If you have some canned bamboo shoots that are rapidly heading toward their sell-by-date, then we would recommend that you keep reading this article. Even though canned bamboo shoots will last you for a long time, there’s no reason why you can’t make a delicious meal out of them.
However, bamboo shoots are not that common in the west, so you might be scratching your head wondering what exactly are the best bamboo shoot meals that you can prepare. Well, don’t worry, we have all the info you need to prepare some of your best bamboo shoots recipes.
You will only need around one cup of bamboo shoots a day before you exceed your daily allowance, so make sure that you are using them all up in one sitting. After opening, your bamboo shoots will stay fresh for roughly 48 hours afterward.
So what are the tastiest recipes for your canned bamboo shoots? How much do you need to make a decent meal for more than one person? Is this meal going to be tasty? What are the health benefits of bamboo shoots? Is it better to have them fresh or from the can?
Well, we can answer those questions and a whole lot more, with our list of some of the best ways you can spice up your canned bamboo shoots. We’ll have a look at the nutritional quality of this dish, as well as how much you should eat and how safe it is to eat them.
Bamboo Shoots – Everything That You Need To Know
Well, if you have yet to open your can of bamboo shoots, you might be wondering what they taste like. Well, they are a lot like corn in many ways, crunchy with a sweet aftertaste. You can usually enjoy this delicacy fried or fresh – there are no rules when it comes to canned bamboo shoots.
You can find these on many supermarket shelves, although you might have to head to your nearest Asian market to find them. You can find it fresh, but you might have to go to mainland China to pick up one of those dishes.
In terms of their look, these sticks also resemble corn, sticking up out of the ground when they are ready to harvest. You can often find bamboo in places that have a humid climate.
When the weather is warm, we would definitely recommend that you seek out some fresh bamboo, if you can find it, that is.
Is It Safe To Eat Them?
No, it is not poisonous to humans, as long as they are properly cooked. All you have to do is make sure they are boiled right the way through to the center before eating.
You will also want to avoid eating these shoots if you are pregnant, this is because they can tone the uterus and encourage bleeding. One way to avoid this is to make sure that you are only eating small amounts and that you cook them thoroughly before serving.
In Asia, a lot of children eat this food from a very early age, so they build up a natural immunity to some of the harsher ingredients. However, when it comes to feeding your child this bamboo, you should be looking to introduce this food into its diet very gradually.
This is because there are some nutrients and harsher textures that its delicate stomach will not be able to digest.
Bamboo is a common staple for the panda to eat as it can easily process the plant’s rich and fibrous roots. However, you can also feed this one to your dog.
It acts as a very sweet and healthy treat for your canine, being also very low in calories. This is great if you want your dog to lose weight but still give it snacks.
What Health Benefits Do They Have?
These bamboo shoots contain plenty of ingredients that will improve the functions of various organs such as your heart and liver. It will also improve the condition of lots of muscle fibers in your body.
If you want to gain great muscle tone, then we would suggest that you ingest some of this bamboo, as it contains something called Isoleucine and leucine, both of which improve the condition of your body.
Bamboo will also help you detoxify your liver, with plenty of threonine and glycine that gives you everything you need for a very healthy body.
It also has tryptophan, which helps prevent the development of insomnia, depression and anxiety issues. If you are into natural remedies for these illnesses, why not give bamboo a go?
Braised Bamboo Shoots Recipe
Here are the ingredients for this delicious braised bamboo recipe:
- 450 grams of bamboo shoots – you can get these either canned or fresh from the market
- 3 tablespoons of rapeseed oil – this is for frying
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons of Shaoxing wine – you can get this from any Oriental marketplace
- 0.5 teaspoons of dark soy sauce
- 1 glass of water
Recipe
- Chop your bamboo into small pieces.
- Heat up your oil in a wok and add the ginger. Cook this for roughly 30 seconds.
- Once this has been properly browned, reduce the heat and add your sugar. Then add the chopped bamboo shoots.
- Cook these until they are browned around the edges.
- Once this is done, mix it well and then stew everything with the lid on for around 10 minutes on minimum heat.
- Remove the lid and increase the heat to evaporate all the water inside.
- When the bamboo looks completely cooked, add some more drops of oil and combine the mixture well.
That’s it! Once this has been cooked, you can eat it as a vegetarian dish or as a side for a meat main course.
