These are vegan tamales and I swear they’re so close to the chicken tamales verdes version. Except these are made with vegan tamales masa, homemade salsa verde and filled with jackfruit and mushrooms.
Sort through them and remove any debris or badly damaged husks. Soak with warm water in the sink or in a very large pot.
Salsa Verde Instruction
Heat the oil in a large frying pan then add the chiles, onion and garlic and cook until everything has softened and browned a bit.
Place in a blender with the water, salt and vegetable bouillon powder and lend until perfectly smooth. Lastly add the cilantro and blend until well incorporated. Taste for salt.
Filling Instructions
Sauté the onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook until they begin to release their liquid. Stir now and then. Mix in the shredded jackfruit pieces and sprinkle in the salt. Cook for about 8 minutes.
Pour in 2 cups of the salsa and cook for 10 minutes or until salsa thickens. Taste for salt and adjust if desired.
Masa Instructions
Drain the corn husks and pat dry to remove excess water.
Whip the shortening until creamy. Add half the masa harina, baking powder and salt and mix until well combined. Gradually begin adding broth and remaining masa harina until you have a creamy, smooth and airy masa dough.
Do the masa float test by placing a small piece of masa into a glass with water. It should float back to the top. If not keep whipping until it does.
Assemble The Tamales
Take a corn husk and spread some masa on it. Don't go all the way to the side edges and make sure it's an even thin layer across. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling in the center.
Grab one side of the husk and fold it towards the center, repeat with other side then fold up the long pointy bottom of the husk up towards the center. Repeat until all ingredients are used up.
Pour the water into your tamalera pot, place the steaming shelf inside it then arrange the tamales with the open side up inside of the pot. Try not to pack them in too tightly. Cover the pot with aluminum foil, make a whole in the center. Place the pot cover on it.
Set the temperature to medium-high heat and allow it to come to a boil. Lower the heat to low and steam for 60 minutes before checking the tamales for doneness by removing one and letting it sit for 10 minutes. If the masa peels away easily from the corn husk then they are ready, if not they need to steam longer.
Video
Notes
Makes 25 to 30 small tamales.If you want to split the work in 2 days you can make the salsa and filling the first day then the next day soak the husks, make the masa and assemble and steam the tamales the next day. You could also make the tamales and steam the next day if desired. If you don't own a tamalera pot to steam your tamales in, go read this article with other ways you can cook your tamales. How to Steam Tamales Without a Steamer.