Name: Ackee + Salt Phish
Ingredients: 1 (20-ounces [566-g]) can young green jackfruit, drained and rinsed; 1/3 ounce (8 g) snack-sized seaweed sheets, divided; 1/2 tablespoon (8 ml) white vinegar; 2 1/2 teaspoon (15 g) salt; 3 tablespoon (45 ml) high-heat cooking oil; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1 small onion, chopped; 3 scallions, chopped (about ½ oz [15 g]); 1/2 Scotch bonnet pepper, minced; 1/2 tablespoon (8 g) tomato paste; 1 small tomato, diced (2 oz [55 g]); 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; 1 (19-ounces [540-g]) can of ackee, drained and gently rinsed

Ackee + Salt Phish

By: Lloyd Rose, excerpted from Island Vegan

Ackee Salt Phish

By: Lloyd Rose, excerpted from Island Vegan

Jamaica’s most iconic breakfast dish is now accessible from your home through this recipe, if it was not already! I have eaten this pleasantry my entire life. I don’t know how I could ever go without it, hence why I made a vegan version that is equally as good, I kid you not!

Using fleshy green jackfruit that is white in color and can look just like shredded fish can have anyone fooled at first glance. But it doesn’t stop there: The pieces of jackfruit are loaded with fishy flavor from a star ingredient: seaweed! The ackee fruit is one of the most utilized fruits in Jamaican cuisine; it is loved across the island for its mild, buttery flavor and its vibrant yellow color. Locals and visitors can’t seem to get enough of it. Although ackee is part of the family of fruits, it's treated and prepared like a vegetable. I have yet to meet someone who has had ackee and saltfish and did not enjoy it, and this version is the perfect replica.

Yields3 Servings

Ingredients

1 (20-ounces [566-g]) can young green jackfruit, drained and rinsed
1/3 ounce (8 g) snack-sized seaweed sheets, divided
1/2 tablespoon (8 ml) white vinegar
2 1/2 teaspoons (15 g) salt
3 tablespoons (45 ml) high-heat cooking oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, chopped
3 scallions, chopped (about ½ oz [15 g])
1/2 Scotch bonnet pepper, minced
1/2 tablespoon (8 g) tomato paste
1 small tomato, diced (2 oz [55 g])
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (19-ounces [540-g]) can of ackee, drained and gently rinsed

INSTRUCTIONS

Add 6 cups (1.4 L) of water to a medium-sized pot, add in the jackfruit, 1/5 oz (5 g) of the seaweed, white vinegar and 2 teaspoons (12 g) of the salt and bring it to a rolling boil. Allow it to boil for 5 minutes. (Do not mix, as the seaweed sheet may come apart, making it hard to separate from the jackfruit.)
After 5 minutes, turn off the heat and carefully discard the seaweed. Reserve ½ cup (120 ml) of the fishy broth, then drain the water and allow the jackfruit to cool for 5 minutes before roughly chopping the pieces to mimic pieces of saltfish. Set the chopped jackfruit aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the remaining seaweed for 30 seconds to flavor the oil, then remove the seaweed.
In the same oil, sauté the garlic, onion, scallions and Scotch bonnet pepper for 1 minute, then add in the tomato paste and sauté for 1 more minute.
Mix in the chopped tomato and sauté for 30 seconds.
Add in the salt phish (jackfruit), along with the dried thyme, black pepper and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt and sauté for 5 minutes.
Gently mix in the ackee and pour in the reserved broth.
Cover the pot and let it slow simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your preference if more is needed.
Enjoy hot with fried or boiled dumplings, boiled yam or white sweet potato, hard dough bread or white rice.