Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Bamboo Shoots


Bamboo shoots are "...the edible shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground) of bamboo species Bambusa vulgaris and Phyllostachys edulis. They are used in numerous Asian dishes and broths, and are available in supermarkets in various sliced forms, both fresh and canned versions." (from Wikipedia)

We bought the canned variety of bamboo shoots. I think it cost about $1.50 (I threw away the receipt as it was before I wanted to include prices)...based on the food item and size of the can - I don't think I would have paid more than $1.50 for it.

I read that if the smell was strong - you could boil it for 5 min. in fresh water - so that is what I did. I still thought the smell was unpleasant - kind of like cooked rubber. The shoots resemble noodles - kind of fat and long...longest was about 4 inches. ..and about the same color as noodles.

At first there is a bit of a crunch and then it's chewy. It didn't have much flavor. I know you can add it to different dishes - so I imagine it takes on the flavor of whatever spices or meat you are mixing it with.

Dd liked them a lot. "Not much taste - kind of a hint of noodle...pretty good...I'll have more." Ds said "A sense of wood and cardboard...I like bamboo shoots." These are kids that love any kind of pasta - and will eat it either plain or with a sprinkle of parmesan, so not surprising that they liked the taste.

1 comments:

Ice Cream said...

I love bamboo shoots in my stir fry and in my egg rolls. They do have a very bland flavor, much like baby corn do, but they are more for texture I think. I had never thought to have the kids try them as a plain snack.