Zhuzhou Bamboo Shoot Stuffed Dish

Zhuzhou Bamboo Shoot Stuffed Dish

　　Truly living up to the Hakka saying that anything can be stuffed if it's food—this plate on the left is freshly made bamboo shoot stuffed dish, all crafted by hand.

　　Ingredients

　　　　The freshly made bamboo shoot stuffed dish uses very fresh moso bamboo shoots, which are commonly found in Zhuzhou. This season, bamboo shoots are already quite rare, but we got lucky and found a few tender ones by the river. Moso bamboo is everywhere around here, and each year yields a lot of shoots. Aside from letting some grow naturally, the rest are used to make these bamboo shoot stuffed dishes.

　　Peeled, cleaned bamboo shoots, along with peanuts.

　　Removing the Bitterness

　　　　Want to eat bamboo shoot stuffed dish? It’s not that easy. After digging up the bamboo shoots, peeling and cleaning them, you need to boil them in a pot. Once cooked, you can cut them into large chunks (for stuffing) or small pieces (for stir-frying), then soak them in clean water for about two to three days. Change the water several times during soaking. If they’re not soaked long enough, the bamboo shoots will taste bitter and unappetizing.

　　Making Bamboo Shoot Stuffed Dish

　　　　After soaking long enough, you can wash the pre-cut bamboo shoot pieces, buy some pork belly (a type of pork), mushrooms, and other ingredients, chop them up, and mix them into a filling. The exact ingredients for the filling are flexible—you can adjust according to your preference and add whatever you like. Stuff the chopped filling into the bamboo shoots, then cook them in a pot, and out comes the delicious bamboo shoot stuffed dish.

　　On the Hakka dining table, there are two common types of bamboo shoot stuffed dishes. One is the fresh version introduced above. The other is made using dried bamboo shoots. Dried bamboo shoots are usually made from mountain-grown bamboo—not moso bamboo—and after drying and rehydrating, they are used to make a stuffed dish with a uniquely fragrant taste, even more aromatic than the fresh bamboo shoot stuffed dish.