Description of bamboo, composition and calorie content of sprouts. Useful properties and harm when used. Recipes for dishes from young shoots. Despite the fact that the composition of the shoots of water is more than 90%, the plant is included in the TOP-5 of the most useful products for the human body.
Useful properties of bamboo shoots
Heat treatment destroys the nutrients contained in the young growth, so it is recommended to add it in the last minutes before turning it off. In addition, the taste of the food deteriorates.
Benefits of bamboo shoots:
- Prevent the development of atherosclerosis, lower cholesterol levels;
- Normalize blood pressure, eliminate tachycardia;
- Accelerate peristalsis, help the intestines get rid of old toxins;
- Stimulates the regeneration of the mucous membrane lining the digestive tract, stomach and esophagus;
- Helpful in treating diarrhea;
- They help to get rid of helminths localized in all parts of the intestine and liver;
- They have antioxidant and antitumor effects;
- They increase the body's defenses, prevent allergic reactions and have an antimicrobial effect;
- Stimulates the contraction of smooth muscles, thereby shortening the menstrual cycle;
- Help to cope with colds, accelerate recovery;
- Stabilize metabolic processes, promote weight loss, prevent acne;
- They facilitate breathing, thin phlegm and promote expectoration, are used to treat bronchial asthma, bronchitis - acute and chronic, as well as pneumonia.
In folk medicine, with the help of bamboo shoots, intoxication and the consequences of poisoning with poisons, including after snake and scorpion bites, are eliminated.
External use accelerates wound healing, prevents the development of purulent-inflammatory processes.
Scientific studies have proven that the introduction of the product into the diet helps to recover faster after "childhood" diseases: measles, chickenpox and scarlet fever. The healing effect is manifested if bamboo dishes are eaten 2 times a day.
Contraindications and harm to bamboo shoots
When using young growth, individual intolerance and the development of allergic reactions of a different nature, as well as to any product, are possible.
Bamboo shoots are harmful for pregnant women. Drinking at this time can tone the uterus and provoke bleeding.
Children of Asian countries use young bamboo shoots, starting from 1, 5 years old, so they are not dangerous for them. But you should not introduce a new dish into the diet for European babies under 3 years old, since it is not known what kind of reaction it will cause.
How to eat bamboo shoots
Young stems are peeled before eating. To do this, first remove the upper leaves, cut off the roots, remove hard parts.
How are bamboo shoots eaten? Fresh, boiled, fried and baked. They are canned, processed in the microwave. Fresh soft leaves are also eaten.
Some bamboos are bitter and must be boiled before eating. But there are also varieties that can be eaten raw - they have fresh stems that are sweet and crunchy.
Sweet varieties: Dendrocalamus, Phyllostachys and Bambusa.
Bamboo Shoot Recipes
The product can be stored in the refrigerator for two weeks, but in this case heat treatment is recommended. Within 3-4 days after cutting, the stems begin to taste bitter. If the sprouts are stored frozen, all the beneficial properties are preserved.
Recipes with bamboo shoots:
- Noodles soup … Chicken broth is cooked in the usual way, adding onions, carrots, spices and usual seasonings to the pan. When the meat is cooked, the vegetables are removed. They take out the chicken, cut the meat into pieces, put it back. They put the pan on the fire, lower the noodles, cook until almost cooked. Bamboo stalks are lowered, boiled until soft, salted, pepper, and just before turning off, pour in a third of a glass of sherry. Turn up the heat, let it boil, and turn off the pan. Serve hot.
- Rice soup … Raw rice is fried in a pan with a little oil until a beautiful brown color and stewed until tender, pouring water. Bamboo is boiled in boiling water, so that very little water remains. Put rice in a saucepan with boiled bamboo, pour in soy sauce, sprinkle finely chopped green hands. All mix, salt, if necessary, pepper. Lime juice is added for flavor.
- Canned bamboo shoots … Peeled bamboo is cut into slices, 0, 4-0, 6 cm thick, boiled in boiling water for 15-20 minutes. Filter the bamboo through a sieve, put it in sterilized jars. The marinade is cooked: 1 liter of water is slightly less than a glass of sugar and 1, 5 tablespoons of salt. When the sugar and salt have melted, a little less than a glass of 9% vinegar is poured into the marinade before turning it off. In each jar, spread 4 peppercorns - 2 bitter and 2 allspice. Pour marinade into jars, roll up lids.
