Spring tastes, bamboo shoots, harvested on the productive green near the Jikouji Temple in NISHIOGI. They began to grow much earlier than usual this year due to the warm environment in March.
Wife of the owner of the bamboo grove commented,” Please snip the ends of the bamboo shoots off, peel a few pieces of rind and wash them cleanly. Next, boil them for twenty minutes and check whether they have become soft with pointed sticks such as a toothpick. Then, cook bamboo shoot rice or boiled dishes or whatever you like. Some people prefer thick and long bamboo shoots to small ones; they must know special cooking methods to make the ingredients much more delicious.”
西荻産の春の味覚
五日市街道沿いの慈宏寺近くの生産緑地で収穫された春の味覚、竹の子。本年は3月の気候が温暖だったため、例年より発芽が非常に早かったようだ。
竹林主夫人曰く「竹の子の先端部分を少し切り取って2～3枚皮をむき、よく水洗いし、20分ほどゆでる。爪楊枝などで突き刺してみて柔らかくなったかどうか確認する。その後はお好みで、竹の子ご飯や煮物などにどうぞ。太い長い方の竹の子をわざわざ求める人もいる。よほど特殊な料理法を知っているのでしょうね。」
