Kick off the week with a big bowl of General Tso’s Jackfruit. Satisfying, Saucy, and oh so flavorful. Pair it with rice and broccoli for a complete meal. This meal only requires minimal ingredients and only takes 30 minutes to make!
Are you a fan of jackfruit?
Jackfruit is a native fruit to Asia and can be found growing on trees in tropical areas there.
Jackfruit has become super popular in plant-based cooking lately for its pulled “pork” texture and its ability to adapt to any type of sauce that you pair it with.
Jackfruit
For the jackfruit I used green jackfruit in brine from Trader Joes. This can is 20 ounces which is slightly larger than the typical 15 ounce can. If you are using jackfruit from a can that is 15 ounces I recommend using 1 ½ cans or 2 cans of jackfruit instead of just one. Just keep in mind if you double the jackfruit you will not have as much sauce. To get more sauce simply thin the sauce using vegetable broth or just double the sauce recipe.
Before shredding the jackfruit you will just want to rinse the jackfruit a couple times. This ensures that you get as much of the brine water off of the fruit as possible. Then pat the fruit dry using a paper towel removing as much of the excess water as you can.
SAUCE
After frying the jackfruit you will add your sauce to the pan. You will notice after 5 minutes the sauce will start to thicken. If your sauce is still thin after the 5 minutes you can cook it for an additional 2 minutes. Just really make sure to keep an eye on it during this step. You do not want your sauce to bubble up and burn.
This sauce is on the sweeter side. If you want a more savory and salty sauce I recommend adding more soy sauce or tamari. If you want a more spicy sauce add additional sriracha or cayenne pepper.
Substitutions
I wanted to share some of the recipe ingredients that you can swap out in case you do not have the ones I listed in your pantry or at your local grocery store.
Oil- Water
Soy Sauce- Tamari
20 ounce can Green Jackfruit – 1 ½ cans 15 ounce Green Jackfruit
Garlic Powder- Fresh Garlic Minced
Ground Ginger- Fresh Ginger Minced
Crushed Red Pepper- ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepperor 1 Tbsp sriracha
When you make this recipe I would love it if you would snap a photo of your food and share it with me on instagram @itsallgoodvegan. I can’t wait to see how you like it!
This General Tso’s Jackfruit is:
Savory
Saucy
Packed with flavor
Family Friendly
Simple to make
General Tso's Jackfruit
- Servings: 3
- Difficulty: easy
Satisfying, Saucy, and oh so flavorful. Pair it with rice and broccoli for a complete meal.
Jackfruit
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil, I used olive oil
- 1 can (20 ounce can) of green jackfruit in brine
General Tso’s Sauce
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari, gluten-free
- 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce, gluten-free
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper, optional, add more for a spicy sauce, substitute with sriracha
Garnishes
- 2 Tbsp green onion, chopped
- ½ tsp sesame seeds
Directions
- Drain, rise, and pat jackfruit dry. Using your hands or a fork, shred the jackfruit chunks into bite sized pieces. It should resemble a “pulled pork” texture.
- Heat a pan over medium heat. Add the oil, jackfruit, and cook for 3-4 minutes until warm.
- In a medium bowl combine all of the General Tso’s sauce ingredients together and whisk.
- Add the sauce to the pan and mix until the jackfruit is covered in sauce. Gently simmer on medium-low heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce starts to thicken. Take the pan immediately off the heat. If left on the heat the sauce will burn.
- Taste the jackfruit and add additional soy sauce or crushed red pepper. Divide into bowls and garnish with sesame seeds and green onions!
- Leftover jackfruit can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2 days.
Make it Your Own
- Garnish your jackfruit with chopped green onion or crushed red pepper.
- I paired my jackfruit with rice and steamed broccoli. However, you can get creative and use whatever grains or vegetable you have in your pantry or refrigerator.
- Want your sauce to be thicker? Add an extra half teaspoon of cornstarch to the sauce.
