Sticky Chinese Jackfruit (Vegan/Gluten Free)

This dish is one of those dishes that you end up making over and over again. Not only is it tasty, quick and easy, and even fairly healthy... it's also vegan and gluten free. 

From start to finish in about 10 minutes. Seriously. That's it. 

Serve it with some rice or noodles and *voila* super delicious side with your Chinese dinner!

Serve it with our Garlic Green Beans (Recipe HERE) for another great Chinese dish!

FYI - If you are not worried about it being gluten free then you can use "regular" soy sauce.

Sticky Chinese Jackfruit (Vegan/Gluten Free)

Ingredients

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp ginger root, minced

1/4 cup soy sauce (I use gluten free)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/8 cup rice vinegar

1 Tbsp Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp sesame oil

2 pkgs (2 X 200 gr) plain jackfruit (I used Upton's Naturals) 

2 Tbsp rice flour

Decoration

green onion

toasted sesame seeds

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together garlic, ginger, soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar, Thai sweet chili sauce, and cornstarch. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Place the jackfruit in a bowl and sprinkle with the rice flour. Toss gently to coat. 

Place the jackfruit in a single layer in the hot pan. 

Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes, then flip over. 

Pour the marinade over the jackfruit and lower heat to medium low. Once it starts to bubble, gently stir the jackfruit to coat. 

Once all the pieces are coated and sauce has thickened, remove from heat and serve immediately. 

Sprinkle with sliced green onions and sesame seeds, if desired. 

One of those dishes that isn't going to win any beauty prizes BUT, as we all know, that doesn't mean it won't win all the tastiness prizes!

It's quite rich so a little goes a long way. And, when served on rice, the amount above makes about 7 servings, give or take, if served with other dishes as part of a meal.... 

Jackfruit Cowboy Casserole

I love experimenting with jackfruit. I think it's because of the texture. It's very meat-like. It pretty  much takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with, much like tofu, but it doesn't have that weird squishy texture that tofu has. 

This casserole is usually made with ground beef - and is equally as tasty when made as such - but this way is a bit healthier and lighter. In fact, it's gluten free and vegan as well. Give it a try for your next Meatless Monday, I'm betting even the biggest meat eaters in your house will enjoy it. 

A hearty, home cooked casserole that takes almost zero effort as you just throw everything in the slow cooker / crock pot. My favorite kind of meal!

Jackfruit Cowboy Casserole

Ingredients

1 large onion, cut in 1 inch pieces

4 cloves garlic, cut in half

2 cups baby carrots

2 pkgs (2 X 200 gr) plain jackfruit 

5 large potatoes, peeled and sliced thin

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (284 ml) condensed tomato soup

salt & pepper

1 tsp garlic granules

1/2 cup water

Directions

In the bottom of your crock pot/slow cooker place the onion, garlic, and carrots.

Layer the jackfruit on top and then the potatoes. Top with the kidney beans and then the tomato soup, salt & pepper, garlic granules, and then gently pour the water over the top. 

Cover and cook on high for 4 - 5 hours. You can also cook on low for about 7 - 8 hours. Potatoes should be fork tender. 

Serve immediately. Store any leftovers in the fridge and simply reheat when ready to eat. 

I believe I got 6 or 7 good sized servings. 

When I made this I actually forgot to put the potatoes in after I had finished layering everything. I simply scraped the soup and beans off the top and then layered the potatoes in, then spread the soup and beans back on top of the potatoes. It worked just fine. 

Basically the only prep involved is peeling and slicing the potatoes. Gotta love that, am I right?

Vegan Mongolian "Beef" Noodles

I know what you are thinking. It's NOT Mongolian beef if it's vegan. 

Well, you'd be right about that. But, now hear me out, it's pretty darned close when you use jackfruit in the recipe. The more we cook with it the more we are learning how incredibly versatile jack fruit is. You'd never know it wasn't beef in this recipe. The only difference we find is,  it is not as chewy as beef would be. 

This recipe only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish so is great for those busy weeknights. 

Also FYI - this recipe is gluten free if you use gluten free rice noodles and a gluten free soy sauce. 

