Cookbook:Bamboo Shoot

Cookbook | Recipes | Ingredients

Bamboo shoots are the edible shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground) of the 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.

Whole bamboo shoots after being harvested

Characteristics

The shoots of some species contain cyanide that need to be leached or boiled out before they can be eaten safely. Slicing the bamboo shoots thinly assists in this leaching.

Uses

In Indonesia, bamboo shoots are thinly sliced then boiled with coconut milk and spices to make a dish named gulai rebung. Other recipes using bamboo shoots include sayur lodeh (mixed vegetables in coconut milk) and lun pia (fried wrapped bamboo shoots with vegetables).

In India, bamboo shoots are part of the traditional cuisine and used in a wide variety of dishes. These include iromba, ooti, and kangshu ar eto.

In Nepal, the shoots are used in traditional dishes known in Nepal for centuries. A popular dish is aloo tama (fermented bamboo shoots with potato and beans).

In Vietnamese cuisine, shredded bamboo shoots are used alone or with other vegetable in many stir-fried vegetable dishes. It may also be used as the sole vegetable ingredient in pork chop soup.

In Philippine cuisine, bamboo shoots are called labong. Two of the most popular dishes featuring bamboo shoots are ginataang labong (labong with coconut milk and chilies) and dinengdeng na labong (labong in fish bagoong with string beans, saluyot, and tinapa).

Pickled bamboo, used as a condiment, may also be made from the pith of the young shoots.

Recipes

Selected recipes using bamboo shoots include:

• Hot and Sour Soup
• Egg Roll
• Mực nhồi thịt (Vietnamese Stuffed Squid)
• Shark Fin Soup
• Lo Mein