Some of the common plant-based meats are made from pea or soy proteins; however, plant-based meat can also be made from jackfruit. Jackfruit is a huge spiky fruit that has many small bulbs with yellow flesh inside the shell.

When jackfruit is ripe, it tastes sweet; however, when it is unripe, it has no particular flavor. Its texture is quite similar to the consistency of real meat, and this makes jackfruit perfect for plant-based meat dishes like barbecued pulled pork.

In October, Thailand celebrated the 9-day vegetarian festival when many people give up eating animal products, and more people are going meatless for longer and more frequently. There has been a big increase in interest for vegetarian and vegan food over recent years, and Thai food producers are expecting future expansion of plant-based meat products.

Difficult words: ripe (ready to be harvested and eaten), consistency (the way in which something holds together), meatless (lacking meat).