Jackfruit is the “porcupine” of the plant world. If you are still not scared off by its appearance, then the smell of overripe jackfruit may confuse you. So what is this exotic fruit – prickly skin, “ribs”, pods and seeds?
Despite its repulsive appearance, jackfruit innards are a delight to the eye with a golden color, creamy texture, with bulbs dotted with large black seeds. Bulbs, or they are also called pods, are actually a shell for dark seeds that are eaten fried or cooked from them in various dishes. The seeds can also be boiled like chestnuts. A number of fans of this fruit eat the seeds along with the bulbs. During heat treatment, the seeds become soft and resemble beans. An unripe jackfruit that is beige, white, or golden in color is often referred to as “vegetable meat” for its taste and texture.
Finding fresh jackfruit commercially is not easy, but you can buy it frozen, dried, or canned in brine. Canned young jackfruits can be found in Asian and South Asian stores. It is often found frozen. The trick is that only unripe fruits are used as “vegetable meat”. Ripe jackfruit is more often used for making desserts. It is a wonderful sweet snack that can be enjoyed raw or used as an ingredient in fruit salads or sorbets. If you are lucky enough to buy a fresh jackfruit, you can cut it up and freeze it for future use.
Young fruits are dense, have a neutral taste, combined with any herbs or spices. The pods are often added to vegetable stews. The pulp of the jackfruit can also be ground into minced meat and cooked into meatballs, steaks, meatballs or burgers. The advantage of jackfruit over other vegetable meat substitutes is that it does not contain sodium, fats, artificial colors, preservatives and gluten, but it is rich in fiber and vitamin C. It has less protein than soy or other legumes – 3 g per 200 g of product .
If you are not too fond of complex dishes, then simply rinse the young fruit (to remove salt) and marinate it to taste – with barbecue sauce, oil or vinegar for 30 minutes and fry. You can cook jackfruit on the grill or make a real barbecue with your favorite seasonings. Another option is to chop or chop the fruits and cook pasta with them. Or add to marinara sauce, chili or soup.
All the recipes that we will introduce you to use young unripe fruits. If you have canned jackfruit, it must be properly dried. To remove excess salt, the pulp is pre-washed. Frozen jackfruit should be thawed before eating.
Spicy jackfruit cutlets
Here is a basic recipe that can be varied with dried or fresh herbs and spices of your choice.
200 g young jackfruit
200 g boiled potatoes
100 g chopped onion
1 st. l. chopped chili pepper
1 hours. L. minced garlic
Vegetable oil for frying
Jackfruit needs to be mashed, if it is not soft enough, heat it for 30 seconds in the microwave. Make a smooth puree of potatoes and jackfruit.
Heat up a frying pan with oil. Sauté the onion, chili and garlic until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the prepared puree and cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Then refrigerate for half an hour (or leave overnight).
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Shape the chilled mixture into patties. Bake for 10 minutes in the oven or pan fry. Can also be steamed and served with pasta or crispy bread.
Jackfruit salad
This salad can be called “from the fire to the frying pan” – a combination of spicy and mild flavors. It has an expensive ingredient – coconut cream, so the salad is suitable for special occasions. The dish does not reveal itself in taste immediately, it can be prepared in advance, 1-2 days in advance, and stored chilled.
300 g chopped young unripe jackfruit
300 g coconut cream (not to be confused with coconut milk)
100 g chopped tomatoes
100 g red sweet onion
2 hours. L. grated ymbyrya
1 tsp crushed chili pepper (spicy to taste)
½ tsp white pepper
1 st. l. chopped green cilantro or parsley
Place the jackfruit in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Mix all remaining ingredients except cilantro in a bowl. Add jackfruit and coconut cream, mix well and garnish with cilantro. Refrigerate and serve with noodles, flatbread or lettuce.