Vegan Jerk "Chicken" Jackfruit Tacos w/ Heirloom Slaw + Jamaican Jerk Aioli
Difficulty: 2/5 (5 being hardest)
Spice Level: 2/3 (3 being spiciest)
Prep & Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
Servings: 4
The Challenge: Jerk Chicken Tacos
Jerk chicken is something that vegans + vegetarians just have not been able to enjoy. Jamaican cooking does have plant-based options, but the jerk-style of food has been mostly seen in meats especially chicken.
"Jerk” as a style of cooking, though, is more about the spices. A blend of spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, garlic, parlsey, paprika, allspice, pepper, and some heat from cayenne pepper or chili powder … that’s what makes that cinnamon-y heat that burns your lips and is AMAZING.
What we have done is taken a beautiful spice blend and mixed it with jackfruit using a jackfruit cooking method I designed to make it super moist and soft and absolutely wonderful. We then layer on a crunchy red cabbage slaw to the jackfruit to give it that wonderful texture to balance the moist jackfruit. From there, we want to add some tang with a Jamaican Jerk Aioli that is D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. You’ll love it!
Finally, we wrap it all in warmed and slightly browned corn tortillas for a Perfect taco that is oh so good. Yum Yum Yum!
Alright I’m salivating so enough with this damn intro.
Let's get into it!
Ingredients:
Jerk Jackfruit
1 large shallot, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbl olive oil
2-20 oz young jackfruit canned, in water/brine, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup vegetable broth, low sodium
1 tsp agave syrup
Jerk Spice Blend: 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp dried parsley, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp oregano
Heirloom Slaw
1 small shallot, diced
1 medium heirloom tomato, diced
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tsp agave syrup
handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
1/4 cup poblano pepper, diced
Jamaican Jerk Aioli
1/4 cup vegan mayo
1/2 lime, juiced
Add a pinch of each ingredient for jerk spice blend on left column, sans cayenne pepper
Other
corn tortillas
1 cup shredded red cabbage
Equipment You'll Need:
Mixing Bowls . Sharp Chopping Knife . Measuring Cups + Spoons . Cutting Board . Large Frying Pan . Wooden Spoon . Whisk
Before You Cook:
Wash and chop fresh ingredients
1. To start, add shallots, garlic, and oil to medium pan and cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes.
2. Next, add in broth, jackfruit and cook for 4-5 minutes. Then add in spices and continue to simmer over medium low heat for 10-15 minutes. You want the broth to have cooked off and the jackfruit to be tender.
3. While the jackfruit is cooking, mix together the slaw ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. Next, while the jackfruit continues to cook, whisk together the aioli. Use a pinch of each spice from the jackfruit but leave out the cayenne unless you like your food HOT HOT HOT. Whisk until smooth and set aside/refrigerate until ready.
5. Finally, shred cabbage and crisp/soften up your tortillas in a dry pan over medium heat or microwave to soften.
6. To construct, add jerk chicken then cabbage then slaw and finally the aioli.
