Red Chile Jackfruit Tamales

Jason Cook / Plant One Student

Makes approx. 36 tamales

Ingredients

Corn Husks

36 corn husks (add around 8-10 extra, some of these will not be usable due to a rip)

Red Chile Sauce

• 10 guallio chilli pods (dried)

• 1/4 medium white onion

• 1 cup (use the chile water)

• 1 can tomato sauce (8oz)

• 2-3 cloves garlic

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 1/2 tsp oregano

• 1/2 tsp cumin

• 1/4 tsp salt

Jackfruit Filling

• 2 cans of jackfruit

• ½ white onion 

• 3 garlic cloves

• 2 cups of red chilli sauce

Corn Masa Dough

• 3.5 cups corn masa flour

• 3 cups of warm water

• 2-3 pinches of salt to taste

• 1 cup of guajillo sauce (you can eye this, I just do it until the dough is orange)

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1.5 cups of olive oil (start with 1 cup and adjust if the masa is too sticky)

Method

Prepare the corn husks

1. Submerge corn husks in a bowl of water and soak overnight or a couple of hours before. Set aside.

Make the Red Chili Sauce

2. Add chiles and onion to a large pot and cover with water.

3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Remove chiles from the water and reserve 2 cups of water for blending.

5. Carefully remove chiles and onion from the pot and add to a blender.

6. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

Prepare the Jackfruit Filling

7. Dice the onion and add to a large hot pan with 1 tsp of olive oil. Cook for 5-7 minutes until tender.

8. Add minced garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. 

9. Drain the jackfruit and add it to the pan. As this cooks, use a spatula or spoon to break up the jackfruit.

10. Once this is broken up and looks almost shredded, add around half of your red chilli sauce and make sure the jackfruit is well coated and simmer for another 10 minutes. 

Prepare Corn Masa Dough

11. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until you have a dough that is not sticky.

12. Use the back of your hand and press it into the dough, pull your hand away and make sure the dough doesn’t stick to your hand. If you are unable to spread this on the corn husk without it sticking, add the additional oil a little at a time until you reach an easily workable texture. 

Prepare Tamales

13. Lay the soaked corn husk on a flat surface. Spread your masa on the corn husk from the middle towards the large end of the husk. Leave a ½ space from the top. You will not need to seal the top of the tamale. Use a cookie scoop to measure out the masa. This will vary depending on how large or small you would like to make your tamales. ¼ cup is about the right size.

14. Use a spoon or your fingers to spread it out into a rectangle large enough to enclose your filling. You can use a bowl of water to dip your fingers in to help the masa from sticking.

15. Add your cooked jackfruit to the centre of the masa.  Tamales traditionally use very little filling, but that doesn’t work for me. I would say a 60/40 ratio of masa to filling is pretty good. This will be around 2 tablespoons of filling. 

16. Roll the corn husk in half vertically.  Fold the corn husk in half vertically so that the masa wraps completely around the filling almost like the tortilla of a burrito. 

17. Fold the top (skinny) end down to enclose one end of the tamale.  The large end of the tamale will be open, and the other will be folded over.

18. Secure the husk on the tamale. You can tear a corn husk into strips to use as a string to secure the tamale husk.