Vegan Mongolian "Beef" Noodles

Ingredients

2 pkgs (450 gr each) rice noodles 

1 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes 

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 pkg (200 gr each) shredded jackfruit

8 green onions, diced

6 cups coleslaw/rainbow salad mix

Garnish

green onion

toasted sesame seeds

Directions

Pre-soak rice noodles as per package directions.

While noodles are soaking, whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and pepper flakes. Set aside. 

In a large pot or wok, heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Cook and stir the ginger and garlic for 2 minutes. Add in the jackfruit and stir to combine. Pour in half of the soy sauce mixture and let simmer for 5 minutes. 

Stir in the green onions and coleslaw/rainbow salad mix. (See below for a photo of the two kinds of salad to clarify. I used one bag of each for some variety.)

Cook and stir until veggies are wilted, about 5 minutes.

Add the soaked rice noodles to the pot/wok and stir well. Pour in the remaining soy sauce mixture. 

Cook and stir until heated through - about 3 - 4 more minutes. 

Serve immediately. Garnish with a sprinkle of green onion and sesame seed. 

Note - this makes a LARGE amount. Probably enough to feed about 8 to 10 people. You can easily half the recipe, if desired. 

Leftovers are fabulous heated up the next day. Of course, the noodles will soak up the sauce so they become drier the longer they sit. 

Be sure to use a large pot as until everything cooks down, your ingredients take up a LOT of room. If it is easier, you can toss the noodles with the veggies in a large bowl and then place back in the pot to heat through. 

Vegetarian (Jackfruit) Greek Gyro

Jackfruit is becoming my favorite new ingredient to experiment with. I think its because it confuses my brain so much. It's fruit but it totally looks and tastes like meat. 

Have you tried it yet? You really need to. If we can get it here in Lillooet then I know you can find it where you are. We use the Upton's Natural pre-cut jackfruit (plain) for this recipe. 

These gyros are vegetarian but could be made vegan with a couple of substitutes. We found the original version of this recipe over at Lazy Cat Kitchen (click HERE) but made a few switches of our own to suit what we had on hand. Click over to Lazy Cat Kitchen for how to completely veganize the recipe. 

Vegetarian (Jackfruit) Greek Gyro

Ingredients

Jackfruit "Meat"

3 Tbsp oil

1 medium purple onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, finely diced

1/2 tsp cumin

2 tsp Greek seasoning

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 boxes of shredded jackfruit (400 gr/14 oz total)

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbsp maple syrup

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Remaining Ingredients

6 large Greek pitas

1/2 cup tzatziki 

6 romaine lettuce leaves

1 cucumber, sliced

1 small purple onion, sliced

cherry tomatoes, quartered 

1/3 bag of McCain's Rosemary & Garlic Superfries 

Directions

Prepare the jackfruit "meat": in a large frying pan heat the oil over medium heat. When sizzling, add in the onions. Cook and stir until onions are translucent and then add in garlic. Cook and stir another few minutes, until garlic is fragrant. 

Add in the spices (cumin, Greek seasoning, chili powder, and black pepper). Fry gently for a minute until well combined. Now stir in the tomato paste. 

Next add in the jackfruit, soy sauce, maple syrup, and vinegar. 

Simmer the mixture gently for 10 minutes, using your flipper to break up the jackfruit into smaller pieces. After 10 minutes, remove from heat and let cool. 

Chill, covered, in fridge until ready to prepare gyros. 

**NOTE - to this stage can be done up to 2 days ahead of time. The longer the mixture sits the stronger the flavors are. ** 

When ready to assemble: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the jackfruit mixture on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, stirring once at the halfway point. 

**NOTE - I spread the jackfruit on half of the cookie sheet and place the McCain's Rosemary & Garlic Superfries on the other half so they are ready at the same time.** 

Place a Greek pita on piece of parchment paper. Spread a little tzatziki on the pita. Layer on lettuce, cucumber, onion, and tomatoes. Top with a generous scoop of the jackfruit mixture, then a few of the fries.

Gently bring up the sides of the pita and wrap with the parchment paper. Top with another dollop of tzatziki.

Serve immediately. 

**NOTE - to prevent the pita from cracking when you fold it, simply microwave it for 20 seconds first.** 

You should get enough for 6 pitas. 

