Foraging for bamboo shoots

It's spring time, that means time to forage and harvest bamboo shoots. Did not have to go far, just walked up to the bamboo line in my backyard!

Someone planted bamboo down in the easement area (before I bought the house), and the plants have expanded up to my yard, forming a dense wall of bamboo. I like the bamboo wall which provides all-season privacy in the back of the yard. But every spring, new bamboo plants will try to advance further into the yard. For years I have gone around the yard, kicked and broke the new shoots and threw them in the compost. Then about two years ago, a Chinese friend visited, saw the bamboo shoots and got excited about them. She said those were good eating and told me how to prepare them. Last year, I must have harvested hundreds of bamboo shoots from my yard and my neighbor's, sharing them with my Asian friends. This year, we marked the start of bamboo shoots season with a brunch on the patio, followed by a foraging session.

There is something very satisfying about foraging for food. Bamboo shoots must be harvested while they are young and tender. While some bamboo shoots are obvious like the one below, others may be covered by leaves and undergrowth; by the time they can be spotted, they may be too big/tough for eating. So we walked carefully over the leaf cover to check for hidden shoots while avoiding stomping over the tips of emerging shoots.

Pulling the shoots up is very easy, just use a sneakered foot to kick swiftly at the base of the bamboo. The tender part of the shoot will break off easily. To get more of the shoot, I prefer to put my hand at the base, bend and break it there, and pull it out. After than, remove the hard overlapping skins of the shoots, exposing the yellow tender shoot inside. I like to do this at the bamboo patch so that the skins can be left onsite to compost.

Bamboo shoots must first be boiled before eating/cooking, otherwise they can be bitter. I cut my bamboo shoots into sections, get the water to boiling and after a couple of minutes, change out the water and boil again. I have had the bamboo explode while being boiled because of air expanding inside the cavities; I now split the sections which took care of the problem.

After boiling, I cut the shoots into strips: they are now ready for cooking. Note that bamboo shoots themselves do not have much flavor. They do have a nice texture although it may be an acquired taste (fresh bamboo tastes different from those in the cans). Like tofu, bamboo shoots get their flavor from the dish they are cooked with. I have stir fried bamboo shoots with asparagus and shrimp in oyster sauce, bamboo with green beans and mushrooms in miso or bean sauce (vegan dish), bamboo with chicken and shitake mushroom with ginger and soy sauce. Bamboo shoots is also great in Thai tom yum soup and curries. I also add boiled bamboo to my salads! Bamboo strips can also be frozen.