The secret to cooking in a heatwave is to bring out the slow cooker. Since a lot of the dishes typically made in the slow cooker are thought of as cold weather food, I know a lot of you won’t think of it but it’s perfect. You won’t need to heat up the kitchen by turning on the oven and most of the work can be done early in the day when the day’s heat is at it’s lowest. It’s ideal!
The inspiration for this recipe came from Korean Bolgogi Beef. Literally translated as ‘fire meat’, Bulgogi was popularised by refugees from Pyongan and is generally cooked on a BBQ. Asian Pears are a typical tenderiser and often that delightful Korean chilli paste known as gochujang is added. Now obviously I can’t easily replicate the texture of thinly sliced sirloin, but jackfruit takes flavours well and can easily replicate the texture of pulled pork which is just as lovely. Now, I’m not a person to go to the shops to make one recipe work. Instead I created something slightly different, inspired by my research into the original, but matches what I have to hand.
I’ve paired the Jackfruit with a tasty mango slaw and creamy, vegan, coriander crema to cool the heat. It’s all surprisingly easy to make, and perfect for this summer heat. The smells coming from the kitchen while the jackfruit cooker were amazing and I really couldn’t recommend this enough.
Don’t feel like tacos today? Then these translates equally well to a really tasty rice bowl, just pair with fluffy rice, some kimchi and maybe a tasty cucumber salad.
- Makes: Serves 4-6
Ingredients
Korean Inspired Jackfruit:
- 500g Young Green Jackfruit (Aprox 2 tins, drained), rinsed to remove the brine if needed
- 1 Large Onion, roughly chopped
- 200g Pineapple (I used frozen that defrosted in no time in this heat), roughly chopped
- 6 Large Cloves of Garlic, minced
- 20g Ginger, cut into thin strips
- 250ml Mirin*
- 125ml Soy Sauce Substitute (See allergy note below)
- 125ml Maple Syrup
- 125ml Vegetable Stock
- 60ml Oil (a mild tasting oil like canola oil work well)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Sriracha
For the Mango Slaw:
- 1/2 head of Savoy Cabbage, shredded
- 1/4 Head of Purple Cabbage, Shredded
- 2 Carrots, cut into matchsticks
- 5 Spring Onions, Sliced
- 300g Mango, Chopped
- 1/4 cup Fresh Coriander, roughly chopped
- 1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds (a mix of black and white preferably)
- 2 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
- 2 Tbsp Lime Juice
- 3 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce Substitute (See allergy note below)
- 2 tsp Maple Syrup
- 2 tsp Sriracha
For the Lime and Coriander Crema:
- 150g Cashews, soaked
- 125 - 160ml of Water, depending on how thick you like your crema
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Lime Juice
- 1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1 Large Garlic Clove
Directions
Lets start by getting the Jackfruit going in the slow cooker. Put the pineapple, mirin, Soy sauce substitute, maple syrup, stock, and oil into a blender. Mix until mostly smooth then put into the body of your slow cooker. Add the rest of the Jackfruit ingredients and cook on low for 6 hours. When done, mash the jackfruit so that it resembles pulled pork. Simple!
The Slaw is equally simple. Whisk together the liquids for the dressing in a small bowl till the oil has emulsified. Toss the salad ingredients together in a large bowl, then toss through the dressing. If you’re doing this ahead of time, keep the salad and dressing separate until no more than 30 mins before serving, this will stop the salad from wilting and turning soggy.
For the crema, drain the cashews and blend with half the coriander along with the rest of the ingredients. Start with the bare minimum of water and gradually increase until the crema is smooth and as thick, or thin, as you prefer. Thinly slice the remaining coriander and gently stir into your crema. Keep in the fridge till ready to eat.
Optional flavour boosting step: 15-20 mins before you’re ready to eat, place your cooked jackfruit on an oven tray. I like to toss through a tablespoon of sesame seeds and a touch of toasted sesame oil. Place under a hot grill (or broiler for our american readers) and toast for 15 mins, turning halfway through, or until the Jackfruit has started to crisp and brown around the edges.
Serve on corn tacos and enjoy. There you have it, a tasty dinner that’s incredibly easy to make and won’t get you hot and bothered in summer heat.
Notes
As mentioned above, this works equally well as a tasty rice bowl if you’re not feeling tacos today. Just serve with some fluffy rice, a tasty Asian cucumber salad and maybe some kimchi.
Allergy Notes; you may be a little tired of this note by now but those of you that don’t know, I’m going to keep saying this – Soy Sauce is NOT gluten free as the brewing process contains wheat. A good gluten free option is Tamari which normally (not always! check your brand) contains no gluten, is slightly less salty, and thicker than soy sauce. We use coconut aminos in our house, while not quite as rich as soy sauce, it’s both gluten free and soy free but different brands vary tremendously – you may have to look around before finding one that suits you.
This recipe is easily vegan, gluten free and soy free. If sesame seeds are an allergen for you then substitute the sesame oil for mild tasting oil like rapeseed. You can skip the sesame seeds entirely or substitute them for a mix of poppy seeds and sunflower seeds.
