Cooked in classic Japanese seasonings, Simmered Bamboo Shoots is a simple and elegant dish to enjoy during springtime when fresh bamboo shoots are in season. Crunchy and savory, they make a great side dish or accompaniment for drinks.
Bamboo shoots, or takenoko in Japanese, are commonly used vegetables in Japanese cuisine. With a nutty and slightly sweet flavor, the tender shoots can be prepared in many different ways. Today I’ll show you how to make popular Simmered Bamboo Shoots called Takenoko no Tosani (たけのこの土佐煮).
Delicious Simmered Bamboo Shoots
This traditional Japanese side dish is relatively easy to make. Here, bamboo shoots are cooked in a pot of flavorful liquid seasoned with everyday Japanese condiments.
Since the dish is usually served at room temperature, you can make it ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Serve it as a side dish to your main Japanese meal, or serve it as a snack to your alcoholic drinks. Slightly salty and intensely flavorful, you’d be surprised how well it goes down with sake.
What’s Tosani? 土佐煮
When katsuobushi, or dried bonito flakes, is added to the soy sauce base simmered dish (nimono), the dish is called Tosani (土佐煮). The name of the cooking style came from Tosa, a former province of Japan, currently known as Kochi prefecture, located in Southwestern Shikoku island. This region is famous for its top-notch Katsuo (bonito), hence their katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) are delicious. Simmered dishes that are cooked with smokey katsuobushi are appreciated for their deep-umami and complex flavors.
Bamboo shoots (takenoko in Japanese) are often used to make Tosani because of their subtle, neutral flavor. It makes it easier for the bamboo shoots to soak up all the flavors of the seasonings.
Other Popular Tosani
There are a few other ingredients that are cooked in a similar Tosani-style:
- Konnyaku (Konjac) Tosani
- Satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potatoes) Tosani
- Fuki (Butterbur) Tosani
- Gobo (burdock root) Tosani
Where to Buy & How to Prepare Bamboo Shoots
Bamboo shoots are in season in spring between March through May. Keep an eye out when you visit Japanese or Asian grocery stores, you might be lucky to score some fresh bamboo shoots to make delicious Tosani. They can be hard to find when they are not in season or if they are not a common ingredient at where you are.
Most of the Japanese and Asian grocery stores sell pre-boiled and vacuumed packed bamboo shoots like the picture shown below. Do not use the canned variety to make Tosani.
The bamboo shoots are already boiled, so you can quickly heat up and enjoy right away.
When you use only half of the shoots (as in this recipe), you can save the leftover in an airtight container. Make sure to soak the bamboo shoots in cold water all the time and change the water every day to keep it fresh until you are ready to use it. They can last up to two weeks when they are properly refrigerated.
You can rinse off the gritty white substance in the bamboo shoot, but they are edible. If they don’t bother you, there’s no need to rinse it off.
What to Do with Leftover Bamboo Shoots?
The mild flavor and tender-crisp texture of bamboo shoots make it an excellent addition to bulk out your stir-fries, mixed rice, soups, salads, or as a delicious topping to your noodle dishes. Aside from adding dimension to various dishes, bamboo shoots are also high in nutrients and low in calories. Here are some recipes you can make with the leftover bamboo shoots.
- Chikuzenni (Simmered Chicken and Vegetables)
- Bamboo Rice (Takenoko Gohan)
- Chinese Pepper Steak
- Harumaki (Japanese Spring Rolls)
- Vegetable Miso Soup (with Bamboo Shoots)
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
Simmered Bamboo Shoots
Ingredients
- ½ boiled bamboo shoot (227 g, 8 oz)
- ¾ cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (packed; optional)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- In a saucepan, combine all the seasonings: 2 Tbsp sake, 2 Tbsp mirin, 1 Tbsp sugar, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1½ cups water.
- Cut ½ boiled bamboo shoot: Slice the top 2-inch (5-cm) section into wedges. Then, thinly slice the bottom section into quarter rounds ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.
