Pulled jackfruit tacos with tropical salsa [vegan!]

sneak peak: a quick and easy recipe for vegan pulled jackfruit tacos with a tropical salsa of mango, avocado, kiwi and lime

Jackfruit has been ~having a moment~ for a very long time now.

When I was at uni, my route to the train station took me past York's Chinese supermarket where I made many an interesting purchase. On one occasion, in between buying a packet of what turned out to be approximately a billion rice paper wrappers, the world's largest bag of ground coriander (still well over half full despite frequent, enthusiastic use), and an assortment of other weird and wonderful finds, I chanced upon some jackfruit.

It sat in the cupboard at home for about two years before Mum and I finally got round to using it and, predictably, it was very tasty and I wished I had done it sooner. The more you learn.

There are two different types of jackfruit, and mixing them up would create a very different result in this recipe. One is sweet and ripe and drenched in syrup; the other is neutral and harder and stored in water (or 'brine', how appetising). Both come in cans, so make sure you read what you're buying. The brand I used was Aroy-D's 'young green jackfruit in brine'. If you have a sword of Samurai standards and are feeling incredibly ambitious, you could buy an actual whole giant spiky bizarre jackfruit.

Also, if you can (ha ha), buy this from your nearest Chinese supermarket rather than online because it's a) nice to support local businesses, b) better environmentally than getting Amazon to ship one single can of it to you, and c) probably cheaper.

Pulled jackfruit tacos with tropical salsa
vegan, gluten free if you use GF tacos

Ingredients
Jackfruit
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can jackfruit (in water/brine, not syrup), shredded
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp lazy chilli
salt & pepper
100ml veggie stock
soft tortillas (gluten free if you need)
mixed leaves

Salsa
1/2 red onion
3 small or 2 large kiwis
1/2 mango
1 small avocado
handful coriander leaves
juice of 1 lime
salt & pepper

Directions
1. In a large sauté pan, soften the onion then add the garlic and stir until browned.
2. Drain the jackfruit and shred using two forks to pull the pieces apart, then add to the pan with the spices and veg stock. Simmer with the lid on until the liquid is mostly absorbed, about 10-15 minutes.
3. While the jackfruit is simmering, make the salsa. Chop up the onion, kiwi, mango and avocado into small pieces. Shred the coriander (scissors make this easier) and mix it all together with the lime juice. Season to taste.
4. Serve the jackfruit with soft tortillas, mixed green leaves, and the salsa. Enjoy!

You can get really creative with this, and coming soon is a recipe to use up your leftovers! I'd love to see photos if you recreate this, so please tag me on Instagram (@imogenfin) and leave a comment here with your thoughts as well. Happy jackfruiting!

*All photos in this post are mine. If you wish to use any, please ask my permission and credit me.*
As always, all photos are click-to-enlarge.