I quite like a little bit of self experimentation and I have given up meat for a while. I am not sure if or how long this will last but it certainly has been a great way to increase my veggies and make some new recipes.
One of my first meatless meal recipes I came up with was this slow cooker vegan “pulled pork” (jackfruit). The jackfruit, also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family native to southwest India.
It is very popular as a meat substitute amongst vegans as it has a similar texture to pulled pork. The downside is that it doesn’t have a high protein profile, so that needs to be taken into consideration.
Jackfruit takes on the flavours it is cooked with so good herbs and spices are the key to making this a flavoursome dish.
This is a super easy dish to make in the slow cooker, but it is one that you wouldn’t want to cook for more than about 6 hours on low.
We served it with homemade guacamole, coleslaw, corn tortillas and my first batch of homemade jalapeños! I am completely obsessed with jalapeños at the moment.
As much as my husband and I like the vegan pulled pork (he thought it was pork – I didn’t tell him it was jackfruit until after he ate it!), the kids unfortunately were not very keen on the jackfruit even without knowing what it was. I will definitely cook it again and keep trying it with the kids and see if they come around to it!
Ingredients
- 1 red onion
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground paprika
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 4 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 100 grams chopped pineapple
- 2 x 400g cans young jackfruit
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder
Method
- Drain and rinse young jackfruit and place in the slow cooker.
- Finely chop red onion and add to the slow cooker.
- Add remaining ingredients except for the arrowroot powder and cook on high for 3 hours.
- After three hours shred the jackfruit using two forks and stir in the arrowroot powder.
- Allow the jackfruit to cook for an additional 15 – 20 minutes with the lid off or until the sauce has thickened.
- Serve with coleslaw, guacamole, jalapenos and corn tortillas!