What Are Bamboo shoots and How Can I Use Them?

Bamboo shoots rewards a little know-how: how to choose them, cook them, store them, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 144 recipes to cook with them.

What are bamboo shoots?

The inner white part of the young shoot of the bamboo, a tropical plant, prepared by stripping off the tight, tough overlapping outer sheaths of the plant. The shoots are then cut into strips and are ready for cooking.

Bamboo shoots are a basic ingredient in Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian cooking. There are different kinds depending on the season (winter, early spring and spring bamboo shoots; summer ones are bitter), and sizes from one inch to eight inches in diameter.

Not all bamboo plants produce edible shoots. It is essential that the bamboo shoots should be young in order to be tender.

In the US, we buy bamboo shoots in cans, peeled, chunked, boiled and ready to use. They are imported from China, Japan and Taiwan and come packed in either water or a brine.

Bamboo shoots are used mainly as fillers in Chinese cooking; their flavor is similar to an artichoke. They can be deep-fried, pickled, or added to soups, stews, and other dishes in much the same way as mushrooms are used.

If a recipe calls for fewer bamboo shoots than are contained in a can, the remaining shoots can be kept for a considerable amount of time by covering them with cold water in a clean glass jar with an airtight lid and kept in the warmest location in the refrigerator. The water should be changed at least every other day.

Nutritive food value – 3 ½ ounces of drain canned bamboo shoots contain 27 calories.