- Seafood with bamboo shoots … Pour 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and 1 - sunflower oil into a preheated saucepan, add chopped green onions - 5-6 feathers, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, fresh crushed ginger root - 1 tablespoon. Fry the seasonings for 1 minute. Pour into a container 200 g of pickled and washed bamboo sprouts, a tablespoon of various sauces - oyster and soy. It should be borne in mind that the taste of oyster sauce is unusual for a European, so you can think about replacing it with mustard. Mix everything, bring to a boil and set aside. At this time, wontons are fried in vegetable oil. To cook, they are dipped in butter like donuts. Wontons can be bought ready-made or made by yourself. The dough is kneaded in the same way as for ordinary dumplings - water, flour and a little salt. The filling is quite complex: 2 parts pork, 1 part shrimp, 1 part fresh ginger, some green onions. Minced meat is pepper, salted, diluted with soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil are added. Wontons are folded, like khinkali, in the form of small bags. Bamboo mixture is served as a side dish. You can combine 2 ingredients of the dish - use ground bamboo mixture as minced meat.
- Rice with bamboo … Boil 3 cups of rice until tender and allow excess moisture to evaporate to dry out. A young bamboo sprout is boiled whole for 20 minutes. The boiled stem is peeled, the core is cut into strips. Dip 2 pieces of fried soy tof cheese in hot water to remove excess fat and cut into strips too. Bring the rice broth to a boil again, put all the ingredients in it and boil it so as to restore the softness of the rice. When serving, the dish is decorated with kinome - fresh young leaves of the tooth tree.
- Bamboo shoots salad … Marinate a red onion, cut into half rings, sprinkle with salt and immerse in lemon juice. Pickled sprouts, 150 g, grated. On a grater with holes a little larger, rub an apple and 2 fresh cucumbers without a peel. Stir in a salad bowl, adding a handful of green onions. Season with olive or corn oil. Salt, pepper, and possibly soy sauce, to taste.
- Vegetable mix … About 2 tablespoons of dried shiitake mushrooms are soaked in cold water. Vegetables are chopped: a quarter of a savoy cabbage, 2 carrots, 1 zucchini, half an onion and 2 leeks. Put the pickled chestnuts and canned bamboo shoots (400 g each) on a sieve and make a marinade. When dry, cut into thin strips. Fry onions, and then add the rest of the vegetables, stew for a quarter of an hour, pouring 250 ml of water. After 5 minutes of stewing vegetables, add 3 tablespoons of crushed peanuts, spices of your choice, pepper and salt to taste. Season with soy sauce before serving.
Green beer is brewed from young bamboo shoots - a low-alcohol drink. But it is impossible to repeat the recipe at home. The Chinese have kept their secret for several millennia.
Interesting facts about bamboo shoots
The first who brought bamboo to Europe was Alexander the Great. The warriors were struck by the vast thickets of unprecedented fast-growing trees.
According to the description of the Jesuit missionary, the Chinese used bamboo in all spheres of life: woody stems for household needs, leaves, flowers, grains and young shoots for medicinal purposes, and various dishes were prepared from the shoots.
In ancient China, bamboo trunks were used to make water pipes and bridge ceilings.
The capital of Thailand, Bangkok, which the locals call Krungtep, is built on separate rafts made of bamboo.
Young shoots are so resilient that they are able to break through stone debris with their soft tops. Their growth cannot be stopped by temperature fluctuations, heavy tropical rains or a long dry season.
There are 1430 types of bamboo in the world, and 1412 of them can be eaten. The types of plants differ in the shape and size of the fruit, in the color and height of the stems, in the shape of the cut. The section of the stem can be round, oval or polyhedral. Since the color of the young growth is bluish-gray, then from the side of the bamboo thicket at dusk they seem like a water surface. By the age of 2, the trunk and leaves turn bright green, then turn yellow and brown. The life span of bamboo, if not cut young, can reach 120 years, but it reaches its maximum height within 30-45 days. Further, the leaves are just forming.
Caryopses in large plants look more like fruits or berries than seeds.
The branches of agriculture in which the "stake" is made on bamboo is found not only in Thailand, China and Japan, but even in Italy.
The strength of bamboo stems is so high that they can be used as concrete reinforcement. Until 1950, athletes-jumpers' poles were made from them. Fabrics woven from plant fibers are recommended for allergy sufferers; they are often used for making children's clothing. True, such things are not cheap.
Watch a video about bamboo shoots:
Bamboo is considered a symbol of health and happiness. If you grow it on your windowsill, then luck will never turn away. It is worth putting a flowerpot with a plant on the windowsill, and success in work is guaranteed. Just do not try to eat young shoots - dwarf species are inedible.
