Jackfruits are rarely available in the common US markets, but you can find them in cans at any Asian store. Fresh, ripened jackfruits are also very rare in America, but once in a while, you’ll find them available at the Wholefoods market and most oftentimes, at Asian stores. Jackfruits are kind of compared to Durian, although jackfruits grow a lot larger in sizes. They are elongated in shapes, whereas Durian is rounder in shape. What I don’t understand is why Durian seems to be more popular than Jackfruits. If anyone has ever tried both, Jackfruits smell a lot better than Durian’s dead fish-like odor, they taste better, but Jackfruits are more fibrous than Durian.
A Filipino crab recipe is either steamed, or traditionally cooked in coconut milk, combined with either Malunggay leaves and squash, squash and green beans and spices, or in this case, Janis used sliced young jackfruits to complete her crab recipe. Ginataan Langka with Alimango recipe or Linagang Langka as it is called in Bicol, means cooking young jackfruits with crabs(which in this recipe, Dungeness crabs are used), in coconut milk, together with shrimp paste, garlic, onions and other spices.
Ingredients: 3-4 servings
1 large can of young jackfruit slices
2-3 large Dungeness crabs, cut in cubes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 medium sliced onions
2 tsp of bagoong(shrimp paste), salt reduced
1 large can of coconut milk
1 cup of water
Cooking Procedure:
- Wash and clean Dungeness crabs, cut them in medium sized cubes. On a large cooking pan, combine crabs with coconut milk, garlic, onions. bagoong alamang, and spices with a cup of water.
- Bring ingredients to a boil. Stir occasionally to prevent coconut milk from curding. Leave it to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until it starts to boil and crabs start to turn pink.
- When coconut milk thickens and crabs are almost cooked, add the sliced young jackfruits to combine. Continue to stir occasionally. Let it simmer for another 10 minutes until all ingredients including the young jackfruit are tender.
- Remove from fire, transfer Ginataang Langka with Alimango(Dungeness crabs) on a large serving bowl. Serve it hot with steamed rice.
Tip: Use spicy vinegar and fish sauce as its condiment. Freshly grated coconut milk and young jackfruits are obviously preferable for fresh tasting Ginataang Lanka with Alimango recipe.