Nicely spiced jackfruit “crab cakes” with jalapeño remoulade are delicious in a bun, on a salad, or on their own for lunch or dinner. And they are much easier to make than you might think.
And it makes fantastic “crab cakes”. I think it might be Andrew’s favourite main course that I’ve made all year.
Sorry for all of the “”s.
Outside of its native Bangladesh and southeast Asia, this huge, rugby ball-shaped, leather-jacketed fruit is the flexitarian’s go-to when cutting back on meat. They love it for its texture, which – as alluded to above – curiously imitates pulled pork, canned tuna and shredded chicken. And for its lack of taste. Like tofu, it is willing and able to absorb any flavours you throw at it. 
Um, not much. That’s not to say it isn’t good for you. It’s pretty good on fiber, and has some B vitamins. But a credible long-term meat substitute it is not. While 100 grams of firm tofu has a 9 grams of protein, the same of prepped jackfruit has just shy of 0.7 grams.
In today’s recipe you will get protein from the quinoa – it’s to help bind the whole mixture together – and from the yogurt in the remoulade sauce. I’ve used a chia egg to do the necessary, but an egg would be even better.
It really is as simple as chopping a few things in a food processor or by hand, sprinkling in some spices and squishing it all together – with your hands. I used a set of crumpet rings to make my cakes uniformly round, but you can just make large-ish golf balls (!) and press into shape. I do think it is best to pop the formed mixture into the freezer for about 30 minutes to firm up. Otherwise you do risk them falling apart when you turn them in your skillet. But crumbly or firm, they will still taste great. Pinky swear.
Further inspiration: 18 jackfruit recipes that will make you forget about meat
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Have you made anything with jackfruit? How did it turn out?
Jackfruit Crab Cakes with Jalapeño Remoulade
Jackfruit “crab cakes” with jalapeño remoulade are delicious in a bun, on a salad, or on their own for lunch or dinner. And they are much easier to make than you might think. If you don’t fancy the remoulade, why not have them with cocktail sauce, or even just some ketchup? xx
400g can of jackfruit in brine or water (225g drained weight), thoroughly rinsed and drained
2 spring onions, finely chopped, including some green
2 grated garlic cloves
2 tsp McCormick Old Bay Seasoning
2 stalk of celery, finely chopped
100g (about 1 cup) Panko Breadcrumbs
125g (2/3 cup) cooked quinoa
1 chia egg, egg replacer or actual egg, beaten (medium)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 heaped tbsp Seaweed flakes
Oil to fry with (I use organic Scottish rapeseed oil)
The Jalapeño Remoulade
10 pickled jalapeño slices, chopped
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 spring onions, chopped
3 tbsp mayonnaise of choice (this is my easy recipe for aquafaba mayo/aïoli)
4 tbsp plain yogurt of choice
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt to taste
To serve: lemon or lime wedges, loads of salad leaves (include something bitter/sharp, like rocket), avocado, cucumber; burger buns if you like
Method
Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside.
1. For the crab cakes, tip the jackfruit and cooked quinoa into a food processor and pulse a few times to break it up. Otherwise, place the jackfruit on a chopping board and chop it up very well with a heavy knife.
2. Scrape the jackfruit and quinoa into a mixing bowl and add the remaining crab cake ingredients. Use your hands to squish it all together into a cohesive mess. You can pulse everything in a food processor if you are careful not to make it into a paste.
3. Divide the mixture into 6 lumps and roll each into a rough ball. Place them on the baking sheet. Press each lump into a cake/burger shape, or use a burger shaper/crumpet rings. Place in your freezer for 30 minutes, or in your fridge for about 45 minutes.
4. While the cakes are chilling, make the remoulade by tipping everything into a small mixing bowl and just stirring together. Taste for seasoning, adjusting as needed.
5. When the cakes are firm, pour some of the panko breadcrumbs onto a plate and carefully press them into the cakes. You may wish to brush them with milk, but I haven’t needed to do this.
6. To cook the crab cakes, heat a thin layer of oil in a saute pan for two minutes over a medium flame. Add a few crab cakes to the pan and lightly flatten them into the oil. Allow them to cook for about four minutes on each side, or until golden. 
**Remember to follow me on Pinterest and, if you make these truly gorgeous jackfruit crab cakes, click on the pin below and leave a photo of your make with a comment telling me what you think, or any awesome changes that you made. Whether on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or of course here on the blog, I love to see what my lovely readers do with my recipes, and I welcome your comments, tweaks and suggestions.**
RIPE FOR PINNING!!
