If you’ve never experienced the taste of jackfruit then, literally, you don’t know jack.
In Southeast Asia and related communities abroad, the jackfruit is as plentiful and innocuous as potatoes are to Americans. Tender, aromatic, and sweet when mature but meaty and starchy when young, the flesh of the jackfruit can be prepared to accommodate a variety of palates, from ice cream to curry. With that in mind, tacos don’t seem so farfetched.
The brainchild of music exec-turned-restaurateur Sebouh Yegparian, jackfruit tacos will be a new menu item at his recently opened Toro Ironworks Kitchen & Bar, which is located in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Because unripe jackfruit resembles meat in taste and texture, the fruit is regularly used as a substitute in vegetarian dishes. Toro Ironworks is by no means a vegan-only restaurant, offering Tex-Mex-style tacos, enchiladas, salads, and sides with a choice of beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, and fish — but vegan friendly they can definitely be.
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Partnering with Chicago-based Upton’s Naturals, the jackfruit is produced at farms in Thailand that have been personally vetted by co-founders Daniel Staackmann and Nicole Sopko to ensure the produce is authentic, safe, and harvested ethically.
Vegans themselves for nearly 20 years, Staackmann and Sopko unveiled their jackfruit product in March at the Natural Products Expo West, the world’s largest event devoted to natural and specialty food and products.
Receiving great feedback, Upton’s Naturals Jackfruit hit store shelves in July, available in two varieties: Bar-B-Que and Chili Lime Carnitas. The company is currently the only one to offer jackfruit in this form, which also is free of gluten, soy, and oil — a rare trifecta to the health-conscious elite.
At Toro Ironworks, Yegparian utilizes the Chili Lime Carnitas flavor for his taco creations, of which we enjoyed a few samplings. Ingredients are simple but punchy, and quite filling.
One variation featuring mojo-marinated jackfruit, salsa roja, chopped onions, and cilantro provided inquiring omnivorous minds a balanced structure of consistency and seasoning. No, it doesn’t taste like chicken.
Another version topped the jackfruit with a colorful mix of salsa roja, salsa verde, and pickled onions. This taco offered a spicy kick but the heavy dose of pickled onions overwhelmed the natural subtleness of the jackfruit. On the other hand, the Koreano taco received the best-dressed award for its flavorful fusion of jackfruit, kimchi, homemade Korean barbecue sauce, and spicy pepper mayo (which vegans can opt out).
While the New York area will most likely never see a shortage of vegan, vegetarian and carnivore-catered establishments, only one offers jackfruit tacos. So grab a seat, have a margarita, and get your jackfruit on. As Yegparian says, “It’s a more interesting option than potatoes.”
