Pushing back against shame

I don't think anyone following the Gregorian calendar will have failed to notice the changing of not just a year, but a decade too! Nineteen into twenty naturally seems like much more of a dramatic progression than eighteen into nineteen, and as such it gives rise to a breed of reflection which is far longer in it's sweep. For anyone around my age (a two and a five are involved somehow), this decade just closed will represent a period of repeated upheaval and re-rooting, somehow combined with a sneaking suspicion that perhaps nothing was moving after all.

Being present on social media during this time is very interesting (notice that we use that adjective when the mix of feelings is too complex to succinctly describe?) I've seen a lot of "ten-year retrospectives" to detail what we have, or even haven't, achieved. I think I've avoided this mainly because 15-year old me might just be slightly incredulous when presented with 25-year old me. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I do struggle to fit everything that has happened across the decade into one linear narrative; don't worry, this is not going to be my attempt at doing so!

As well as visiting the past during this time, we also seem to be also be orbiting back around to the future. The month of January seems to be an especially symbolic one, acting as a testing ground for the foundations of future plans we want to lay. This is in the form of the (eek) "New Years resolution". I don't want to talk about these in particular because they are something of a minefield; I want to think about the actually constructive side of all of this.

It's not really a novel thing for me to say that I think that resolutions don't work because they are based around things like deprivation, shame and other feelings that we don't really react well to (no matter how much we might like to). But, that doesn't mean we can't set ourselves challenges that do stimulate us, make us think differently and discover new things, rather than being predicated entirely on what is missing (I'm thinking about a certain unspeakable "D" word which rhymes with quiet).

Okay, so this was an overly grandiose way for me to say that for the month of January, Kitchen Catt will be participating in VEGANUARY. What does this mean? Put simply, every recipe posted here will be suitable for vegans, end of. In the interests of honesty though, I do have to disclose that I am not personally participating (which is fine, we get to set our own parameters). As much as I'm describing this as a "challenge", I have to say that it is very easy to accidentally produce vegan food when you're not thinking about it. I have four recipes already existing (click here!) to prove that.

I do, however, want to use this time to explore the world of "intentionally-vegan" options because, honestly, that is the side of meat and dairy-free cooking and baking which I have the least familiarity with. Today, what I bring to the table is Sweet & Smoky Pulled Jackfruit. Jackfruit has traditionally featured in the culinary habits of South & Southeast Asia for a long time now (it's even the national fruit of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) and it's become increasingly common in European and Anglophile contexts. However, the role it plays is very different to a fruit in kitchens of the latter culture; rather it's remarkably meaty texture allows it to be used a vegetarian and vegan substitute.

The first time I ate jackfruit was in the form of "Pulled Jack Bap" from Bia Vegan Diner (click here! - in particular just to gaze at their pictures) in Norwich back in 2016, and I was predictably taken aback by how strikingly similar it was to pulled pork. Now, I don't believe in scoring vegetarian replacements by how much they resemble their meaty counterparts, but this was something that I felt was truly unique. Despite this, I didn't cook with jackfruit until I moved to London in 2019. This is partly because jackfruit is now more commonly available than it was three years ago.

I'm excited to say that, while I don't see myself as much of a culinary innovator, I feel genuinely excited about the fact that this recipe begins with a spiced (vegan) caramel. I'm sure this has been done before, but I am pointedly refusing to Google it and find out. The reason I did this is because I wanted a the flavours to coat the jackfruit, rather than sauce it in order to ensure the centrality of the texture to the dish. I'm assuming that's what pulled pork is all about, right? I'm not sure what image we have of a pre-jackfruit vegan pulled pork, but I'm sure it's somewhat questionable. I, and legions of food writers before me, are here to definitely change this (let's be real, the job is done for us).

Sweet & Smoky Pulled Jackfruit

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves 2-4

1 white onion

3 cloves of smoked garlic

2 red chillis

2 bell peppers (ideally red and yellow)

1 can of jackfruit (about 250g drained weight)

2 tbsp of smoked paprika

1 tbsp of paprika

1 tsp of cayenne pepper

1 tsp of cumin

2 tsp of balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp of soy sauce

1 tbsp of vegan butter or margarine

1 1/2 tbsp of brown sugar

Small bunch of coriander

1 tsp of Aleppo pepper or red chilli flakes

Coarsely chop the onion. Crush and mince the cloves of smoke garlic and set aside, keeping separate from the onion. Roughly chop the bunch of coriander and set aside.

Slice the red chillis length-ways and de-seed them, before cutting them into thin strips. Cut the bell peppers in the same manner, but don't worry about keeping the strips too thin (otherwise you will be slicing for the entire evening; no one wants that).

Check your can of jackfruit to see if it comes already pulled (mine wasn't - boo). If your jackfruit comes in chunks, drain them and put into a bowl ready to be pulled. The flesh of the fruit is smooth and slippery in places and flaky in others (it also looks very otherworldly) and the consistency means that it's easier to "pull" it with your hands with a tear motion rather than with a fork. If your jackfruit is already pulled, drain and empty into a bowl and see if it is "pulled" enough for your liking. If not, go at it with a small, sharp knife or a fork.

Now that all the ingredients are prepared, you can begin to prepare the caramel. Melt the vegan butter in a large wok or saute pan on a medium-low heat. Once it has melted, add the brown sugar, turn to a medium-high heat and stir quickly until smooth. When this begins to bubble, add the smoked paprika (leave the regular paprika until later on), cayenne pepper and cumin.

When the spiced caramel starts to froth, add the onion and fry for about 2 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds.

Add the slices of pepper and the chillis and fry for 6-8 minutes, or until the peppers have lost much of their rigidity. Add the jackfruit and stir it into the pan until it is coated with the spice mixture. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, coriander and the extra paprika and turn up to a high heat. Fry everything together for 5-6 minutes, moving around frequently and flipping the pan if you have the confidence!

Once everything is done, serve with white rice and top with a dollop of vegan sour cream or yoghurt and sprinkle over some Aleppo chilli flakes if you can source some (which I so recommend you do); otherwise red chilli flakes are also great!

This could also be served inside of a bun like a classic serving of pulled pork, and I think this would be great with some pickled red onions as well.

Notes & Adjustments

• If you can't find smoked garlic, then it's totally fine to use normal cloves of garlic.

• If you are one of the unlucky few who suffers from a genetic disposition that makes the taste of coriander taste like soap, then it won't matter too much if you leave this out.

• If you want a brighter and fruitier taste, then add 1 tsp of tomato puree after you've added the onion and garlic, and substitute 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar for lemon or lime juice.