Jackfruit "Pulled Pork" BBQ Salad
The first ‘jackfruit’ meal I created was a total fluke, on a night when friends challenged me to cook a “Chopped”-themed dinner. Each girl brought a random ingredient and I had to use them all in our meal (along with any random ‘pantry ingredients’ i had on hand). The result was something similar to this salad, with jackfruit masquerading as pulled pork in my favorite BBQ sauce. They all LOVED it and I serendipitously learned Trader Joes had become a convenient source of this incredible fruit. Since then, it’s become a staple of my diet.
Phe Count:
160 mg phe / serving
Yield: 3 servings
Ingredients:
2 17oz cans of jackfruit (in brine or water)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 C barbecue sauce of choice
½ C Vegetable broth
½ tsp chili powder
3.75 cabbage (green), shredded
¾ C sweet yellow onion, thinly sliced
¾ C bell peppers, diced
¾ C cilantro, coarsely chopped
¾ C Vietnamese pickled veggies
Note: you can substitute any pickled veggies, but definitely use those that are sweet & sour, versus a traditional dill. Here’s a great Serious Eats recipe for pickled carrots and daikon.
For dressing:
3 Tbsp avocado oil
6 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp champagne vinegar
¾ tsp cumin
½ tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp honey
Directions:
Drain your jackfruit and coarsely chop it to prepare for cooking. Heat olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Immediately add your jackfruit and cook for a few minutes, until it is hot. Then, add your vegetable broth so there is liquid in the bottom of your pan.
Once the vegetable broth has evaporated, add half of the barbecue sauce and stir until jackfruit is coated evenly.
While stirring, continue to break up the chunks of jackfruit with your spatula. Continue to do this through each step of the process. (note: the jackfruit will break apart naturally as it cooks, but assisting with your spatula will decrease your cook time)
When it’s thoroughly mixed, add the remaining barbecue sauce, chili powder, and ½ C of water, and stir until well-mixed. There should be quite a bit of liquid at the bottom of your pan.
Continue cooking over medium heat until all of the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally. Cook until the jackfruit mixture loses a lot of its moisture and resembles the texture of “pulled pork.”
While jackfruit is cooking, prep the veggies for your salad. All ingredients should be thinly sliced or diced.
To prepare the dressing, simply whisk all ingredients together.
You’ll finish by plating. I recommend tossing cabbage, onion, bell pepper, and cilantro in the dressing and then topping with jackfruit, pickled veggies and additional cilantro.
A single serving should include:
¾ C BBQ jackfruit
1¼ C cabbage
¼ C sweet yellow onion
¼ C bell peppers
¼ C cilantro
¼ C pickled veggies
Note: you will likely have leftover jackfruit. Try it in a taco!
PKU TIP**
I love to eat this with a bag of Cambrooke Tortilla Chips or Siete Grain Free Tortilla Chips for extra crunch.