A Vegan version of a Jamaican classic dish called Run Down. The delicious and fragrant one pot dish consists of seasoned shredded young green Jackfruit that is cooked down in coconut sauce and served with green banana. Perfect to make a head of time of during weeknights.
If you like all things coconut, curry combined with Jackfruit then this dish is for you. It’s a vegan friendly dish that’s generously seasoned, cooked down to bring out the flavour some more and served with green banana.
What is Run Down
Run down aka run dung or sometimes referred fling mi a far and fling mi for is a stew made from coconut milk. Run down generally is a seafood base dish, where salted mackerel is used. However, you can use crab, snapper, saltfish or cod in place of mackerel.
To run down simply means to simmer down in coconut milk, the fish and seasoning are cook down until the coconut sauce starts to thicken.
I believe this dish is also eaten in certain parts of the Caribbean and various latin American countries as well.
Run down is traditionally eaten for breakfast, however there’s no qualms with eating it any other time of the day. It is normally accompanied with green banana.
However, you can consume it along with more foods such dumpling and ground provisions (yam, cassava, sweet potato etc..)
If you are unsure of how to boil green banana then this should aid you in doing so. Okay, so this is totally off topic but I even added jackfruit to my Jamaican Pumpkin Soup recipe.
Preparing ital run down
As you can see and from reading the paragraph above, my run down looks remotely different from the description that I have given.
I decided to jazz things up a bit and pay homage to my vegan followers (even if you aren’t vegan but love vegan food like I do) by making some ital curry run down.
My version is a Curry Jackfruit Run Down uses young green Jackfruit instead which appears to be the latest contemporary meat substitute.
I wanted to challenge myself and make a vegan style run down since there doesn’t seem to be many recipes out there. Plus I had two unused cans of Jackfruit in my cupboard which had been gathering dust.
Jackfruit is very easy to manipulate into meat.
It looks and behaves like shredded meat but taste BLAND when unseasoned. Of course being Caribbean I had to up things with some flavour and flare to make it taste AH-MAZING!
Based on feedback I think I hit the jackpot with this curry jackfruit recipe.
I highly recommend using my homemade Jamaican Curry Powder and homemade All Purpose Seasoning Recipe
How to Make Curry Jackfruit Run Down
- Remove the core from the chunks of jackfruit and shred, it should pull apart with ease using a fork or fingers and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a dutch pot/oven/casserole dish on medium heat
- Saute the onion, scallion, garlic and ginger until soft and translucent
- Add the curry and proceed to cook the curry powder with the onions etc.. for 2 minutes
- Fold in the tomatoes then add the other seasoning – pimento, all purpose seasoning, thyme, black pepper, scotch bonnet (if using).
- Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a rolling boil and add 1/2 tsp more of curry powder for an extra kick.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes until the milk thickens slightly.
- Fold in the jackfruit then leave to simmer further for another 10-15 minutes.
- Add pink salt to taste and serve
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a substitute for Jackfruit?
No, there is no direct 1 to 1 substitute for Jackfruit
Can I Make The Recipe Ahead of Time?
Yes, you can core and shred the Jackfruit ahead of time if you wish. Alternatively, you can allow the curry coconut sauce to simmer down set aside and simply add the Jackfruit whenever you are ready.
Is it okay To Freeze This Recipe?
You can curry up the Jackfruit and freeze any leftover BUT DON’T freeze the green banana. Only make what you will need.
Notes and Tips
- Make sure the jackfruit you are using is “green” “young” you don’t want the sweet stuff which is used for desserts.
- Jackfruit comes in its own water make sure to thoroughly rinse off your jackfruit or better still leave it to soak for a while if possible.
- To shred the jackfruit you need to cut the core and discard (the thickish triangle part) then pull part the stringy bits.
- I used my own homemade curry powder and all purpose seasoning which I will leave the link to.
- If you cannot get hold of pimento berries use ground allspice instead
- Fresh thyme is more fragrant but dried works too
- If you don’t care for heat/spiciness omit the scotch bonnet pepper or use a chilli/habarnero instead if you can’t source scotch bonnet.
- Make sure the coconut milk is full fat or else the milk will not thicken up
Other Vegan Curry Recipes You Make Like
Vegan Caribbean Plantain Curry
Caribbean Curried Butter beans
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Curry Jackfruit Run Down
Ingredients
- 2 cans jackfruit drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp curry powder see post for recipe link
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 6 pimento berries or 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 4 sprigs thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 1 tsp all purpose seasoning see post for recipe link
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped
- pink salt to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
- scotch bonnet (small amount for spice) optional
Instructions
- Remove the core from the chunks of jackfruit and shred, it should pull apart with ease using a fork or fingers and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a dutch pot/oven/casserole dish on medium heat
- Saute the onion, scallion, garlic and ginger until soft and translucent
- Add the curry and proceed to cook the curry powder with the onions etc.. for 2 minutes
- Fold in the tomatoes then add the other seasoning - pimento, all purpose seasoning, thyme, black pepper, scotch bonnet (if using).
- Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a rolling boil and add 1/2 tsp more of curry powder for an extra kick.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes until the milk thickens slightly.
- Fold in the jackfruit then leave to simmer further for another 10-15 minutes.
- Add pink salt to taste and serve
Notes
- Make sure the jackfruit you are using is "green" "young" you don't want the sweet stuff which is used for desserts.
- Jackfruit comes in its own water make sure to thoroughly rinse off your jackfruit or better still leave it to soak for a while if possible.
- To shred the jackfruit you need to cut the core and discard (the thickish triangle part) then pull part the stringy bits.
- I used my own homemade curry powder and all purpose seasoning which I will leave the link to.
- If you cannot get hold of pimento berries use ground allspice instead
- Fresh thyme is more fragrant but dried works too
- If you don't care for heat/spiciness omit the scotch bonnet pepper or use a chilli/habarnero instead if you can't source scotch bonnet.
- Make sure the coconut milk is full fat or else the milk will not thicken up
I just tried this and it came out great! My husband and I went plant based 2 months ago. It’s been challenging finding Caribbean recipes so thank you! Love your site.
Dee
I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed this dish. I have a substantial amount of vegan/plant based recipes on my website that I think you may enjoy, feel free to browse.
Can I use breadfruit instead, it is very hard to find jackfruit in my country
Unfortunately, there isn’t a substitute for Jackfruit
Give thanks! I prepared this last night. It was amazing! This is by far the easiest jackfruit recipe I’ve ever tried. Most recipes require a lot to go from the jackfruit taste to something that replaces meat. Jackfruit just works for rundown. I paired it with cornmeal dumplings and green banana. I will definitely return to this dish. Thanks again! Bless!
Thank you so much Evie. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe.