The Happy Home Cook: Vegan Lechon Paksiw
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As popular lechon is to a lot of Filipinos, the host somehow still ends up with leftovers, and that’s when the host will make Lechon Paksiw. Paksiw is a process that means “cooked in vinegar, garlic, and salt”, similar to adobo. Lechon Paksiw is arguably just as loved as lechon itself.
Vegan Lechon Paksiw (Photo by Astig Vegan)
For the longest time, I thought Lechon Paksiw is impossible to veganize. After all, how do you veganize roasted pork? I guess there’s always mock pork and wheat gluten, but mock pork is usually sold pre-seasoned and wheat gluten or seitan sometimes don’t have the right texture. Not to mention, both mock pork and wheat gluten are heavily processed products.
Enter the jackfruit. I don’t know who came up with the idea, but all of a sudden the vegan world started buzzing about jackfruit and how it could veganize pulled pork. Genius! I wonder why I never thought of it considering I’ve been familiar with jackfruit all my life. Jackfruit is a native fruit of Southeast Asia and a staple product in the Philippine province of Davao. Never mind that I found about it rather late. The important thing is I did and now I could re-invent more Filipino dishes and veganize them including Lechon Paksiw.
It’s good to point out that this recipe is simple, easy, cruelty-free, very inexpensive, and much healthier than the meat version.
Vegan Lechon Paksiw (Photo by Astig Vegan)
Prep TIme: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
3 tablespoons canola oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed and minced
1 (10 ounce when drained) can green, unripe jackfruit in brine (NOT in syrup), chopped and shredded. You can also use fresh jackfruit if available. Just make sure you use unripe fresh jackfruit (still green), remove seeds and tough parts, and boil until tender then drain.
2 pinches sea salt
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar, add more if using fresh jackfruit
3-4 pieces bay leaves
2 tablespoons organic sugar
½ - 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Heat small pan over medium heat. Once hot enough, add oil and garlic. Saute until garlic is slightly golden and fragrant.
Add jackfruit and salt. Saute for another 2-3 minutes.
Season with soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaves, sugar, and black pepper.
Let it simmer for 15 minutes without cover or lid. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Serve hot, preferably with rice.
Serving size: 3
Notes
If you have access to fresh green jackfruit, by all means use it instead of canned. Otherwise, you could get canned green jackfruit in brine at Asian grocery stores. If you're using fresh jackfruit, make sure you use unripe fresh jackfruit (still green. Remove seeds and tough parts, and boil until tender then drain.
When using fresh jackfruit in the recipe, add another teaspoon of vinegar to the recipe then adjust seasoning to taste.
You can also use a popular Lechon sauce called "Mang Tomas". Just check the ingredients list first before buying. The Mang Tomas in the states are usually vegan but the local ones in the Philippines have liver.
Admittedly, I wasn’t even planning on making Lechon Paksiw. I was recipe testing for a vegan pork adobo recipe using unripe jackfruit when I realized that it’s more suitable for Lechon Paksiw. I guess the failed recipe test wasn’t a failure after all!
Originally posted in: http://www.astigvegan.com/vegan-lechon-paksiw-recipe/
Chef Richgail Enriquez
RG Enriquez at astigvegan.com discovers ways to show that Filipino food can be vegan, healthy, and delicious without losing its soul. Born and raised in the Philippines, RG veganizes the Filipino food of her childhood. She has appeared on the television show, "Adobo Nation" and given demonstrations and talks at "Savor Filipino", "Taste of South Lake”, “Barrio Fiesta”, Pitzer College, and Cal-State East Bay.
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