Filipino Barbecue Skewers

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the wooden skewers on a baking sheet with some water to soak. Mince the garlic. Peel and mince 1 tsp ginger. Drain, rinse, and dry the jackfruit with paper towels. Halve the goldbar squash lengthwise and slice into half moons. Trim and deseed the red bell pepper, then cut into 1 inch pieces. Zest and halve the lemon. Thinly slice the scallion.

In a small skillet, combine the garlic, ginger, juice from the lemon, tamari, ketchup, turbinado sugar, and a good pinch of pepper. Whisk until smooth. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the barbecue sauce begins to bubble and thickens slightly, about 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, stir in the lemon zest, and allow to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

Combine the jasmine rice, 1¼ cups water, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until all the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 14 to 16 minutes.

Remove the skewers from the water and dry the baking sheet. Coat the baking sheet with 1 tsp vegetable oil. Add the jackfruit, goldbar squash, and red bell pepper to the large bowl with the barbecue sauce. Gently toss to evenly coat. Build the skewers by alternating pieces of the vegetables and jackfruit. Repeat with the remaining skewers until you have 4 to 5 full skewers. Lay each on the baking sheet.

Roast the barbecue skewers in the oven until the vegetables are tender and charred in places, about 15 to 20 minutes. If cooking on the grill, cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, then over high until lightly charred.

Brush any remaining barbecue sauce on the finished vegetable skewers. Cut the remaining lemon into wedges. Divide the jasmine rice between large plates. Top with the Filipino barbecue skewers. Sprinkle with the sliced scallion.