MOVE OVER TOFU
This is the new meat substitute
This week it’s happening, the first Dutch edition of the National Week Without Meat. An initiative by Isabel Boerdam, whom you might know from De Hippe Vegetarian. You can feel it coming, in the coming days we are going to collectively not eat meat for a week. That means seven days without roast beef on your bread, no little chicken from the oven and also that tender piece of beef we will have to let go for a while. Why? To experience how easy it is to skip meat. Because believe me, with the right ingredients you really won’t miss it.
Where you used to struggle to find a tasty alternative for the tartare or piece of chicken, the coolers in the supermarket are now full of meat substitutes. Whether you want a lentil burger or a mushroom burger, it’s there. But besides those slices of tempeh and seaweed pasta there is a new hype going on: jackfruit. This fruit, also known as nangka, is increasingly being used as a substitute for a piece of meat or fish. And I get it. Let me catch you up…
Jackfruit is a spiky fruit that has been used daily in Asia, South America, and Africa for many years. The fruits are harvested and can weigh up to 35 kilos. Especially in America, the fruit is incredibly popular and if it were up to me, Jack would quickly find its way to the shelves of our Ap. However, there is a chance that you can already find this highly nutritious fruit at home. If you have a well-stocked Asian store nearby, there is a chance that you will come across the frozen or canned variant. Just make sure you get the right one. Yellow jackfruit in a can is in syrup, is sweet in taste, and is therefore perfect for use in a dessert. The young, green variant is in (salt) water, is unripe and neutral in taste, and is therefore perfect for savory dishes.
The texture of the fruit is comparable to pulled pork or pulled chicken. And because of that texture, the flesh absorbs flavor very well, allowing you to season it well or combine it with a nice sauce. The meat substitute is good to eat both ripe and unripe, and is not only intensely delicious (if you prepare it the right way) but is also packed with fiber, starch, vitamin B6, C, and potassium.
Wraps with pulled jackfruit and creamy red cabbage salad (4 people)
Pulled Jackfruit
2 cans of jackfruit in brine (salt water)
1 clove of garlic
barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon smoked paprika powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
pepper & salt
splash of olive oil
4 whole wheat wraps
Red cabbage salad
Grated red cabbage
1 apple
2 tbsp Greek yogurt
juice of half a lemon
1/2 tbsp honey
salt and pepper
handful of fresh parsley
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Drain the jackfruit well in a colander, rinse with water, and let the pieces drain well.
- Cut off the hard parts of the fruit and pull the fruit apart with your fingers or a fork.
- Mix the pulled fruit with the finely chopped garlic, the spices, barbecue sauce, and a bit of olive oil. Finally, add some salt and pepper and set aside.
- Put the mixture in a baking dish and bake for about 25 minutes. Stir well every ten minutes so that everything cooks evenly.
- In the meantime, peel the apple and cut it into small pieces. Put all the ingredients for the red cabbage salad in a large bowl and mix together.
- Warm the wraps and fill them with some jackfruit and the red cabbage salad.
- Garnish with fresh parsley.
Image: Camile Styles
