Jackfruit "beef" stir fry (soya free!)

 

A couple of things I've really missed since cutting soya out of my diet is soy sauce and meat substitutes. It can be hard to get the perfect umami taste without soy sauce, and although the market for soya-free meat substitutes has improved massively recently, I'm still struggling to find something that works well in a stir fry.

That's where the jackfruit comes in!

Recently there's been a big craze about using jackfruit to mimic meat in vegan dishes. Jackfruit is part of the fig family and has little flavour of its own, but produces a pulled 'meaty' texture when pulled apart with a fork, making it the perfect canvas to add your own flavours too. You can buy it canned it most major supermarkets. 

The key to cooking with jackfruit is adding lots of flavour, letting it marinade and then cooking it slowly until it becomes crispy. This recipe uses umami flavours such as vegan beef stock and yeast extract, combined with spices such as ginger and chinese 5 spice to make perfectly seasoned jackfruit.

Another tip is to get as much moisture out of the jackfruit as possible - drain, then squeeze in kitchen roll to get the most liquid out. This will allow it to absorb more flavour, a bit like you would with tofu.

I made this a few times, and tried two different methods of cooking the jackfruit: frying and baking. I fried it in a little sesame oil for around 15 minutes until it began to brown, and baked it at 180°c for 20 minutes until crispy. I definitely preferred the oven method for crispier jackfruit, but it's completely up to you!

This made 2 portions, and took around 30 minutes to cook!

Ingredients

For the jackfruit 'beef':

• 1 can of young jackfruit 
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp chinese 5 spice
• 1/2 crumbled vegan beef stock cube (Oxo do a specifically vegan one!)
• 1/2 tsp yeast extract
• 2 tsp water
• 1/4 tsp ginger

For the stir fry

• 2 servings of cooked noodles 
• 1 pack of stir fry vegetables
• 1 tsp chinese 5 spice
• 1/2 crumbled vegan beef stock cube
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Sprinkle of chilli flakes (for extra spice, optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c (if you're oven cooking the jackfruit)
2. Drain the jackfruit, and the squeeze dry in some kitchen roll. Then, on a chopping board, shred the jackfruit using 2 forks
3. In a bowl, add the spices, oil and water for the jackfruit and stir to make a marinade. Then, stir in the jackfruit and leave for 20-30 minutes to marinade
4. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, mixing half way through to ensure it cooks evenly. Or, if you'd prefer, fry in a little sesame oil for around 15 minutes until crispy.
5. While the jackfruit is cooking, heat the sesame oil in a wok and add the stir fry veg. Fry for around 10 minutes until the veg shrinks and begins to brown
6. Add the cooked noodles to the veg and combine
7. Add the spices and a little water and continue to mix and stir fry until all of the noodles and veg are coated
8. Add the jackfruit and mix to combine
9. Serve in a large bowl with chilli flakes (and coriander if you like it!) sprinkled on top