The benefits of bamboo shoot
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What bamboo shoots do
What this vegetable does
Held to clear excess heat from the body and moisten the intestines to settle the bowels.
How to eat it
It is good cooked, in simmered dishes, stir-fries and rice.
A yakuzen note
It is thought to bring rashes out and clear toxins.
Bamboo shoot is held to clear excess heat from the body and moisten the intestines to settle the bowels. By bringing rashes out and clearing toxins, it is also said to help ease skin trouble and complaints brought on by heat. Picked in season, bamboo shoots are tender and fragrant, so simmered dishes, stir-fries and cooked rice are the ways to enjoy them.
TOC
When bamboo shoots are in season, the kinds, and how to choose
If you want to bring in what bamboo shoots do, deliciously, knowing the season, the kinds and how to choose makes them easier to use. Their appeal is a crisp bite and a flavour that suggests the scent of earth, and they are the vegetable that announces spring.
In season in spring, with moso bamboo the main one
Bamboo shoots are in season in spring, roughly March to May, with each kind appearing at slightly different times. The most common is moso bamboo, large and thick-fleshed, in the shops from March to April. In Kyoto, the tender Kyo-takenoko of Nishiyama and Otokuni is famous, and stands among the leading Kyoto vegetables of spring. Bamboo shoots grow harsher the longer they sit after digging, so shoots dug in the morning and cooked the same day are held to be the best way to eat them.
Moso, hachiku, madake and other kinds
Bamboo shoots differ in size, taste and season depending on the kind of bamboo.
| kinds | What stands out |
|---|---|
| Moso bamboo | The standard one, in season in spring. Large and thick-fleshed, tender and sweet |
| Hachiku | In season in early summer. Slimmer, with little harshness and a light taste |
| Madake | In season in early summer. Faintly bitter, and suited to processing, as in menma |
Moso bamboo, in the shops in spring, works widely in simmered dishes and cooked rice. Hachiku, low in harshness, suits dishes cooked quickly; faintly bitter madake suits processing and stronger seasoning. The slim nemagari-dake, or himetake, picked in the north, is also loved in soups and grilled.
How to choose them and how to take out the harshness
When choosing good bamboo shoots, these points make it easier to tell.
- Squat, thick and heavy, with skin that feels slightly moist
- Few bumps at the base, pale in colour, with a fresh-looking cut surface
- A yellow tip (a greenish one has had sun on it and is harsher)
Bamboo shoots contain the harshness they are known for, so take it out as soon as you get them home. With the skin on, boil them until tender in water with rice bran or the water from washing rice and a dried red chilli, then leave them in it until cold; the harshness goes and they become easy to eat. Freshly dug ones are less harsh and they grow harsher with time, so preparing them early is what matters.
How to eat bamboo shoots
Once the harshness is out, a bamboo shoot's texture varies by part, and it sits well in Japanese, Western and Chinese cooking alike. Here are the standard ways.
Wakatakeni, tosani and bamboo shoot rice
Wakatakeni, simmered together with wakame, is the classic simmered dish that tastes of spring. Tosani, given plenty of katsuobushi, and bamboo shoot rice cooked in dashi bring the aroma and texture forward. The tender tip suits clear soups and dressed dishes, the firmer base suits cooked rice and fine shreds: using each part for what it does best means nothing is wasted. A sprig of kinome brings the scent of spring out further.
Tempura, stir-fries and menma
Sliced thin and deep-fried as tempura, or grilled, bamboo shoot gives you roasted aroma and texture. Stir-fried Chinese-style as chinjao rosu, or with oyster sauce, it makes a dish that has you reaching for rice. Cut into fine strips, stir-fried sweet and salty and given some chilli oil, it becomes home-made menma. Its firm bite is valued as an accent in stir-fries and dressed dishes too.
How to keep bamboo shoots
Keep boiled bamboo shoots submerged in plenty of water in a container in the fridge. Change the water daily and they keep four or five days. If you cannot use them soon, slice them or cut them to an easy size, put them in a freezer bag and freeze; they are then handy for simmered dishes and stir-fries. Freezing changes the texture easily, so dusting them with a little sugar before freezing softens that change.
Alongside this, the page on spring Kyoto vegetables, which covers the tastes of a Kyoto spring, and one likewise held to cool excess heat, The benefits of daikon radish as a guide when building a seasonal table.
Bamboo shoot, in season in spring, is a vegetable that gives you the season, in wakatakeni, bamboo shoot rice, tempura and stir-fries. Tender, sweet moso, light hachiku, faintly bitter madake: using each kind and each part for what it does best brings out what they have. Take the harshness out of freshly dug shoots early, and bring the bamboo shoots that only spring brings to your table.
