Tianmu Dried Bamboo Shoots

Tianmu Dried Bamboo Shoots

Tianmu Dried Bamboo Shoots is a geographical indication protected product.

Tianmu Dried Bamboo Shoots is a geographical indication certified trademark.

　　Product Origin: Tianmu Mountain, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province

　　Product Characteristics: Fresh green, tender, fragrant, delicious, thin-shelled, thick-fleshed, tender in texture, sweetish while fresh.

　　Product Ingredients: Protein, fat, sugar, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and other nutrients.

　　Product Benefits: Aids digestion, stimulates appetite, clears heat and detoxifies, enhances food intake.

　　Product Introduction: A traditional famous product of Hangzhou. Tianmu Mountain is located within Lin’an County under the jurisdiction of Hangzhou, with an altitude of over 1,000 meters. It enjoys distinct seasons and a subtropical monsoon humid climate, which is most suitable for bamboo growth. The bamboo shoots produced here are characterized by thin shells, thick flesh, tender texture, and a sweetish taste while fresh. Lin’an ranks first in China in terms of bamboo shoot cultivation area and yield. Tianmu Dried Bamboo Shoots are made from tender stone bamboo shoots and are renowned for being “unparalleled in freshness” and “the best among vegetables and fruits.” Traditional varieties include “Beixi, Bianjian, Feiting, Tuting, Xiaoting, and Zhijian,” all maintaining the characteristics of being fresh green, tender, fragrant, and delicious, while also aiding digestion, stimulating appetite, and clearing heat and detoxifying. They are known as “health vegetables” and are now considered one of the “Three Treasures of Tianmu” along with Tianmu Cloud Mist Tea and Changhua Hickory Nuts. The dried shoots are fragrant and delicious. Containing protein, fat, sugar, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and other components, they help stimulate the appetite.

　　　 The processing method of Tianmu Dried Bamboo Shoots involves peeling and removing the root ends of selected fresh shoots while preserving the shoot sheaths. They are then boiled in 30% salt water and finally baked and dried to form the raw product. They are graded by quality into Beixi, Feiting, Tuting, Zhijian, and others. Beixi is made from the tender tips of the shoots and is considered the finest variety of Tianmu Dried Bamboo Shoots; the thicker and softer ones are called Feiting; those thick but slightly less so than Feiting, which are rolled and hammered into flat rounds, are called Tuting; stone bamboo shoots that are boiled and then baked, with a length not exceeding 40 cm, are called Zhijian. Feiting is suitable for stewing with meat, while Tuting and Zhijian are good for making soup. High-quality products maintain their fresh green color, tender texture, fragrance, and delicious taste. In addition to domestic sales, they are also exported to Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Southeast Asia, and other countries and regions.

　　Product Story: As early as the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Emperor Wu of Liang had a son named Xiao Tong, who was later made crown prince. He was intelligent from a young age and had read the “Four Books and Five Classics” by the age of five. One year, after his mother passed away, he got into a dispute with his father, the emperor, during a family discussion about household matters. The eunuch Bao Miaozhi sowed discord, causing him to be scolded by his father. Being a strong-willed individual, he resolutely left this place of conflict and set off to travel across the country’s famous mountains and rivers.

　　One day, Xiao Tong arrived at the picturesque Tianmu Mountain. Walk and walk, what greeted him were lush bamboo forests. He pinched one small bamboo, touched another, and found them very lovable. Before he knew it, he got lost deep in the bamboo woods. Fortunately, he spotted a thatched cottage in the distance and quickened his pace toward it. Upon entering the cottage, he saw an old monk sitting cross-legged on a lotus pedestal, silently reading scriptures. Not wanting to disturb him, Xiao Tong waited to the side. With nothing to do, he paced back and forth, walking lightly without stopping.

　　About the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the old monk put away the scriptures, yawned, and slowly stood up, muttering to himself, “Ah, so profound!” And indeed, the scriptures were profoundly worded. At that time, there were no punctuation marks, so it was hard to know where to stop reading. After the old monk left, Xiao Tong spread out the scriptures and carefully marked each sentence with a circle. But once he started marking, he completely forgot about the bamboo shoots boiling in the pot. When he finally remembered, he lifted the lid only to find the shoots had dried out completely. “Ah, the shoots are dried!” And so, the name “dried bamboo shoots” came about.

　　Xiao Tong frowned, thinking as he tore the dried shoots apart. Tear after tear, the stone table was soon covered with a pile of them. He thought, “What should I do with these so dry?” Then he reconsidered and decided to boil them in the pot again. When the old monk returned to the mountain, Xiao Tong thought of the shoots in the pot, quickly lifted the lid, and was stunned—he stood there dumbfounded holding the lid. It turned out that when Xiao Tong returned the dried shoots to the pot, he only grabbed a handful, but added too much water, resulting in a pot full of soup. The old monk also stared in surprise. He thought, “How am I supposed to eat this soup?” Then he reconsidered, “Well, it’s a pot of soup—might as well try it.” He took a sip, clicked his tongue, and said cheerfully, “The soup is delicious, even better than eating the shoots!” Xiao Tong tried some too, and indeed it was fragrant and tasty. Word spread quickly that dried bamboo shoots could be used for soup—one person told ten, ten told a hundred—and it became a popular summer side dish. From then on, every bamboo shoot season, people would set up huts on the mountain, drying the formerly wild bamboo shoots into preserved ones. From ten pounds of fresh shoots came one pound of dried, which meant one could carry a thousand pounds of fresh shoots as one load, enjoying fresh-tasting shoots all year round. Even now, when soaking dried shoots for soup, people still like to tear them apart—not only is it more convenient to eat, but it also helps release the flavor. So, it turns out dried bamboo shoots were actually invented by Crown Prince Zhaoming.