bamboo please!

[Goldiegirl]

I am on a mission to get good bamboo. You know the kind you get at the ramen shops in Japan. It's so tender and it tastes so good! I keep trying different brands here, but it's all so tough, like eating little planks of wood. The bamboo we get in Japan is not skinny and flat, to me it has more of the texture of a firm mushroom. I have tried 4 brands so far. They all say bamboo shoots. I tried La Choy, 3 Diamonds and I can't think of the other two. I know that they were all Chinese. I did order a can today from an Asian grocer off the internet, but the picture on the can makes me think I am going to be disappointed. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Ewok85]

It is called "menma", fermented bamboo shoots. You might do better looking for a Japanese store rather than Chinese for this sort of thing, or find a ramen shop and ask where they get their menma from.

 

[Goldiegirl]

A million thank-you's to Ewok85! I was able to find menma and have a bunch of cans ordered. Now I understand why it tastes differented. I didn't know it was fermented.

 

[Ewok85]

Its all in the fermentation I was going to suggest to do it yourself, but its probably easier to look around for it!

 

[made of stone]

It all makes me wonder: what do cooks use that really tough stuff for?

:?

 

[Goldiegirl]

Oh please, a recipe would be awesome. The jars (sorry not cans) were around $4.00 dollars for 3.25oz which isn't a lot of bamboo. Then you add in the shipping of $12.00 dollars and I spent $50.00 on bamboo. I still think it's worth it though, so I don't want to complain!

@made of stone...my thoughts exactly. What is the use of that really tough stringy bamboo. It just gets stuck in your teeth and it's impossible to actually chew. Yuck! I am spoiled now!

 

[epigene]

It all makes me wonder: what do cooks use that really tough stuff for?
:?

The really tough "Chinese" dried bamboo and "menma" are actually one and the same thing (both fermented). The only difference is that the tough one must be immersed in water for a long time and then cooked slowly in soup with seasoning. The Japanese menma is the ready-to-eat version.

Menma is the modern name of what used to be called "shina-chiku (Chinese bamboo)." The name change came after WWII, because "shina" came to be regarded derogatory toward the Chinese. Taiwan was the original supplier of menma and the dried bamboo shoots for both mainland China and Japan. I think it still is the main supplier, because menma is made chiefly with a local variety of bamboo that grows in the island.

 

[Goldiegirl]

We get the planks of bamboo in Chinese food here and no one I know actually eats the stuff. All I know is that the bamboo was even a different shape; more like carrot sticks, not wafer thin little perfect rectangles. I don't think there is a way to improve on them. I think you need a different cut of bamboo. I could be completely wrong here, but I just don't see the planks every turning into menma.....

 

[Ewok85]

I'd have to search, and I'm being nagged to get off the pc, but I think it would be pretty simple to do. From memory if they are dry you need to soak them to get the salt that they use to preserve them out, then cook them in a soy/sake/mirin/sugar mix (same as eveeeerything else Japanese ).

I did a quick search, and thought this is worth a laugh - Making menma from waribashi!

割り箸を使ったメンマの作り方 :: デイリーポータルZ

 

[Goldiegirl]

Yep, I found a receipe using dried bamboo. Now I just need to find dried bamboo. I don't read any Japanese so I have no idea what the link is about, but it looks interesting! Oh, what is waribashi?

Is that for real? People make menma from disposable bamboo chopsticks? Is this a joke? The pictures make it look so tasty. I am a little hungry right now, but I am not sure if I want to eat chopsticks!

 

[Ewok85]

Its a bit of a joke, more of a proof that something you would do all the time

 

[SushiShin]

Sweet & Sour Pork Ramen with Thick Sauce

It takes a little while to prepare, but this is a very healthy, filling meal full of vegetables.

Nutrition Data:
Energy 570 kcal/Protein 23.4 g/Fat 20.3 g/
Sugar 75.3 g/Sodium 3.0 g

ingredients:
1 package instant noodles (non-fry type)
5 g rakkyou (shallots)
50 g pork, thinly sliced

(A)
3 g soy sauce
3 g Sake
Potato starch (katakuriko)
30 g onion
20 g carrot
5 g dried shiitake mushroom
20 g bamboo shoots
10 g snow peas


(B)
130 cc water
3 g sugar
12 g soy sauce
10 g vinegar
3 g doubanjiang paste

(C)
3 g potato starch (katakuriko)
15 cc water
Oil for frying

Step1
Cut each scallion into 2 or 3 pieces. Cut the onion, carrot and bamboo shoots into rectangular slices. Soak the dried shiitake till soft and slice. Boil the snow peas until vivid green and cut into halves.

Step2
Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces, season with ingredients (A), coat with potato starch and fry until crisp.

Step3
Heat a wok and add oil. Fry the onion, carrot, shiitake and bamboo shoots, add the seasonings(B) and cook for 1 to 2 min.
Dissolve the potato starch (C) in water, add quickly to the wok and stir. When it thickens, add pork, shallots, and snow peas and stir. Turn off the heat

Step4
Boil the instant noodles according to the packet instructions, and drain.

Step5
Arrange the noodles on a plate and pour the ingredients on top.

Gambatte ne!

 

[epigene]

Its a bit of a joke, more of a proof that something you would do all the time

For a moment, I really thought that waribashi MIGHT REALLY turn into something with texture of menma!

Anyway, cooking menma yourself from scratch is difficult and time-consuming. I myself never even tried to cook it. I've only seen it on TV, prepared from scratch by a menma manufacturer.

