Bamboo shoots are now in season!
In Japan, we see many bamboo shoots at the supermarket and also on TV.
You’ll see many fresh bamboo shoots piled up at the supermarket. And, you also see the small bags with rice bran besides them. (It’s cute and of course, it’s FREE!) The rice bran can absorb the astringent taste when boiling the bamboo shoots. That’s why they usually are displayed together at the store.
You can also buy the precooked bamboo shoots to save cooking time.
In my hometown Fukushima, my father and relatives still enjoy getting the bamboo shoots from the bamboo forest. When I was a child, I also enjoyed getting them with families. What a good memory!
Since I like to cook and eat the seasonal vegetables, I bought the boiled bamboo shoot and cooked several appetizers! I still have the rest of it, so I am thinking to make Japanese style pasta and mixed rice with using several other vegetables.
Let’s enjoy the seasonal vegetables!
Bamboo shoot salad topped with bonito flakes
Cooked bamboo shoot topped with dried shrimp and sansho pepper sauce