Tofu Bamboo Shoot

Where does it come from? Are bamboo shoots grown on the bamboo like the mango trees? Nop, it is grown on the ground and not the bamboo branch, it is about 5-6inches in size. It is high in fibre and protein but most important is it has a succulent yet crunchy texture but color wise, it is just white or more like beige.

 I don’t grow them myself, but I know it is available in tinned can or vacuum packed, so I picked the vacuum packed from the supermarket. When I was young, grandma used to get narcissus brand bamboo shoot. it is still available in tinned can now.

The only problem is bamboo shoots comes with an odd smell. The vacuum packed I bought has already been clean, therefore the smell is less strong. Some people would say it smells as sour urine smell. All I can do is soak them in water and keep changing water every half hour for about 2 hours. So before your start cooking, you have to start 2-3 hours earlier.

As for the dry mushroom, soak them in another bowl for 2 hours earlier before cooking. This is to make it soft and able to absorb sauce later. Why do I add mushroom to this dish? This is because mushroom has a nice fragrant, it can help cover the left over odd smell of the bamboo shoot. Great combination.

Ingredients

1 soft tofu, 1 piece bamboo shoot

2 dry black mushroom, shredded chicken meat

2 cloves garlic

Prepare and cook

Soak and rinse bamboo shoot every 30 minutes for 2 hours

Slice bamboo shoots

Slice black mushroom

Steam tofu in pot for 10 minutes

Fry garlic 1 minute

Add bamboo shoots, chicken and mushroom

Add 2 tablespoon oyster sauce

Simmer for 5 minutes

Place tofu in centre of plate

Add on the bamboo shoot, chicken and mushroom

Ready to serve