Vegan Al Pastor Tacos w/ Charred Poblano Tahini Sauce + Lime Cilantro Onions
Difficulty: 2/5 (5 being hardest)
Spice Level: 2/3 (3 being spiciest)
Prep & Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8 tacos
The Challenge: Al Pastor Tacos
I have to admit something - never once in my life have I had real al pastor tacos with pork. Cutting out meat at a young age means I've never really eaten most meat dishes. How in the heck do I know how to make an al pastor taco then? The internet.
Whenever I start a new dish, I do a ton of research. I study a lot about the original way to make the dish in its authentic form and begin to craft a way to make that come alive using only plants and plant-based foods. It is really fun. For al pastor, the key to this dish is really in the sauce.
The key is guajillo chilis. Now, the authentic way is to rehydrate guajillo peppers and then make into a sauce with pineapple and orange flavors along with coriander and mexican oregano. But, since this is a recipe I want you to actually make, we made some shortcuts. Yes, it isn't the perfect authentic way. BUT its reallllllly damn good and easy to make. If you can find guajillo chili powder, please use it. It will make the dish. If not, use the mildest chili powder you can find (ancho or a mixed chili powder). We'll be blending this with fresh pineapple and orange.
From there, we create this wonderfully sweet salty spicy sauce that typically goes with pork. Today, though, we are not using pork. We'll be using jackfruit! The jackfruit is perfect for this dish as we can get it crumbly and will carry the texture we want for our marinade.
Finally, we top this with a simple sauce made from charred poblano + tahini (not a traditional sauce). And we top it with pickled watermelon radishes, lime, onions, and cilantro. Yes! This is going to be M-A-G-N-I-F-I-C-E-N-T !!!
Let's get into it.
Ingredients:
Jackfruit Al Pastor
1 tbl olive oil
2 medium shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 14.5 oz cans of young jackfruit in water/brine (not in syrup), drained, washed, and roughly chopped
1 tbl liquid aminos
1 tbl tahini
1/2 cup vegetable broth
Spices: 1/2 tbl mexican oregano, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp salt
1 tbl olive oil
1/2 fresh small pineapple, cored + diced
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup guajillo chili powder (sub ancho or other chili powder)
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce + 1 tbl of adobo sauce
Charred Poblano Tahini Sauce
1 medium poblano, raw
2 tbl tahini
1 lime, juiced
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce + 2 tbl of adobo sauce
pinch of salt + pepper
Pickled Watermelon Radish
1 medium watermelon radish, diced into matchsticks
1/2 cup rice vinegar
large pinch of sugar + salt
Other
1/2 white onion, diced
handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
1 lime, juiced
6-8 flour (or corn) tortillas
Equipment You'll Need:
Mixing Bowls . Sharp Chopping Knife . Measuring Cups + Spoons . Cutting Board .
Before You Cook:
Wash + chop fresh ingredients
Preheat oven to 450F
1. Start by chopping your jackfruit into smaller sections, but it can be a rough chop. It breaks down as you cook. Add olive oil, shallots, and garlic to a large frying pan and cook for 4-5 minutes over medium heat until starting to become translucent.
2. Next, add the jackfruit, tahini, liquid aminos, spices and vegetable broth. Bring to medium-low heat and cook for 15-20 minutes until starts to break down.
3. While the jackfruit cooks, add the watermelon radishes, vinegar, sugar and salt to a bowl and let it sit.
4. Next, char a poblano in a dry pan over high heat . cooking on each side for 2-3 minutes. Add the poblano with all other ingredients for the tahini poblano sauce to a food processor and blend until smooth.
5. Add the sauce ingredients from olive oil to chipotles in adobo to a high-speed blender for the al pastor sauce and blend until smooth. Add the sauce to the jackfruit. Turn off heat, mix, and let sit until ready to serve.
6. Lastly, dice some onions with cilantro and lime. Mix and set aside.
8. I heat my corn tortillas in the oven on broil to brown them straight on the rack. If you want to save time, just warm them in the oven. Serve warm with jackfruit, drizzle on sauce, and add onions. Serve up warm!
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