This. Was. Heavenly.

You cannot tell it is not meat. Seriously. You could fool the biggest carnivores out there. 

Those Greek flavors are addicting too. I used the McCain's Rosemary & Garlic fries because they totally compliment the spices in the jackfruit. Apparently fries in a gyro is a thing that happens all over the world. I like it. I'm soooo doing that with all my gyros from now on. 

Vegan Philly Cheesesteak Sliders

Have you ever tried something new and just been blown away by it? I have to admit, when it comes to trying new food things it takes a lot to surprise me. 

When I first heard about jackfruit I was skeptical. I mean, using fruit as a meat substitute? I don't think so. Then jackfruit started showing up on all the "new food trends" lists and I knew that Sue and I had to give it a go. Unfortunately, living in Lillooet meant we didn't immediately have access to it. We were very patient however and eventually jackfruit made its way to town. 

We used this prepackaged, already shredded, original jackfruit from Upton's Naturals (website HERE) for our recipe but we'd love to be able to try it with an actual jackfruit one day!

Anyway, this surprised the heck out of me. 

Seeing it in the pan confused my brain. I mean... it looks like meat. Totally like meat. Look....

How is that fruit?

I don't know. It's so weird. 

But, as we often say, weird is good. In this case, weird is amazing! If you haven't given jackfruit a try then we encourage you to do so. This recipe is completely vegan but you don't have to be vegan to thoroughly enjoy it. Our parents didn't even know it wasn't meat. 

So. Much. Fun.

Vegan Philly Cheesesteak Sliders

Ingredients

Caramelized Onions

2 Tbsp oil

2 large onions, sliced

salt & pepper

Fried peppers

1 Tbsp oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 red pepper, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

1 yellow pepper, sliced

1 medium portobello mushroom cap, sliced

Jackfruit

2 (7 oz/200 gr each) pkgs shredded, plain jackfruit

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1 tsp soy sauce

Garlic Butter

1/3 cup vegan butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp garlic powder

12 slider buns 

12 slices of vegan provolone (We used Daiya provolone see HERE)

Directions

In a medium frying pan over medium-low heat, place the 2 Tbsp oil, 2 large, sliced onions, and a dash of salt and pepper. Cook and stir until onions starts to sizzle. Immediately turn the heat to low. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring every couple of minutes, until onions are caramelized. This should take between 30 - 40 minutes. 

When the onions are done, remove them from the pan to a bowl and set aside. In the same pan, place the 1 Tbsp oil, garlic, peppers, and mushroom. Turn heat up to medium. 

At the same time, in a separate non-stick pan, place the jackfruit and spices, sugar, liquid smoke, and soy sauce. Cook and stir gently over medium-low heat until heated through. This should take about the same amount of time as the peppers to cook - about 8 minutes. 

When the peppers are done cooking, add the onions back to the pan with them. 

In a small bowl, combine your vegan butter, garlic, and garlic powder. Brush on both the top and bottom inside each bun. Place the buns, face up, on a cookie sheet. 

Place half a slice of Daiya provolone on the bottom half of each bun. 

Turn on the broiler in the oven. Place cookie sheet on the middle rack in oven until cheese just starts to melt, about 1 - 2 minutes. 

Remove from heat and top each bottom half with 1 spoonful of the jackfruit mixture.

Then top with the onion/pepper/mushroom mixture.

Lastly, top with another half of Daiya provolone.

Place back in oven under broiler (middle of oven) until cheese is melty - about 5 or so minutes. If the top of the buns start to get too toasty then just pull them off the cookie sheet and place them on the counter until cheese is melted. 

Place top bun on top of the provolone.

Serve immediately. 

Hard to believe it's vegan, am I right?

FYI - we purchased vegan slider buns, we didn't make them. 

They are a little bit of effort to put together but nothing terribly difficult. Totally worth it, IMO. 

These sliders are perfect for game night, ladies night, after school snacks, or lunch time! 

Use a gluten free soy sauce and buy gluten free buns and not only is this vegan, it's also gluten free. 

Sue and I aren't vegan but we do enjoy vegan and vegetarian dishes. We can't wait to experiment more with jackfruit. What are your experiences with jackfruit? Are you a fan?