Takenoko gohan（タケノコごはん）
It is rice cooked with bamboo shoots mixed in.
In early spring, fresh bamboo shoots start appearing in stores.
Commercially available boiled bamboo shoots are delicious, but fresh bamboo shoots have an exceptional taste and flavor.
It’s delicious when cooked with fried tofu, chicken, carrots, etc., but this recipe simply uses only bamboo shoots.
You can fully enjoy the goodness of bamboo shoots, which can only be enjoyed for a short period of time when they are in season.
Check out other recipes using bamboo shoots. 👉 Oven-roasted sea bream and vegetables
What kind of food is bamboo shoots??
The young stems that emerge from the underground rhizomes of bamboo are called bamboo shoots(takenoko=タケノコ). Bamboo grows quickly and can grow several tens of centimeters per day.
Takenoko are written in kanji as 筍. This kanji means that bamboo shoots become bamboo in 10 days.
As an aside, bamboo flowers are said to only bloom once every 100 years. Bamboo flowers bloom all at once, and bamboo forests wither all at once. For this reason, it is sometimes said that it is bad luck for bamboo flowers to bloom.
The representative species of edible bamboo shoots is mousoutake(孟宗竹).
It is about 10 to 15 cm in diameter, and its brown skin has fine downy hairs. The texture is soft and flavorful. And it can be used in a variety of cooking method such as boiled, grilled, stir-fried, and bamboo shoot rice.
The main production areas in Japan are Kyushu, Shikoku, and the Kansai region. Although it is also harvested in the Tohoku region, mousoutake is difficult to grow in cold regions, so the yield is not large.
Harvesting period is from March to May. They are only available for a short time, but once they start appearing in stores, you can feel the arrival of spring.
The variety hachiku (淡竹) is relatively resistant to cold weather, so it is planted throughout Japan. However, it is not widely distributed in the market and is rarely seen in supermarkets. They are generally obtained through bamboo shoot hunting or purchased at direct sales stores.
The menma used for ramen toppings is made by fermenting machiku(麻竹) with lactic acid.
What is akunuki?
Bamboo shoots can be eaten raw immediately after harvest, but the lye increases over time, so a process called ”akunuki(=removal of the lye)” is required.
This takes a lot of time, but the raw bamboo shoots harvested in the season are particularly delicious. If you get fresh bamboo shoots, try akunuki.
Things to prepare
(*The amount varies depending on the size of the bamboo shoots and the amount of hot water, so this is just a guideline.)
- bamboo shoots 1kg
- rice bran 80g
- Red chili pepper 1.5g
- big pot
- enough water to cover the bamboo shoots
Step
Step 1: Cut off the hard bottom part and about 6cm of the tip, and make a 2-3cm deep cut vertically from the tip.
Step 2: Put the bamboo shoots, rice bran, and red chili pepper in a pot, and add enough water to cover the bamboo shoots.
Step 3: Heat over high heat.
Step 4: Once boiling, boil on low heat for 40 minutes to 1 hour. It is a good idea to place a weight on the bamboo shoots to prevent them from floating.
Step 5: Try inserting a skewer into the base of the bamboo shoots, and when it passes through easily, turn off the heat.
Step 6: Leave it in the hot water and wait until it cools down. By doing this, you can drain all the lye from the bamboo shoots.
Step 7: Wash with water to remove the bran and peel.
Step 8: Cut the middle part from the tip vertically, and cut the bottom part horizontally. Use a knife to cut off the part circled in blue.
I use the tips for “wakatakeni” because they are soft, and the roots for bamboo shoot rice.
NUTRITION FACTS
236kcal Protein 5.3g Fat 0.7g Carbs 52.6g Salt Equivalent 1.3g
INGREDIENTS（5SERVINGS）
- boiled bamboo shoots (Bamboo shoots with lye removed) 180g
- rice 320g
- ☆light soy sauce 40g
- ☆sake 20g
- ☆water 460g
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
① Wash the rice and soak it in water for 20 minutes.
Adding seasonings first makes it difficult for the rice to absorb water, so add seasonings just before cooking.
② Add soy sauce, sake, and water and stir gently.
③ Place the bamboo shoots on top of the rice and cook.
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