Jackfruit as a meat-substitute?

Although just an occasional non-meat eater, I am always curious to test and try various meat-replacements. I must confess that as for now, the results are less than satisfactory. Once you had once the taste of real meat, you cannot buy easily the offer of tofu or other substitutes offered instead.

Tofu is tofu, with a special texture and taste, but most often nothing to do with the real meat I have a very vivid taste memory of. My best experience so far in this respect was with seitan, which reproduced at a certain extent my meat impressions.

However, I keep myself open to more and more alternatives. When I've spotted at a local Rossmann store Jackfruit in Curry Sauce, recommended as 'the vegan alternative to meat', I hurried up to buy it and prepare a couple of hours thereafter. 

The 200 gr. package includes jackfruit, a variety of coconuts - oil, extract, curry powder, orange juice concentrate, sea salt, sugar, cardamom, chilli, dried parsley. Everything is contained in a sealed poach that you only need to warm for a couple of minutes in boiling water.

I added as a side dish a portion of Jasmin rice with black sesame seeds. At the first sight, it looks like one of those plastic imitations of food you can see at Japanese restaurants. The taste is less than plastic, with a smooth mild fresh, with a taste which is rather bland, a vague reminder of some tofu. The taste of the plate was saved by the intensive curry spices, but that was all. No special taste, no similarities with meat or any other edible thing.

I am still looking for the best meat-substitutes, you know...

Coconut milk with veggies and salmon

I am using excessively coconut milk, in many sweet and sour combinations, particularly when I am trying to avoid dairy products for the sake of the kosher restriction of mixing meat and milk. 

The coconut milk with veggies is a meal that I am doing once in a while and always using a different combination of seasonal products. To add more consistency, I decided to mix also with salmon, that I fried in a pan with olive oil for about 15 minutes before adding to the mixture and boiling it for another 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

400 ml. Thai coconut milk

2 big carrots, cut into rounds

7 cherry tomatoes, cut into rounds

1/2 big onion, sliced

1 yellow paprika, sliced

100 gr. brown champignons, cut into small cubes

1 pinch of normal salt

around 10 leaves of parsley. coriander is even better as it have a different taste and texture

1/2 big zucchini, cut into rounds

250 gr. wild salmon

2 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Warm the milk in a pan at 250 gr. Mix it slowly for about 5 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients, starting with the carrots - which need more time to boil. Stir it slowly.

Meanwhile, fry the salmon for about 15 minutes. When it is well fried, cut it into cubes and add to the coconut milk mixture. Mix slowly with the rest of the ingredients.

Preparation time:

15 minutes

Cooking time:

30 minutes

Serves 3

Bon Appétit!