Bamboo!

We were walking in the store and wondering what these things were. Most of the vegetables here are things you can typically get in any grocery store at home, but some, like these, are odd. Later, we were given a pair of them from the owner of our building. We still had no clue what they were. They kind of look like villains from some sort of Mario game, don't they? They have green shoots growing up along the sides and top, like spikes, and the outside is very fibrous and hairy. At work we asked what they were and how to deal with them, and discovered that they were new bamboo shoots. You have to boil them before doing anything else with them. We decided to make stir fry with them.

First, you have to peel them. This gets rid of, oh, nearly half of the volume of the bamboo shoot. It also makes a rather large mess. The little hairs on the outside tend to come off and go everywhere.


Then, you boil the remaining shoot for at least 20 minutes or until tender. This makes it tender and not bitter, and it ends up tasting like nothing in particular, so perfect for stir fry or other vegetable based meals. We chopped it up after boiling it and added it to some blanched bean sprouts, carrots, chicken, and onions over rice with duck sauce, which was delicious. Now you know what to do if you encounter one of these in the wild.