Pulled Jackfruit Tacos

Method

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1. Drain and rinse the jackfruit. Cut away the hard core from each piece and discard the seeds if they are firm.

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2. Shred the flesh with your fingers or two forks into strands. This takes a few minutes and it is what makes it convincing.

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3. Heat the oil in a wide pan and cook the onion 8 minutes, then the garlic for 1 minute.

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4. Add the chipotle paste, tomato purée, cumin, paprika and oregano and fry 2 minutes until it darkens.

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5. Add the shredded jackfruit and stir to coat, then pour in the orange juice, stock, soy sauce, sugar and salt.

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6. Simmer, part-covered, for 20 minutes, until the liquid has almost entirely gone and the mixture is glossy rather than wet.

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7. Spread it on a lined tray and put it under a hot grill for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring once, until the edges darken and crisp. This step is the recipe.

   Mark done Start 5 min timer

8. Squeeze over the lime juice.

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9. Warm the tortillas in a dry pan and build with jackfruit, pickled onion, avocado and coriander.

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Chef’s Tips

• Green jackfruit in brine or water, never in syrup. The syrup kind is a dessert fruit and will not work.
• Cut out the hard core. It never softens.
• The grill at the end is not optional; without it the texture is wet and one-note.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.
• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

Pairing Suggestions

• A cold Mexican lager
• Charred corn
• Salsa verde

Storage & Reheating

The filling keeps 4 days refrigerated and freezes for 3 months. Re-crisp under the grill before serving.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.