Deep fried Jackfruit
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted this at Harris Farm Markets over the weekend. It’s Jackfruit! Not frozen, not in can, but fresh tropical jackfruit! I believe not many people have heard of or seen jackfruit before in Australia, let alone taste it. Jackfruit is a tropical fruit native to Southeast Asia where I came from but thankfully now it is also commercially grown in far north Queensland.
A great initiatives in Australian agriculture slowly introducing many other exotic fruits which are foreign to the locals including mangosteen, custard apple, longans and rambutans just to name a few. These are the type of fruit that I grew up with and finally able to taste it again in foreign soil has definitely make me rather homesick and nostalgic.
At $4.99/kg, I brought home a quarter of the whole fruit, that cost me a little over $5. The skin of the jackfruit is thick and prickly, but not to be confused with durian fruit, which is totally different thing. The jackfruit that I bought is the hard type which also called Nangka, or Mangkat in Malay. The yellow flesh of the jackfruit is starchy and fibrous. It has an acquired taste that has been described as a strange mix of mango, banana and lychee.
I personally prefer the soft type jackfruit called Cempedak, which is much sweeter and stronger in flavour. The stone inside the flesh is also edible, either boiled, steamed, baked or roasted with a similar taste to chestnuts. But the stones are too young and small from the one I bought so I didn’t keep them.
One of the popular street food you can get in Malaysia is deep fried jackfruit. If you like banana fritter, then this is ten times better than that! Imagine like a small lump of golden nugget with a sweet aromatic flossy filling inside. The trick is to get the batter light and crunchy, and eat it when it still hot! I simply mixed a cup of plain flour, with a teaspoon of salt, a cup of caster sugar and a cup of carbonated water for that extra crunchiness. I also added half teaspoon mixture of cardamom and cinnamon into the batter to give it a nice spiced flavour.
Deep fry the batter jackfruit in hot canola oil, then drain well and let it cool down over some old newspaper which also help to soak up the excessive oil. The result is not bad, but I still prefer the soft type which works better for deep frying. How I wish I have some vanilla ice cream to go with this crunchy golden nuggets. Go on, I urge you to give the new fruit available in the market a try. As a foodie, you always should try everything once, right?
A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
Mmmmm…we love fried food!
.-= Peter G´s last blog ..Pumpkin and Lentil Soup =-.
Yum! You had me a deep fried…. lol
I find that fresh jackfruit is quite often available at Thai Kee in Market City, Chinatown altho’ I’m sure it costs way more than $4.99/kg
It’s much cheaper in Bankstown and Cabra – worth an eating day out? 
.-= Helen (GrabYourFork)´s last blog ..Good Food & Wine Show Sydney 2009 =-.
$5 to try something new isn’t much of an investment. Sounds like I should go for the fresh over any canned variety, considering the price.
How does the deep fried product taste in relation to the fresh? Does it change its properties much?
1:1 ratio of flour to sugar?! Sweetness much!
I also love to see exotic additions to the local farmer’s market stands, it really enriches the local culinary culture!
This looks like a lovely wayto eat jackfruit!
.-= Marta´s last blog ..Simple Pasta al Pesto e Pesce + Contest =-.
Oh my goodness, jackfruit is so good fresh! But also hard to find! One of my personal favorites.
.-= veggie wedgie´s last blog ..Cleansing Carrot Juice =-.
Jackfruit is awesome, both fresh and fried. Should definitely have an eating day out in Cabra
.-= Howard´s last blog ..Nepenthe Sauvignon Blanc Wine Celebration, Aria =-.
I am only back from Malaysia for 4 full days and you are making me homesick again!! I ate a lot of jackfruit there but didn’t manage to eat deep fried. Thanks for letting me know Harris has it. I didn’t know jackfruit is available in Australia (may be I didn’t look out for it).
.-= Ellie@AlmostBourdain´s last blog ..Mini Dulce de Leche Banoffee Pies =-.
cool. never heard or tried before.
.-= Simon Food Favourites´s last blog ..The Dolphin Hotel: Veal Schnitzel $12.50 Thursday Special, Surry Hills (2 July 2009) =-.
Great post – I first tasted jackfruit in Thailand and look forward to eating fresh jackfruit as well.
A variety of jackfruit has been bred for the subtropics (Northern NSW, where I come from). I’m eagerly trying to get a few to plant on my ground.
As for custard apples ….. they have been grown for years and years around the north coast – the roadside fruit stalls in our street are loaded with them at present.
I also hope mangosteens and rambutans and longans become more commonly available in the near future!
the photos you shot are awesome, what model is your camera? cheeers
Oh my GOD I love jackfruit, why have I never tried it deep fried?! It looks so mouth-watering. That’s brilliant that they sell them fresh, must go get some! I prefer the soft version too though.
.-= Steph´s last blog ..Chocolate Peppermint Creams =-.
If I ever have the luck to find fresh jackfruit, I’m totally making this! Sounds delicious… I want to try it raw too, because the jackfruit you get in a can is pretty flavorless.
.-= The Wind Attack´s last blog ..Tempeh Chimichurri =-.
Mm brings back sweet memories. I prefer cempedak, and love it deep fried, especially because the seed is edible.
.-= Y´s last blog ..Daring Bakers Challenge : Bakewell Tart =-.
Have you tried eating the seed ? It’s edible once you cook them
It’s sort of like…hmm…chestnut like texture ? Quite sandy and crumbly !
jackfruit isn’t as seldom seen or as little known as you believe. As far back as the eighties (dread decade), I have noticed it for sale. And that was on The Gold Coast. Another dread place, in fact, bloody horrible, but I managed restaurants up there in between recruiting waitresses off the beach at Burleigh Heads and swanning around in limos…
correction: http://www.thekitchenhand.blogspot.com
.-= Peter Thornton´s last blog ..Inner-West girls? Who, Emma Tom? =-.
For me the best part of fried cempedak is the seeds. So good. I was always more excited to eat the seeds than the flesh. My late mother would save up all her seeds for me.
.-= Rasa Malaysia´s last blog ..Steamed Dumplings =-.
You can definitely get loads of fresh jackfruit, durian, mangosteen, dragon fruit etc out at Cabramatta. Call me simple but I love a blended mix of all of them with crushed ice and syrup on a hot summer weekend day. Bring back summer!
.-= Forager´s last blog ..Vealy good fare at Danks Street Depot =-.
wow!
Jackfruit! I will have to go! They have been growing it in North Queensland for more than 20 years and so I have been very disappointed to never see any in the shop. I will go out as soon as I can and buy some!
.-= yewenyi´s last blog ..Watch for robots =-.
JAckfruit is great, i love the jackfruit ice cream from passionflower in the city is a must try