Because my family left Vietnam when I was young, most of the jackfruit I ate growing up came from a can. I knew it as yellow, sweet, and fragrant. Whenever I return to Vietnam, I make sure to eat fresh jackfruit, which is more delicately flavored and not cloying due to the fact that it’s not processed with sugar syrup. And on occasion, I have fresh jackfruit in America. Most of it is coming from Mexico.
A few weeks ago, Emily Stephenson emailed about young (immature) jackfruit. I’d never cooked with it (most of what I see and eat has ripened) but I’d seen young jackfruit products being sold at Whole Foods as a mock meat. Emily was inquiring about the mock meat uses for her story on vegan jackfruit pulled pork. Her story was published on Eater.com earlier this week.
What did I know of jackfruit as a meat substitute? In the Viet mindset, jackfruit is a tree that's not just for vegans. Many people see jackfruit as helpful to food security because most of the tree may be used. For example, the wood can be used; I've bought statues in Vietnam carved from jackfruit wood. It's also just another ingredient, something to eat and cook up. Like tofu, it can be friends with animal protein!
The fruit -- in ripe and unripe forms, has many uses. However, a whole jackfruit is a commitment. One can be the size of a toddler; my foot in the photo below shows the size comparison.
The sticky sap inside is a pain-in-the butt to deal with so wear gloves when attacking one. Once you've dealt with an entire jackfruit you don't want to let it go to waste.
When ripe, the seeds can be boiled, peeled and eaten; the flavor and texture remind me a bit of chestnut. The seeds contain protein. The ripe yellow arils are enjoyed fresh, dried, candied, etc. The "rags" surrounding the arils can be eaten. My mom stir-fries the chewy rags with garlic for a side dish; she also adds them to fish simmered with caramel sauce. In the first instance, it's just a vegetable. In the second usage, it's a protein extender.
Unripe jackfruit has a milder fruity/banana-like flavor than ripe jackfruit. I like it in a salad -- like nom mit non in which the young, unripe jackfruit (or you can use the rags from a ripe one) is combined with pork, shrimp, herbs, peanuts and a fish sauce-based dressing.
I've seen Viet vegetarian recipes in which young jackfruit is manipulated to resemble beef and used to stuff la lot wild betel leaves. Young jackfruit and tofu may also be fried and simmered with tofu for a savory meatless preparation. But would I say that vegan, meatless cooking is the predominate use for jackfruit in Viet cooking? No.
Below is a young jackfruit salad recipe for you to try. It’s a light salad that's easy to love. The jackfruit is kinda meatlike but there's animal protein in the salad. Squeezing the pieces renders the jackfruit ready to absorb the dressing. Vary the herbs as you see fit. Use summer's bounty.
Serve nom mit non young jackfruit salad as is, or find 1 or 2 banh da nuong toasted rice crackers (sold at hardcore Viet markets) and break it into shards that you can use to scoop up the salad. Lightly salted tortilla chips or a rice cracker are okay subs for the Viet cracker. The salad with the rice cracker is a central Vietnamese treat.
Note: Buy canned young jackfruit at Asian markets or online. My local health food store carries it but that’s because one of the owners is from India, where it’s incredibly popular. After reading Emily's article, I'm inclined to try an Indian jackfruit dish.
And, nom ("gnome) means salad in northern Vietnamese. You could indeed describe this nom mit non as nom nom. 😉
Recipe
Young Jackfruit and Shrimp Salad
Nom Mit Non
Yields: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 (20 oz | 565 g) can young jackfruit
- 5 or 6 large cooked shrimp.
- 2 ounces (30 g) cooked pork
- Brimming ⅓ cup (about 1 oz | 30 g) unsalted, roasted peanuts
- 2 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 ½ tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 Thai chile, finely chopped
- ¼ cup (10 g) lightly packed coarsely chopped Thai basil and/or Vietnamese coriander (rau ram) leaves
Instructions
- Drain the jackfruit, then use a knife to thinly slice the pieces. If there are soft areas, use your fingers to separate them into small, uneven pieces. Transfer to a piece of muslin (the better cheesecloth!) or other similar kind of non-terry cloth. Wring out most of the water. Transfer to a bowl and fluff to separate.
- Peel and devein the shrimp. Cut each into small pieces that will mix in well with the jackfruit. You may want to halve the shrimp horizontally. Add to the jackfruit. Thinly slice the pork and add to the jackfruit. Set aside.
- If needed, refresh the peanuts in a skillet over medium heat until glistening. Cool briefly then pound to slightly crush. Set aside.
- For the dressing, stir together the lime juice, sugar, and fish sauce. Taste and adjust to your liking. It should be tart-sweet and finish with a bit of salt.
- Right before serving, combine the jackfruit, shrimp, and pork with the herb and all but 1 tablespoon of the peanuts. Pour over the dressing and mix. Taste to make sure the flavors are balanced; add extra lime juice and/or fish sauce, if needed. Transfer to a serving dish and top with the remaining peanuts. Serve immediately.
Are you a jackfruit eater? How do you like to enjoy it? If you've had the vegan pulled pork, what's it like?
