Jackfruit Noodle Soup

HELLO-3

By Toni Okamoto

Nothing says comfort like a big bowl of soup, and this particular bowl took me right back to my childhood home! It has the familiar taste and texture of chicken noodle soup, but without all the cruelty.

I originally saw this recipe posted by Justin Lewis, one of the contributors on my blog Plant Based on a Budget. I had been meaning to add more jackfruit recipes to the Vegan Outreach blog, and with his permission I was able to test it out for all of you!

If you haven’t cooked with jackfruit before, it can be a little strange. This recipe calls for you to let the fruit sit in broth for an hour. I made the mistake of not doing that, and began cooking on an empty stomach. Make sure you give yourself sufficient prep time to avoid hangry-ness*. After you let the fruit soak, the rest goes by quickly and easily.

I really enjoyed the recipe. It was perfect for this cold and rainy day!

Ingredients:

  • 1 can of jackfruit in brine
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1 stalk of celery
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 2 bouillon cubes
  • 1 cup dry noodles
  • 8 cups of water

Directions:

  • To make the “chicken” you’ll want to open and drain the can of jackfruit and put into a bowl. Add in two cups of boiling water and one bouillon cube. Let that sit for an hour or so. The idea here is that the jackfruit will soak in some of that flavor. Once you’ve let it sit for a while,  fire up the stove. In a skillet, add a couple tablespoons of oil. We use sunflower or safflower oil because their flavors are mild and won’t interfere with our seasoning. Carefully add the jackfruit and fry until each side browns. Save that broth. Once the jackfruit browns you’ll want to take a couple forks to shred it.
  • Once it is all shredded, add one cup of broth to the skillet and simmer until most of the liquid is cooked off. At this point your “chicken” is ready for the soup. You can roast it in your oven to toughen up the texture a bit more if desired.

  • For the rest of the soup you only need to make some mirepoix, add the “chicken” and more broth, and whatever noodles you prefer.

If you give it a try, please let us know how you liked it!

*Hangry: When you get so hungry that you become angry.