and slice into thin strips. Try not to get any of the white pith (the pith is bitter)
4. Pound the chilis and salt with a mortar and pestle until it starts to look a bit like tomato paste (about 10-15 minutes).
5. Next add the lime rind and coriander root. Pound until that becomes incorporated into the paste (about another 10 minutes)
6. Add the lemongrass and galangal, pounding each to a paste before moving to the next step.
7. Add the roasted cumin and coriander – pound to pulverize and incorporate, then add the garlic and shallots, pounding each to a paste before adding the next ingredient.
8. Finally, add the shrimp paste, lightly pounding (watch for splash!) until everything combined and a smooth paste has formed.
Mike McJunkin is a native Chattanoogan currently living abroad who has trained chefs, owned and operated restaurants. Join him on Facebook at facebook.com/SushiAndBiscuits