Basic braised bamboo shoots with soy sauce and sugar. Spring is here and fresh bamboo shoot will come out soon.
Bamboo shoot is a magic ingredient which can be used in soups, stir-fries, stews, hot pot, salad and pickles. You can't image how popular it is in China. We harvest quite a large amount of fresh bamboo shoot both in winter and spring time. My grandma loves to add some to her pickling jar. I love to cook a pot of healthy chicken soup. My husband loves salad and frying with pork belly. Almost everyone loves bamboo shoots in my family.
Fresh bamboo shoot usually has a bitter taste. Some are quite faint while others might be quite strong. Basically we do not suggest using bamboo shoot directly after harvest. Firstly we blanch the bamboo shoot in boiling water for a while (based on how large the bamboo shoot are) and then soak in clean water for hours. Change water twice or three times. Then you can taste it and see whether the bitter taste is removed. The packaged bamboo shoot sold on the market is pre-cooked and can be used directly. You can encounter bamboo shoot with faint bitter taste and do not require such a long soaking time.
This recipe was created in the spring of the last year when my father bring me a large bag of fresh bamboo shoots. Then I forgot this one and time flies very quickly. When I got all of the writing, editing done, summer is coming and there is no fresh bamboo shoot available. So I delay for one year.
Cook's Note
- The key ingredient to make the bamboo shoots delicious is to use lard or other animal fat. You can learn how to render lard at home. If lard is not a common ingredient in chicken. Chicken fat is a great choice too. Get a small piece of chicken fat and heat over slow fire until the oil comes out. Animal fat can soften the texture and make the bamboo shoots softer.
- Watch carefully during the simmer process. Check from time to time to avoid burn.
In other seasons, bamboo shoots are sold packaged in water or dried bamboo shoots. Dried Bamboo shoot is great ingredient for soups and you can use packaged bamboo shoots as a substitute for fresh bamboo shoots in this recipe.
Braised Bamboo Shoots
Ingredients
- 250 g bamboo shoot , pre-treated with boiling and soaking or you can use packaged ones.
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce (1.5 tbsp. light soy sauce + 0.5 tbsp. dark soy sauce)
- 2 tbsp. rock sugar
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
Instructions
- How to prepare fresh bamboo shoot for cooking
Cut the bamboo shoot into smaller pieces.Bring a large pot of water to a boiling and then place the bamboo shoots in.Cook for 4-5 minutes (or 7-8 minutes for larger pieces). Transfer out and then soak in clean water for at least 10 hours. Change the water twice during this soaking process. This helps to remove the bitter taste (possibly contained in fresh bamboo shoots ) of the fresh bamboo shoots. - Heat oil over fire with high fire and then place bamboo shoot in, fry for 1 minute until slightly softened.
- Add soy sauce and sugar. Cover the lid and slow down the fire and simmer for another 4 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking for a while until the sauce are almost attached to the bamboo shoots.
Andreas
Hi Elaine,
I really like the texture of bamboo shoots, so I'm going to try this one. Unfortunately I can only get the packaged one. I guess I should soak them a little bit, too to get rid of the taste of the preservatives?
On the other hand I can get premade lard quite easily in the supermarket. We have two kinds, pork and pork mixed with goose fat. By the way, I was always wondering if there are any Chinese recipes using goose meat...
Elaine
Andreas,
Goose meat is not very popular in China. Chicken and duck is the most popular poultry here. We only cook whole goose in a master stock to make a famous food: 卤鹅 or roasted to make: 烧鹅.
Andreas
Thanks for your reply Elaine. Actually goose is only a seasonal food (during winter) here, too. We only do it once a year. A popular recipe is to fill it with sour apples and chestnuts and then bake it in the oven. On the other hand goose fat is quite popular combined with cabbage all year round.
Thanks for the videos, I think I'll try Chinese style goose, too.
Hans Dieter Süsser
Best looking bamboo shoots EVER.
Probably tastes just as good 🙂
Life is Good !
Jesse-Gabriel
Oh wie lecker, ich komme!!!
Liebe Grüße sendet,
Jesse-Gabriel aus Berlin
Elaine
Thanks!
Andreas
Hi Elaine,
I saw fresh winter bamboo shoots in the store on Saturday. Can they be used the same way as the ones harvested in Spring or are there any differences to be aware of?