Name: Jackfruit Curry
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 tbsp coconut oil; 1 onion, finely chopped; 5-6 small potatoes, cut into bite size pieces; 1 habanero pepper, seeded and finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1” ginger, peeled and minced; 4 oz red curry paste; 400ml coconut milk; 2 cups fresh or frozen jackfruit, cut into bite size pieces; 1 cup spinach; 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped + more for garnish; Pine nuts, for garnish; 2 cups jasmine rice

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Jackfruit can be eaten raw or cooked and tastes like a subtle combination of mango, banana and apple. The fruit easily takes on any flavor it’s cooked in, making it a popular meat substitute in dishes like vegan bbq pulled “pork” and tacos. The subtle sweetness and versatility makes jackfruit an excellent star ingredient for curries as well, which is what this recipe is all about! This vegan curry doesn’t hold back in flavor and creates a satisfying meal made with wholesome ingredients.

What is Jackfruit?

When ripe, jackfruit has a funky smell and the outside of it resembles what I would imagine dinosaur egg would look like. Not only does the fruit itself get up to 3 feet long, the tree jackfruit grows in can get up to 100ft tall and produces up to 250 fruits a year! The fruit itself is made from hundreds of flowers - the yellow fleshy parts covering the seeds inside the jackfruit are the flower petals. Each fruit has a few hundred seeds in it - which are also edible! The uses of the tree don’t end at the fruit - the wood is famous for its resistance against termites and fungus making it ideal for building!

How to make jackfruit curry?

Now let’s cook some flower petals! First in a cast iron skillet over medium heat sauté chopped onions, potatoes and ginger in coconut oil. Once translucent stir in garlic and habanero, sauté until fragrant, then add curry paste. Stir in the jackfruit pieces, then pour in coconut milk and 1 cup of water. Turn the heat down to low and cover. Cook for an hour occasionally stirring. Meanwhile make the jasmine rice. Rice cooker uses 1:1 water ratio, while stove top ratio 1 1/2 cup water to 1 cup of rice. 5 minutes before the curry is done stir in spinach and cilantro. Check seasoning, add salt if needed. If the curry got too thick add a little bit of water. Serve immediately with jasmine rice and garnish with chopped cilantro and pine nuts!

Tips for cleaning fresh jackfruit

Use gloves. Jackfruit has white latex sap in all parts of the plant that may cause allergic reactions to people with latex allergies. Even if you do not have a latex allergy, using gloves will prevent your hands from getting sticky from the sap.
Coat your knife with coconut oil to avoid the sap from sticking to it. You can also use coconut oil on your hands if you don’t want to use gloves.
Cut the jackfruit into large pieces, then pull the yellow pieces out by hand and remove the pit and any white parts.
The pits can be boiled and eaten. They taste similar to chestnuts or Brazil nuts. Simply boil them for 20-30 minutes, cool and peel off the white other layer and enjoy!