Bamboo Shoots 竹笋

These bamboo shoots or bamboo sprouts are another interesting vegetable that is common in Chinese cuisine. This spring they were everywhere at our fresh market, so we have made sure to take advantage of learning how to cook this delicious sprout. 

We stir fried the bamboo shoots with chicken, peanuts and Chinese Toon (see below).  It was absolutely delicious!

This is the Chinese Toon (Toona Sinensis), which are some of the early leaflets of the tree in the spring. It plays a large role in Chinese medicine and may have potential to be developed by western medicine as well (says wikipedia).  Either way, we really liked the taste of these leaves as they have an onion and another hard-to-describe savory flavor.