I've also checked and found that use of dried Chinese bamboo is not common in Chinese cuisine and are used in pork dishes and not noodles. It is only for the Japanese market (and, in the case of other markets, strictly for use as menma) that the dried bamboos are prepared in the size and shape of menma.

 

[SushiShin]

What is Real Ramen?

Instant ramen noodles are popular in the world, but "real" ramen eaten in Japan are different from instant noodles. Raw Chinese egg noodles (Chuka-men) are used instead of dried noodles to make ramen. Even though Chinese noodles are used in ramen dishes, ramen is a typical Japanese food. There are so many ramen shops in Japan, and ramen is a kind of Japanese fast food.

Making a delicious ramen isn't easy if you are making the soup from scratch. The taste of ramen mainly depends on the soup, and it requires skills to make delicious soup. Ramen chefs usually train for a long time to learn to make ramen soup. Each ramen shop has its own way to make soup, and there are so many different ways.Chicken born, pork born, dried sardines (niboshi), and/or kombu seaweed are used to make soup stock for ramen.

Vegetables, such as ginger, negi (leek), garlic, or/and mushrooms are also added.

Categorized by the flavor, there are mainly four kinds of ramen: shio ramen (salt soup), shoyu ramen (soy sauce soup), tonkotsu ramen (pork bone soup), miso ramen (miso soy bean paste soup) Tonkotsu ramen soup is creamy white, and miso ramen soup is brown.

Common ramen toppings are negi (leek), shinachiku (seasoned bamboo shoots), nori (dried seaweed), yakibuta (pork ham), boiled egg, and so on.

To make ramen at home, using packages of ramen noodles is an easy way. Ramen packages are usually sold with small packages of soup sauce. Basically, mix soup sauce with boiling water to make soup and add boiled and drained ramen noodles in the soup. Nothing taste better then the real thing!

DO TRY THIS AT HOME!!


lol(instead of do not try this at home)

GG- i'll try to give you a better recipe okay?

 

[Ewok85]

For a moment, I really thought that waribashi MIGHT REALLY turn into something with texture of menma!

They do I'm just not sure if I would do that... I wonder if waribashi are chemically treated? (probably not...)

 

[made of stone]

Herbalﾂ≫┐ san, could you please acknowledge your sources (not sauces!) when you copy and paste from other web pages? If you don't, you are not only most probably infringing the copyright of the original source, but you are also potentially causing trouble for this site, Jref...

cheers fella!

 

[JimmySeal]

At the bottom of the page it says that it's an April fool's joke. I don't think they actually did that. If they really had fermented chopsticks, they would not have become wide and flat like that.

 

[KirinMan]

Goldiegirl, have you ever considered trying to grow your own bamboo in your yard, that is if you have one.

Then in the spring of each year you could harvest your own "takeno-ko" and use fresh bamboo in your recipes as well.

It would probably be a long term project, but just image having your own bamboo forest in your backyard.

 

[Goldiegirl]

I do have a huge yard, well a little less than an acre. I do have bamboo, but it's growing in a cute little pot surrounded by ceramic frogs in my bedroom! I would love to grow bamboo. I wonder if it can be grown in Wisconsin; we have frigid winters here. I'll look it up. Thanks for the idea...

 

[epigene]

They do I'm just not sure if I would do that... I wonder if waribashi are chemically treated? (probably not...)

I know for a fact that the cheap kinds of waribashi (the kind you get at conbinis for free) are chemically treated, so NEVER EVER try eating them!!

Goldiegirl,
If you intend to plant bamboos for harvesting takenoko, please note that not all bamboos are eaten in Japan. Please check out the edible varieties first.

 

[Goldiegirl]

I was just checking the different bamboos that are available. I found some that were cold hardy to -22F. It gets -10 to -18F for a few days in January where I live so it is something I can do! Yay. Epigene, thanks for the warning that not all are edible. The website I went to doesn't say. I'll have to do further research. Anyway, whether I can eat it or not, I do love the way bamboo looks. Many thanks to Obeika, I would never had thought of growing bamboo without your suggestion!

 

[SushiShin]

Herbalﾂ≫┐ san, could you please acknowledge your sources (not sauces!) when you copy and paste from other web pages? If you don't, you are not only most probably infringing the copyright of the original source, but you are also potentially causing trouble for this site, Jref...
cheers fella!

yeah you are right!! sorry for causing trouble, but i've never ment to hurt anyone so why does everybody attack me?? i just try to help people

so instead attacking me just read what i've got to say

and as i said goldiegirl i will come up with a recipe where bamboo is the head ingredient

Until then, Kanpai!!

 

[Goldiegirl]

Yay! The menma arrived today! It's perfect and exactly what I was looking for. Many thanks to Ewok85! I didn't make any noodles or anything, I was so excited that I opened the jar and ate the bamboo.

 

[made of stone]

Yay! The menma arrived today! It's perfect and exactly what I was looking for. Many thanks to Ewok85! I didn't make any noodles or anything, I was so excited that I opened the jar and ate the bamboo.

You ate it raw, Goldiegirl? And just like that? How was it??

:gohan:

 

[Goldiegirl]

Raw...I guess..it was right out of the jar. It was sooooooooo great! Was I supposed to cook it? Hmmm, I can't read the jar so I just figured it was ready to eat! It was salty and with just a hint of spice. Nothing too overpowering. It said on the web site that it's bamboo, sesame oil, mirin, soy sauce. I think that's all that's in there. So, are you supposed to cook it? I just ate another jar! I am such an addict!