Jackfruit is a great substitute for meat but requires some dense flavors to pull it off. This sweet and savory sauce does it!
Before I decide to be plant based, I was known for my Asian Orange short ribs. Everyone loved them.
They originated from an Emeril Lagasse, but I made them my own. Meat eaters, rejoice as here is his recipe! I give credit where credit is due!
Well, I loved them enough to create a wfpb version using jack fruit. It’s pretty darn good. Serve with Asian Dashi broth and you have a well rounded meal!
Asian Orange Jackfruit
Jackfruit marinated in a tamari based sauce with orange, lime, garlic, ginger and lemongrass. The marinade is strained, reduced and thickened. The cooked jackfruit is tossed in the sauce and baked to caramelize the sauce and jack fruit. Served with rice and your favorite vegetables!
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Can Green Jackfruit I use Trader Joe's
- 1 Cup Tamari or Nama Shoyu
- 1 Cup Orange Juice
- 1/4 Cup Lime Juice Or juice of 2 fresh limes
- 1 Stalk Lemon grass
- 4 Leaves Keefer Lime leaves
- 6 Cloves Garlic
- 2 Tbsp Pureed ginger
- 1 bunch Green onions
- 1 Scallion
- 2 Tbsp Honey Optional
- 2 Tbsp Corn or potato starch
- 1 Orange
Instructions
- Drain the jackfruit and soak in water for a few minutes while assembling your ingredients.
- Drain the rinsed jackfruit and squash each piece with your fingers. Sometimes the core is too hard and cannot be broken down. You can remove the hard pieces. Place the jack fruit in a shallow casserole dish that has a lid.
- Wash the green onions and remove the roots. Slice at a diagonal. Place the white parts on the onions in the dish with the jack fruit and reserve the green parts for garnish.
- Remove the skins and root from the scallion. Finely chop the scallions and place in the dish with the jackfruit.
- Remove the skins from the garlic. Smash them and add them to the dish.
- Rmove the tough outer skin of the lemongrass. Chop into several pieces and smash them to release the oils. Add to the dish.
- Add tamari, orange and lime juices.
- Add the ginger. If you prefer you can slice a 3" piece of fresh ginger and add that to your pan.
- Throw in the lime leaves. If you do not have any just leave them out!
- Bake at 350 ° F for 60 minutes (or Instapot for 15).
- Remove the lemon grass and leaves.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the jack fruit to another dish. Strain the marinade juices into a sauce pan. If you used fresh ginger you may have to remove it or plan on finishing your sauce in a blender.
- Simmer your juices in a sauce pan to reduce the liquid by 1/4. In the meantime, zest your orange and set aside the zest.
- Slice your orange in half and then segment the orange.
- Add your corn starch to 2-3 tablesoons of cold orange juice or water. Melt the corn starch into the liquid to remove the lumps and make a "slurry".
- Add the honey to your marinade juices that should now be reduced. If your sauce is lumpy with bits of jackfruit garlic or ginger, I suggest moving it to a blender.
- Slowly pour your slurry into your reduce sauce and stir frequently making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan as your sauce thickens. (If you are using a blender, just blend on high for 3 minutes.
- Return your jackruit to the pan, pour your sauce over it and toss to cover the jack fruit with the sauce. Place without a lid into oven and bake 20 to 30 minutes at 350 ° F until the jack fruit starts drying a bit and the sauce has caramelized.
- Stir orange segments into the jack fruit and set aside while you are taking up your other dishes for serving.
- Transfer to serving dish and top with orange zest and green onions. You may also add a sprinkle of black sesame seeds if preferred.
Notes
This is a Snap Pea Sheep recipe!
Suggested sides are white fluffy rice and steamed vegetables such as broccoli and carrots, bokchoy, red bell peppers or vegetable medley.
Want a quick version? Get some Hoison sauce, add a few drops of Zongle lemon grass extract, and some orange juice to a bowl and combine. Add to cooked jackfruit and allow to cook and thicken. It doesn't have the depth of flavor but it's still pretty good!
