Dried Bamboo Shoots from Jian'ou

Dried Bamboo Shoots from Jian'ou

　　Dried bamboo shoots from Jian'ou are a specialty of Jian'ou City in Nanping, Fujian Province. Made from spring bamboo shoots, they are processed through steps such as husking, steaming, slicing, drying, and shaping. The slices are wide and the nodes are short, making them well-known as Fujian dried bamboo shoots. These shoots not only complement gourmet dishes but also offer considerable nutritional and medicinal value.

　　Due to the highly seasonal growth of bamboo shoots and their extremely rapid emergence during the harvest period, local residents have, through long-term experience, gradually developed a complete set of processing techniques and technologies for making dried bamboo shoots. They efficiently process large quantities of fresh shoots into bulk dried products, bundling them into "rough bundles" or "mixed bundles," which are then transported in bulk for sale elsewhere. Generally, one pound of high-quality dried bamboo shoots can rehydrate to about twelve pounds.

　　The history of making dried bamboo shoots in Jian'ou is quite long, with documented records spanning over a hundred years. However, its exact origins remain unclear. By the early years of the Republic of China (1912 AD), Jian'ou was already capable of producing a premium type of dried bamboo shoot called "Yulan Slices." These were known for their thick flesh, thin slices, crisp texture, fragrant aroma, refined quality, and vibrant color, often hailed as the "King of Bamboo Shoots," and enjoyed great renown in export markets.

　　Bamboo shoot processing workshops in Jian'ou are found throughout the countryside, with particularly notable production in areas such as Nanya, Dikou, Jiyang, Yushan, Fangdao, and Xiaoqiao. In just the small mountain village of Baizhang in Xiaoqiao alone, there were as many as 115 workshops dedicated to making dried bamboo shoots. This gives a glimpse into the once-thriving traditional bamboo shoot industry in Jian'ou.

　　Over the years, in the practice of making dried bamboo shoots, the people of Jian'ou have further developed a comprehensive set of processing protocols, even elevating them to the status of tradition. Broadly speaking, these include: selecting an auspicious day to enter the mountains, mobilizing the entire village, setting up camps, and following established rules for production. Moreover, depending on the bamboo shoot season and quality, different types of dried bamboo shoots can be produced, with distinct operational procedures and methods. Below is a brief introduction to the main types of dried bamboo shoot production protocols and methods in Jian'ou:

　　1. White Dried Bamboo Shoots. The production protocol and method consist of ten steps: “1. Digging” – from Qingming to Grain Rain, depending on the thickness of the soil in the bamboo forest, shoots in thick-soil areas are harvested when they emerge five to ten inches from the soil surface, while those in thin-soil areas are harvested when they emerge ten to fifteen inches; timely digging ensures shorter shoots with thicker flesh. “2. Peeling” – using a chopping knife, slit the curved back of the shoot, pry open the shell with the knife’s back end, cut off the shoot tail, leave the inner skin, and peel off the outer shell. “3. Trimming” – use a knife to remove any shoot spikes at the base, trim the base into a dragon-mouth shape, avoid leaving any small shoots, keep the body clean, and avoid mud adherence. “4. Boiling” – place the shoots in a bamboo shoot cauldron, fill with water, and boil for one to two hours over hot water until the water boils and the shoot tails become soft, then remove from the heat. “5. Rinsing” – place the boiled shoots in a pool of clean water, let flowing water naturally rinse them, removing dirt and impurities, and change the water frequently on the same day before pressing. “6. Pressing” – after washing, use a shoot needle to puncture the nodes from tail to base to drain all moisture, then arrange the shoots in the press according to their natural curve, layering shoots and presses, and press for about half a month. “7. Washing” – around the beginning of Summer, move the shoots from the press back into a clean water pool and rinse thoroughly with running water to ensure all mud and impurities are removed, resulting in bright white dried shoots. “8. Baking” – around the beginning of Summer Solstice, take the shoots out of the press, place them in a drying oven, arrange thicker ones at the bottom and thinner ones on top, lay the bottom layer horizontally, the middle layer vertically, and the top layer in a crisscross pattern, bake with charcoal and hot water, turn frequently, and remove the dried ones in sequence. “9. Trimming” – trim the shoot bases, sort and classify them into categories such as Xiurong, Xiujian, Xiupian, Huangbiao, Fengwei, and Jian shoots (now called first-grade, second-grade, A-tips, B-tips, and returned shoots). “10. Bundling” – tie them into bundles by grade.

　　2. Winter Yulan. The production process involves washing yellow-nose shoots found in mud crevices from the Winter Solstice to the Waking of Insects, digging them up, peeling, boiling them in a full pot of water until cooked, slicing them into three-to-five-millimeter-thick pieces along the grain, placing them in a roasting basket, and drying them slowly over charcoal fire. It is said that they are sometimes roasted together with shiitake mushrooms, thus absorbing the umami of the mushrooms, and are also referred to as "Imperial Tribute Bamboo Shoots."

　　3. Spring Yulan. The production method involves selecting shoots that have just emerged from the mud skin between the Spring Equinox and Qingming, digging them up, peeling, boiling them in a full pot of water until cooked, slicing them into Shengruo-shaped pieces along the grain, lightly pressing them in a small press to remove dirty water, placing them in a roasting basket, and drying them slowly over charcoal fire.

　　4. Black Dried Bamboo Shoots. The process involves harvesting shoots that have emerged up to two feet from the mud skin around Qingming, digging them up, peeling, boiling them in a full pot of water until cooked, cooling them on a rack, peeling off the inner skin, using a shoot needle to puncture the nodes from tail to base, loading the whole shoot onto a roasting rack (arranged similarly to white dried shoots), and baking with raw wood fire.

　　5. Smoked Dried Bamboo Shoots. The method involves harvesting shoots that have emerged no more than two feet from the mud skin around the Beginning of Summer, digging them out without going too deep into the mud, peeling and removing spikes, boiling them in a full pot of water until cooked, cutting them in half, pressing them dry, and then baking with raw wood fire.

　　Historically (before 1937), 70% of the province's white dried bamboo shoot production came from northern Fujian, and 70% of that was from Jian'ou. At that time, Jian'ou exported over a thousand tons of white dried bamboo shoots annually through ports such as Fuzhou, Wenzhou, Chaozhou, Tianjin, and Shanghai, along with about a hundred tons of black bamboo shoots. By 1992, Jian'ou’s dried bamboo shoot production reached 5,322 tons, surpassing the 5,000-ton mark for the first time and setting a historical record; additionally, various towns exported approximately 1,710 tons of canned fresh bamboo shoots.