Chow Vegan

BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Sandwich

May 28, 2008 By chow 113 Comments

Over the long Memorial Day weekend, I decided to give BBQ pulled pork style jackfruit a whirl. I’ve been reading about it lately and it sounds so weird yet undeniably interesting at the same time.

BBQ is something I haven’t had in a long, long time. Grilling is quick, high heat over the grill. BBQ is low and slow – veggies don’t usually need to be cooked this way. So I was looking forward to enjoying a little BBQ.

The smell was incredible and the color is a nice tantalizing brown. But when I had a taste bite, I did not care for it at all. It tasted like how it looked when it first came out of the can, kinda of a vinegar taste. Or maybe it was the BBQ sauce I was using. Or maybe it was because I used my rice cooker on the slow cook setting. Needless to say, I was very disappointed and set it aside.

At the end of the day when I was debating what to do with it, I gave it one more try and nibbled a tiny bit. What!!? It tasted great! I guess the BBQ sauce and/or jackfruit just needed more time for the flavor to develop. So happy now.

Jackfruit is a giant, prickly oval fruit grown in India, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. It’s the largest tree borne fruit in the world. Ripe jackfruit is sweet and eaten as a dessert. The canned young green jackfruit in brine is unripe. It’s prepared as a vegetable and is also known as “vegetable meat”. Both versions can be found at the Asian grocery store.

BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Sandwich
Serves 2

1 20 ounce can young green jackfruit in brine
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
1/2 cup + extra BBQ sauce, bottled or homemade
Hamburger buns

Drain and wash the jackfruit in several changes of water. After washing, squeeze out as much water as you can.

In a pan, heat the oil and sauté the garlic. Add the jackfruit and salt to taste, and cook for a 3-4 minutes over medium heat.

Transfer the jackfruit to a slow cooker, add the BBQ sauce and mix well. Set the cooker for 1 hour, occasionally stirring and adding more sauce or water as needed. The jackfruit should be fork tender and come apart easily.

Take the jackfruit out of the cooker and shred with a fork. Let the jackfruit sit for several hours or overnight to further develop the flavor or if it taste good to you right out of the pot, dig in. Serve on toasted buns with your choice of more BBQ sauce, mayo, coleslaw or pickles.

Rice Noodle Soup

May 25, 2008 By chow 5 Comments

This is not an authentic Vietnamese pho soup nor is it a traditional Chinese soup. What is it then? It’s my interpretation of the two meeting in a tasty bowl.

Like those old Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercials where the two ingredients collide and it taste great. But instead of chocolate and peanut butter, it’s a delicious blend of Vietnamese seasonings/garnishes and Chinese ingredients.

I use fresh flat rice noodles (ho fun) usually seen in Chinese stir-fry dishes. Made from rice flour, wheat starch and water, they’re actually great in soups and feels more substantial than the thinner types of rice noodles. If you can’t find them fresh, dried rice noodles can also be used.

Rice Noodle Soup
Serves 2

Soup Base
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 serrano chile pepper, thinly sliced crosswise
3-4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1/2 ” piece of ginger, sliced
1 clove garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
4 cups water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Salt

1/2 pound fresh thick rice noodles
10 small tofu puffs, can be substituted with baked tofu
1/2 pound Bloomsdale spinach or 2 cups sliced baby bok choy
1 lime, cut into wedges
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

If the rice noodles were refrigerated, they may be stuck together in a large block. Gently separate the noodles pieces into smaller pieces. It doesn’t have to be down to each individual piece as they’ll separate more when they cook.

Heat a wok until hot, add the oil and swirl to coat. Add the chile pepper and stir for a few seconds. Add the mushrooms, ginger and garlic, stir-fry for about a minute. Add the water, soy sauce and salt to taste, bring to a boil.

Add the rice noodles, when it comes to a boil, add the tofu puffs and spinach. Cook until the noodles are soft about 1-2 minutes more. Divide between two bowls and garnish with the cilantro, basil, and mint as desired. Serve immediately with the lime wedges to be squeezed into the soup to taste.

Stir-fried Amaranth with Garlic

May 22, 2008 By chow 4 Comments

Whenever I travel, it always seems like I don’t get to eat enough leafy greens. I feel out of sorts when that happens. There’s no leafy greens in burritos, none on the pizza or veggie burgers, which I had twice on this last trip. (I reserve the eating of veggie burgers for traveling only as most restaurants have them nowadays and I don’t want to overdose by eating them at home.)

So as soon as I return, I must have some greens. I’m a little tired of the usual kale, spinach and swiss chard. But at the Asian grocery store, I saw red leaf amaranth also known as yeen choy or Chinese spinach. Sometimes they’re also available at the farmer’s market; they’re in season from spring to fall.

The leaves are dark green and tinged with red. Like red swiss chard, when cooked it’ll color anything it comes in contact with a pinkish red. It came be substituted in any spinach recipe but I prefer a simple stir-fry.

Stir-fried Amaranth with Garlic
Serves 2 as part of a meal

1 pound of red leaf amaranth
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
Salt

Wash the amaranth in several changes of water, trimming off any old leaves and tough stems. Let dry in a colander or if you’re in a hurry, spin dry the greens.

Heat a wok over high heat until hot. Add the oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add the garlic and stir-fry for a few seconds. Add the amaranth and cover. After about 30 seconds it’ll start to wilt down. Stir bringing up the amaranth at the bottom to the top. Add the water and salt to taste and cover. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the stems are tender. Serve immediately.