Foray into Takenoko Foraging
A friend invited me to go foraging for bamboo shoots one day, and as tired as I was from a long week of work, I just couldn't turn down the offer. I'm glad I didn't, as I ended up taking home a nice bundle of bamboo shoots to cook. Then came the hard part -- getting the shoots out of this tough, hairy armor! The shoots are encased by layer upon layer of ridged fibers that are full of purple hairs that poked straight through my gloves and into my hands. They also temporarily stain your hands indigo, so the main take away is to get good gloves before doing this. Once they were all unwrapped, I had some decisions to make. According to friends, I was to boil the shoots in the water used to wash rice. I read the same thing online but the length of time I was to do this varied by website. We boiled it for about 20 minutes then poured out the water, refilled with fresh water, and simmered for a while. Every so often, I'd give one of the shoots a poke w
