Jackfruit Adventures: Mu Shu Rolls

I recently learned about jackfruit as a meat substitute. I think I once purchased a ripe one at the international market, just to taste it, and was not all that wild about it once I got it home. It never occurred to me that canned green jackfruit might have other culinary uses.

Last night I had my first adventure with a jackfruit (that probably doesn't sound the way I meant it). I cooked it Mu Shu style and it was dee-li-shussss. I loosely followed a recipe I saw online as a jumping off point and tweaked the measurements and ingredients to suit my tastes.

Believe it or not, I searched high and low at the international market for Mu Shu pancakes (even asking employees who continually directed me toward large sacs of flour) to no avail. I settled for rice paper wraps. Last night's wrapping was a fiasco! While tasty, they did not turn out the prettiest of rolls. Today I had leftovers for lunch and the wrapping went considerably better.

Mu Shu Jackfruit Rolls

Ingredients:

2 20 oz cans green jackfruit in brine or water (NOT syrup), well drained

1 19 oz can bamboo shoots strips in water, well drained

1 small onion, diced

1 tsp minced ginger root

4-5 green onions, chopped

6 mushrooms, sliced

1 1/2 cup slivered carrots or prepared shredded carrots

2 1/2 cups shredded cabbage

1 cup vegetable broth

4 tbsp soy sauce

2-3 tbsp hoisin sauce (or to taste)

1 tbsp sesame oil

rice paper sheets

1. In a sauce pan or fryer, sauté onion, garlic and ginger root. 

2. Add well-drained jackfruit, soy and hoisin sauces and veggie broth. Simmer covered for 15-20 minutes until fruit softens and begins to shred when you press and stir it. Continue to stir, further shredding the jackfruit. 

3. Add remaining ingredients and cook on medium heat for another 10-15 minutes, checking it throughout. You want the carrots and bamboo shoots to retain some crispness. 

4. Follow instructions on rice paper wrapper package and serve.

Tastes yum-yum warm or at room temperature, straight out of the fridge.
Serves 4-5. This was a dinner for three and the four rolls pictured below was my lunch today.