1. I'm not exactly sure what jack fruit is. Some kind of fruit that grows in Asia...that's all I know.
2. I bought 2 cans of it a month ago after I read some crazy article about how great it is if you don't eat meat, but have a history of eating meat and want to recreate some familiar dish that would normally contain meat, without meat; chicken specifically. The fun part of buying it involves a trip to the International market. If you have never been to one, know (at least in my area) there is no rhyme or reason to the arrangement of products and you sort of need to plan for the extra time you are going to spend wandering around the gazillion aisles wondering where the jack fruit is. Be forewarned: There are numerous languages (and alphabets) represented there; none of them English.
3. I discovered there are tons of recipes using jack fruit for a "chicken like" meal. However, even though I had those two cans, I couldn't open them. Because I had high expectations and I did not want to be disappointed. If you've ever eaten fake meat, you probably understand. Because, I mean, really...the whole thing sounded too perfect to be true. Fake meat without (foul tasting) processed...wait...I don't even know what they make fake meat out of. The idea I could just substitute some of this wonder fruit and skip all of that? And my kids wouldn't know the difference? That's a lot to expect.
4. I finally did it. If you google "jack fruit pulled pork" you will get a ton of recipes. Mine is an adaptation of one that had a Carolina style BBQ sauce. As it turned out, there was no disappointment. One of my kids ate it without question. The other already knew and was hesitant. She ate it, but said she didn't like it. But, she ate it...so??? I'll be making it again.
