What You Need to Know When Buying Clean and Delicious Dried Bamboo Shoots.
During the Tet holiday, Vietnamese cuisine is elaborate and features a variety of delicious dishes. Compared to everyday meals, Tet feasts always include traditional foods such as Bánh Chưng (square sticky rice cake), boiled chicken, pickled onions, fried spring rolls, pork sausage, glass noodle soup, bamboo shoot soup, and sticky rice. One of the essential ingredients that characterize the Tet feast is dried bamboo shoots.
There are many types of dried bamboo shoots available in the market, but the most common are thick bamboo shoots and shredded bamboo shoots. Each type has its own advantages in cooking, but shredded dried bamboo shoots are slightly more convenient and softer than thick dried bamboo shoots. Shredded dried bamboo shoots have a sweet and slightly bitter taste, rich in nutrients and fiber essential for the body. This ingredient can harmonize with many other foods and helps eliminate the fishy smell of certain meats, such as duck, making it a popular choice for various delicious dishes in Vietnamese households.
How to Choose Clean and Delicious Shredded Dried Bamboo Shoots?
Shredded dried bamboo shoots are a nutritious food commonly used during Tet.
Shredded dried bamboo shoots are also known as shredded bamboo. The price of this type of bamboo shoot in the market varies widely, ranging from 240,000 to 300,000 VND/kg, depending on quality and distribution. They can be easily found at traditional markets, online shops, e-commerce platforms, and specialty food websites.
Due to the high demand during Tet, consumers are concerned about accidentally purchasing bamboo shoots treated with sulfur. Some places use sulfur to dry bamboo shoots, giving the product a beautiful yellow color, preventing mold, and creating an attractive appearance. However, according to the World Health Organization’s recommendations, the sulfur content should not exceed 20mg/kg of the product. Long-term consumption of products with high sulfur concentrations can cause nerve damage, behavioral issues, circulatory system problems, cardiovascular dysfunction, eye damage, reduced vision, reproductive issues, blood poisoning, kidney failure, and more.
Selecting good dried bamboo shoots is not too difficult. However, to avoid choosing harmful bamboo shoots for health, homemakers can refer to the following tips:
- Good dried bamboo shoots have a light yellow or amber color and a natural shine.
- The shoots have a distinctive aroma, feel dry to the touch, and are soft and chewy. Dried bamboo shoots treated with sulfur often have overly shiny or dull colors, strange odors, or unpleasant smells.
- Choose shoots that are uniform in color, short, and tender. Avoid shoots that are fibrous, as they are from the root and are tougher and chewier.
- Avoid purchasing bamboo shoots that show spots from mold, are soft, mushy, or have unusual colors.
- It is best to buy dried bamboo shoots packaged in labeled plastic bags with clear addresses and origins. Do not buy unbranded items or overly cheap products to avoid low-quality bamboo shoots.
- Currently, the market also offers pre-cooked shredded dried bamboo shoots; homemakers should do thorough research and choose a reputable place to buy.
There are many suitable options of shredded dried bamboo shoots to meet each family’s needs.
How to Prepare and Remove Toxins from Bamboo Shoots
Once you have selected good dried bamboo shoots, the preparation process before cooking is also very important. A bowl of bamboo shoot soup or stir-fried bamboo shoots may seem simple, but the preparation process requires great care.
- Rinse the dried bamboo shoots thoroughly to remove all dirt on the surface. Then soak the bamboo shoots for at least 5 to 6 hours or overnight to soften them for easier cooking. During the soaking process, change the water frequently to remove any bitterness and impurities remaining in the bamboo shoots.
Soaking and boiling bamboo shoots are important steps to ensure they are safe before cooking.
- After soaking, place the bamboo shoots in a strainer, squeeze out the excess water, then place them in a pot and boil until they are completely soft. It is advisable to keep the pot simmering and leave the lid open to allow toxins to evaporate. Once the bamboo shoots have expanded and appear clean, remove them, rinse again with clean water, and they are ready to be cooked into a dish.
- Many homemakers apply a small tip of soaking dried bamboo shoots in rice washing water to help them soften faster and cook evenly.
Limit Eating Bamboo Shoot Soup if You Have One of These 5 Conditions
