
Young spring bamboo shoots are now in season!
In April, you will see many fresh bamboo shoots piled up at supermarkets in Japan. If you only know yellow thin slices of precooked bamboo shoots in Chinese dishes, you will find the fresh bamboo shoots totally different. They are sweet and slightly crunchy, with a delicate, earthy flavor.In this lesson, we cook fresh bamboo shoots in many ways.
Sansai (山菜) are wild, edible plants that grow in the fields or mountains. As the warm spring sunshine makes many plants emerge and flourish, people visit mountains to pick just-sprouted grass in early spring. We believe in good health by eating them and taking in their strong life force and nutrition. They have strong flavors and unique bitterness that often characterize spring sansai. The bitter taste of sansai comes from polyphenols and they are high in vitamins and minerals. No wonder why many health-conscious people and those favoring natural foods look to mountain vegetables.
We will fry them into crunchy tempura!
Let’s enjoy the taste of spring and the wonderful marriage with Japanese sake!