- Add the bamboo shoots to the seasonings in the saucepan. Place an otoshibuta (drop lid) on top, and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Once the sauce is reduced to one-third, remove the otoshibuta.
- [Optional] In a frying pan without oil, heat up ¾ cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) until it gets dry and fragrant. Let cool a little bit and break the katsuobushi into fine pieces with your fingers.
- Sprinkle the katsuobushi over the bamboo shoots and mix. Turn off the heat and serve at room temperature in a bowl. If you can find leaves of the Japanese herb kinome (I cannot get it in the US), garnish over the bamboo shoots. To release its fragrance, quickly press the leaves between your hands using a clapping motion.
To Store
- Keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Hi Nami, if I were to add some of the other ingredients you mentioned in the notes Konnyaku (Konjac)
Satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potatoes)
Fuki (Butterbur)
Gobo (burdock root), in which order would you suggest to add them so they end up cooking evenly with the bamboo shoots at the end? Thanks for your help.
Hi Karen! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
Those other ingredients are individually cooked in “Tosani Syle” instead of adding or mixing to the Bamboo shoots.😉
We hope this helps!
I can only find fresh bamboo shoots at my Asian grocery store. Could you tell me how to prepare it when it is fresh? I heard that raw bamboo could be toxic, so I was a little concerned.
Hi Vanessa,
We currently don’t have the “How to” instruction on our website. Hence, here is the one that Nami’s blog friend had posted.
https://norecipes.com/preparing-fresh-bamboo-recipe/
We hope this helps!🙂
I often use bamboo shoots in stewed dishes. So “extra” or surplus bamboo shoots (like you mention in your article) can certainly go into such dishes – in fact, you’d need to open up another package of bamboo shoot to have enough for a pot of stuff!
A favorite of mine is beef short ribs slow-stewed with bamboo shoots & shiitake mushrooms with lots of garlic (sautéed/lightly browned in the oil before the short ribs go in to brown); the main flavoring would either be miso or Chinese fermented tofu (腐乳) or a combination of both. Pork spare ribs is the alternate meat; rarely pork belly chunks. The bone-in meats are best.
Apart from the other uses you mention, of course they would be nice in a pot of hot & sour soup or in many other stir-fries besides the peppered beef. 🙂
Hi Huiray! Ohhhh it sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing your tip on cooking bamboo shoots. Chinese cuisine has so many delicious bamboo recipes!
Hi
How would I make this with fresh bamboo root?
Or what do I do for boiled bamboo roots?
Hi Carly! Hope this video is helpful: https://park.ajinomoto.co.jp/recipe/basic/vege_handling/takenoko/ (use chrome to translate) 🙂
It might be helpful to mention that the reason for boiling fresh bamboo shoots is to remove the cyanogenic gycosides (primarily taxiphyllin) present in fresh stuff. People have been POISONED by eating fresh shoots without boiling them first and discarding the water.
https://www.google.com/search?q=taxiphyllin+in+bamboo
One can use the water from washing/rinsing rice instead of rice bran. One can also omit the rice water/bran – in fact, I usually do that. Just boil it, change water, boil again. I’ve done it for just 20 minutes or so before per change of water, but if you are more wary do it for longer.
Thank you for the information, Huiray! My blogger friend Marc share the recipe of how to boil bamboo and I’d like to share it here: https://norecipes.com/preparing-fresh-bamboo-recipe/
Hi Nami, Will a China Bamboo shoot be suitable for This recipe? Its also vacuum packed in package! My supermarket doesnt sell the Japanese bamboo shoots.????
Hi NJ! Same here. It’s Japanese package but it’s the product of China… I think it’s harder to find Japanese bamboos unless you’re in Japan. 🙁
Hi, are these the same way that you would make bamboo shoots for a topping on ramen?
Hi Gemma! Ohhh you mean Menma. It’s actually different way and it’s fermented. This one is just simmered bamboo shoots. I found this site that explains the process to make menma (although it’s Japanese).
http://www.keihin-trading.co.jp/become/