Jackfruit Tinga Tostadas

I’ve wanted to experiment with green jackfruit for years — since I tried some vegan bbq jackfruit at a party once. This is a riff on chicken tinga which is from Puebla, Mexico: shredded chicken in a chipotle sauce. This jackfruit tinga uses the same sort of sauce made from onion, tomato and chipotle. It’s very simple and makes great tostadas.

(And if you wanna, you could swap the jackfruit for 2 cups of shredded rotisserie or poached chicken, but you didn’t hear it from me.)

jackfruit tinga

You can find green jackfruit in brine in Asian markets or online (Amazon link below). Be sure it says “young green jackfruit” rather than ripe jackfruit which is sweet and canned in sugary syrup. Unripe, green jackfruit smells and tastes a little like artichoke hearts, and shreds up into meaty-looking bits.

I don’t think you’ll fool anyone into thinking this is chicken, but it’s a great recipe on its own merits. When Chris first tried them, I didn’t tell him what it was and he scarfed down the whole tostada without even asking. It was so good, he didn’t care! I win!

You don’t really need a side dish with these, but if you insist … Serve these with refried beans (either on the side, or smeared on the tostada under the jackfruit) or fluffy Mexican rice or some sauteed zucchini and corn.

jackfruit tinga

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Jackfruit Tinga Tostadas

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  • Author: Hilah
  • Yield: 8 tostadas 1x

Ingredients

Scale

1 20 ounce can green jackfruit in brine

1 tablespoon oil, plus a little more for tostadas

1 yellow onion, large dice

2 Roma tomatoes, large chunks

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup vegetable broth

2 tablespoons chipotle en adobo (or more)

1 teaspoon brown sugar

8 corn tortillas

extra vegetable oil

Toppings:

shredded cabbage

crumbled queso fresco

sliced avocado

Instructions

Drain the jackfruit and pick out any seeds. Set aside.

Set oven to 400ºF and get a baking sheet out with a rack on it.

Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until it’s begun to brown.

Add the tomatoes, garlic, tomato paste and broth. Stir, cover, bring to boil. Simmer 5 minutes.

Add the jackfruit and the chipotle and sugar and cover. Simmer 20-30 minutes. Stir occasionally and add more water or broth if it’s drying out or sticking.

Meanwhile make your tostadas: brush or rub each tortilla with a little oil then lay them in a single layer on the baking rack. Bake for 10 minutes; flip. Bake another 5 minutes. Turn off oven, open oven door and let them rest in there.

When jackfruit has simmered, it should soften up enough for you to smash it with a fork or spatula to break it up into small pieces and shreds. (The smaller pieces, the better, when you’re making any kind of tostada toppings.)

Assemble tostadas: crispy tortilla topped with about 1/2 cup of jackfruit, some cabbage, avocado and cheese

Notes

Nutrition info is for jackfruit tinga + tostadas; does not include toppings

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2
  • Calories: 206
  • Fat: 5
  • Carbohydrates: 34
  • Protein: 4

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3 cans of Green Jackfruit on Amazon:

3 Comments

  1. Samuel Marchbanks on April 9, 2017 at 10:03 am

    What would this be like using _fresh_ jackfruit? I see them every time I go to MT, but they’re so large and intimidating that I’m reluctant to dive into one without some sort of roadmap.

    • Hilah on July 11, 2017 at 12:27 pm

      I don’t know, Samuel. I’ve never ventured to break open a fresh jackfruit and I’ve heard they are difficult. The MT market ought to have canned jackfruit in brine, too, though.

    • Conscious Eater on July 11, 2018 at 8:57 am

      those are sweet. The canned ones are young and green. Perfect vehicles for flavour

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