If you're a fan of simple Asian flavors, this one is for you.Young unripe green jackfruit is a vegetable that I grew up with. My grandma sometimes makes this at home but I guess this is more Filipino than Chinese.
When my family would go out for our big lunches and dinners, this one always appears on the table. I think I can safely say that this is peasant food and very tropical too. It is cooked with the local flavours of the island, plus, it's tasty.
The creaminess of the coconut milk is what makes this dish sweet and luscious. The green jackfruit is silky in texture. It is almost like pumpkin but not sweet and grainy. Fresh unripe jackfruit is not easy to find here in Australia, so I sourced mine in a canned form from Thailand. You will usually find this in brine so don't forget to drain out the briny water and wash them out a bit.
My protein of choice is prawns because I have some frozen handy. You can also make this with minced pork or chicken thighs.
Green Jackfruit and Prawns With Coconut Milk
Ingredients:
1 can of young unripe green jackfruit (about 8 pieces), sliced
1 brown onion, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 cup frozen prawns
2 tablespoons shrimp paste (you can use fish sauce towards the end)1 tsp of chili flakes (or 1 bird's eye chili or 2 large green chilies)
1/2 cup coconut milk
6 fresh button mushrooms, torn
1/3 cup fresh spinach leaves
salt and pepper to taste
Steps:
Heat up 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Lightly fry the onions until a bit translucent. Add the garlic and fry for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add the jackfruit, followed by the frozen prawns. When the prawns are half way cooked, add the shrimp paste (if using), chili flakes and the coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper.
Simmer until cooked. Turn off the heat and mix in the mushrooms and spinach leaves.
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