Sweet and Sour Jackfruit Fakeaway
Introduction
Jackfruit has a lovely subtle sweetness and it’s a brilliant meat replacer in vegan cooking. We pair it with sweet and sour flavours to create our one-tray twist on this classic Chinese takeaway.
Ingredients
| 2 x 560g tins of | jackfruit in brine |
| salt and pepper | |
| vegetable oil | |
| 300g | basmati rice |
| 3 | peppers (we use red, yellow and orange) |
| 1 | onion |
| 1 x 425g tin of | pineapple chunks in juice |
| 2 | spring onions |
| A handful of | sesame seeds |
| For the sauce: | |
| 6 tbsp | tomato ketchup |
| 3 tbsp | cornflour |
| 2 tbsp | light soy sauce |
| 3 tbsp | maple syrup |
| 2 tbsp | apple cider vinegar |
| ¼ tsp | chilli powder |
| 400ml | pineapple juice |
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/gas 7. Drain and rinse the jackfruit, pat dry with kitchen paper or a tea towel, then put it on a large roasting tray, season with salt and pepper and generously drizzle with 1½ tablespoons of vegetable oil. Toss with your hands, then roast for 20–25 minutes or until slightly charred around the edges. Remove the jackfruit from the tray and leave in a bowl to one side.
Drain and rinse the rice, then put it on the tray along with 450ml of water and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine, then cover with baking paper or another large tray and roast for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together the sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl. Next, prep the veggies: cut the peppers into 3cm cubes, discarding the seeds and stalks, then peel the onion and cut into 8 wedges.
Remove the tray from the oven and discard the baking paper. Using a spoon, move the rice over so it takes up a quarter of the tray and pour 150ml of cold water over it. Drain the tinned pineapple and add it to the remaining three-quarters of the tray along with the jackfruit, veggies and sauce. Give the sauce and veggies a gentle stir, then roast for 15–20 minutes.
To finish, roughly chop the spring onions and sprinkle on top, along with the sesame seeds.
Tip: Lots of supermarkets now stock tinned jackfruit, but if you’re having trouble finding it simply sub with sliced tofu and follow the same method.
