In Belize, our bamboo shoots are harvested between the months of August and September.

In our instance, we let the shoots (culms) grow to about 2 feet (60cm) before we cut them down.  They are actually very tough to remove and so you have to arm yourself with  a machete and a 2 foot stick.

To harvest the bamboo shoot, use a machete to get a cut into the shoot and then bang the machete with a stick with downward blows.

The bamboo shoot is tough and so this procedure can take between 15 to 30 minutes.  And there you go…a harvested fresh bamboo shoot:

The next part is the preparation.  So carry the shoot home and ask the Munchkin to sort it out.

At this stage, you need lots of newspaper to cover the work surface, a chopping board, a sturdy kitchen chopper and a pair of gloves.  Gloves are important because the outer layers of the shoot contain tiny little hairs that can stick to your skin making you feel itchy and uncomfortable.

The preparation takes 10 minutes if you know what you are doing.  Otherwise, it can take up to 30 minutes.  It isn’t really that difficult.

Whilst you are preparing the shoot, start water boiling in a 3 gallon pot.

In order to prepare the bamboo, cut the shoot into manageable cross-sections.

Next, remove the outer hairy layers until you get to a smooth outer surface.  This is done easily by slitting superficially down the section of the shoot  and then peeling the layers like an onion.

There are a lot of layers to take off:

Now pare the rough outer layer of the shoot.  This just needs to be a fine layer like peeling a carrot or potato.  Then cut into chunks like so:

Once the water in the stockpot  reaches a rolling boil, put the chunks of shoot in and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes with the lid partially closed.  At this stage, you a removing the toxin taxiphyllin (a cyanogenic glycoside) from the culm.  This part renders the food edible so that there will be no problems with cyanide poisoning.

This procedure removes the bitterness from the culm.  Although, it should be noted that some bamboo varieties do have a slight characteristic bitterness which can not be completely removed.  Nevertheless, the final result should be a lot less bitter that the original uncooked shoot.  In order to completely leach out any further toxin, the cooked shoots are dunked into a bucket of cold water after the long boil.

I usually allow the cooked bamboo shoots to soak for about three hours.  After that, drain the water.  At this stage, the chunks can be eaten or stored in the freezer or refrigerator (for about 3 days maximum).  I have limited freezer space so I am dry brining my shoots.

So, the process involves slicing the shoots into manageable sizes; if you would like a chewy texture cut with the grain and if you prefer a tender consistency, cut against the grain.  Personally I prefer cutting against the grain.  This picture is a bit blurry but hopefully it can give you an idea of the different textures that you can obtain.

The shoots above are cut with the grain and the shoots below are cut against the grain.

To dry brine, add a tablespoon of salt to each layer of sliced bamboo shoots until it fills up a whole jar.  The shoots will naturally leach out liquid so that it becomes immersed in it.  To use, soak the bamboo shoots in water and change up to about 5 times to remove the saltiness.

Roughly one culm gives you about one gallon of edible bamboo shoots.

Enjoy the fruits of your labour!!