Why do Vegetarians eat "fake meat"? BBQ sauce. Pulled Jackfruit

Northeast 5 or 6, becoming variable 3 or 4.

Slight or moderate.

Rain at first.

Moderate or poor, becoming good.

Well, why do Vegetarians eat "fake meat" ? I don’t know. I can only tell you why I eat fake meat.

There is nothing wrong with the meat dishes as such, apart from them having meat. I still like the idea of Spag Bol, ribs, beef stir fries and meatballs. But if I can have the same, or very similar, taste without meat, why not try it out?

Let`s say I serve you a dish and, after having asked for seconds and thirds, you literally lick the platter clean, lean back and ask me: “That was amazing, what was that?” And I say: “A Vietnamese dish with rat as the main ingredient.”

Chances are high you don’t want the recipe. You liked it very much but you don’t want to eat rat.

So the next time we meet I tell you: “Look, I was experimenting with the dish because I understand your reluctance. I came up with replacing the rat with one part turkey and one part game. It tastes nearly the same as with rat”. You would try it, wouldn’t you? And, if you like it, cook it for friends. Have you now served “fake rat” or have you served a dish with ingredients you like and taste amazing with the sauce?

So, why mock a Vegetarian who still craves spaghetti with meatballs but comes up with Quorn or Tofu balls? And is happy that it tastes nearly the same?

I still miss certain meat dishes and instead of giving in I try to replace them. Some cant be replaced. Like duck breast. Or a venison steak. But others are fairly easy to substitute.

One problem with substitutes is texture. Yes, there are mushrooms. But you can do only so many things with them.

But another one is something you might not have heard of. Green Jackfruit. Sold in brine/water in Chinese supermarkets. Dont buy the one in syrup, you don’t want a desert, you want young green jackfruits in water. 

Ask if you are unsure. You can also find them in Jamaican supermarkets. It’s an amazing fruit. The round core gives a bite and the outer layer can be shredded with your fingers so it looks like pulled pork (yes, the first picture is pulled Jackfruit, too).

If you dry fry it (after having rinsed and washed it), the jackfruit  can look anything from greyish to lavender. Depending on brine. But most often it looks like veal.

And you take it from there.

The following recipe is an adaptation from Georgia Bronte from the Guardian.

I wasn’t too keen on the BBQ sauce featured there, and nothing stops you from making your own trusted recipe or buy your favourite brand. The problem with BBQ sauces is how sweet you like it; and there is a lot of sugar in any BBQ sauce. You need roughly half the amount of sugar to the weight in ketchup to get there. And if you can get “liquid smoke”, it makes all the difference. If you do your own BBQ sauce, omit the mustard. It will be added later with the jackfruit.

 

BBQ Pulled Jackfruit

1 shallot, chopped finely

2 cloves of garlic minced very fine

2 tbsp vegetable oil

½ teaspoon chilli powder

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon mild paprika

1 pinch of cayenne

freshly ground black pepper

190ml ketchup

90gr brown sugar

1 tablespoon red vinegar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

a few drops of liquid smoke (optional but it makes a huge difference)

1 tin of jackfruit in brine

1 teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard.

Heat  1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat; add in the shallot and saute for about 3 minutes, then add in garlic and saute for another 2 minutes.

Add in chilli powder, paprika, cumin, cayenne, salt and black pepper; stir for 1 minute.

Add in all remaining ingredients; bring to a boil stirring with a wooden spoon to combine.

Reduce heat to low and keep cooking on a low heat until sauce has thickened to the consistency of ketchup.

Cool to room temperature then cover and refrigerate for 24 hours or more before using.

Drain and thoroughly rinse the tinned jackfruit. Use your hands to tear the strands of jackfruit from the harder core. The fruit will come apart very easily. Put the pulled jackfruit into a bowl and put the cores into another bowl. Once everything has been pulled apart use a knife to finely chop the harder cores.

Heat oil in pan and add the pulled jackfruit. Cook until it gets a bit pink and loses some moisture. Add the Dijon mustard and stir in (do try it at this point, tastes already great, doesn’t it?) Add a little water if it starts to stick to the pan.

Add the BBQ sauce and stir in to coat. Cook until it’s almost starting to get a little crispy and sticking to the pan a little.

Serve with either rice, in a baguette (make your own Banh Mi),

in tacos, or, as I did, in a tortilla with sliced and grilled avocado and salsa.

Verdict:

The Jackfruit is really amazing but the BBQ sauce needs a bit tweaking. The taste was very good, but if you make only small amounts, the ingredients don’t have time to mingle as much a before it is reduced. Maybe double and freeze the rest? Or maybe in the slow cooker? Dont get me wrong, it was really good, but not as great as the batches I made when I cooked for more.

I can see using the Jackfruit in a kind of Zürcher Geschnetzeltes or in Asian food, maybe a Pad Thai