My grandparents’ pantry was packed with dehydrated foods when I was younger. Bamboo, potato, eggplant, cauliflower; the ancient tradition of drying the ingredients allowed them to save surplus food for a later time.
Dried bamboo shoot in particular is popular in Myanmar. But only after the leathery product is reconstituted and boiled until it becomes tender and slightly sweet.
Here’s a simple recipe for a dried bamboo shoot salad (a fine accompaniment to braised pork belly).
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minute
Overall time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
100 grams of dried bamboo shoots
Four big potatoes
Three tablespoons of garlic oil (heat some oil, add minced garlic and a little turmeric. When the garlic is cooked, immediately remove the mixture from the heat)
Half a teaspoon of Dashi Powder
Half a teaspoon of salt
Instructions
- Boil the dried bamboo shoots and potatoes until soft. Drain and squeeze the bamboo shoots to remove the water. Remove the skin from the potatoes and dice them into small pieces, and then cut the boiled bamboo shoots into half inches.
- Mix the bamboo shoots, potatoes, garlic oil, Dashi Powder and salt in a bowl. Spice or sour it up by adding roasted green chillies or lime juice.
