Editing Bamboo (section)

===Culinary===
[[File:TakenokoBambooSprouts.jpg|thumb|Unprocessed bamboo shoots in a Japanese market]]
[[File:Bamboo tea.jpg|thumb|Korean bamboo tea]]
The shoots of most species are edible either raw or cooked, with the tough sheath removed. Cooking removes the slight bitterness.<ref name="Skyhorse Publishing-2009">{{Cite book |title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants / Department of the Army |publisher=[[Skyhorse Publishing]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-60239-692-0 |location=New York |pages=24 |oclc=277203364}}</ref> The shoots are used in numerous Asian dishes and broths, and are available in supermarkets in various sliced forms, in both fresh and canned versions.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The bamboo shoot in its fermented state forms an important ingredient in cuisines across the Himalayas. In [[Assam]], India, for example, it is called ''khorisa''.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-07-18|title=Bamboo Shoots – Khorisa|website=FarmToRasoi|url=https://www.farmtorasoi.com/bamboo-shoots/|access-date=2021-12-17|archive-date=17 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217143632/https://www.farmtorasoi.com/bamboo-shoots/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In [[Nepal]], a delicacy popular across ethnic boundaries consists of bamboo shoots fermented with [[turmeric]] and oil, and cooked with potatoes into a dish that usually accompanies rice ({{transliteration|ne|alu tama}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alu tama {{!}} Traditional Soup From Nepal |website=TasteAtlas |url=https://www.tasteatlas.com/alu-tama |access-date=2021-12-17}}</ref> ({{lang|ne|आलु तामा}}) in [[Nepali language|Nepali]]).

In [[Indonesia]], they are sliced thin and then boiled with ''santan'' (thick coconut milk) and spices to make a dish called ''gulai rebung''. Other recipes using bamboo shoots are ''[[sayur lodeh]]'' (mixed vegetables in coconut milk) and ''lun pia'' (sometimes written ''[[lumpia]]'': fried wrapped bamboo shoots with vegetables). The shoots of some species contain toxins that need to be leached or boiled out before they can be eaten safely.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bamboo related questions Are all bamboo shoots edible? |url=https://www.bambooland.com.au/faqs/are-all-bamboo-shoots-edible/ |website=Bamboo Land |access-date=16 April 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

Pickled bamboo, used as a condiment, may also be made from the [[pith]] of the young shoots.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nongdam |first1=P. |last2=Tikendra |first2=Leimapokpam |title=The Nutritional Facts of Bamboo Shoots and Their Usage as Important Traditional Foods of Northeast India |journal=International Scholarly Research Notices |pages=679073 |doi=10.1155/2014/679073 |date=2014|doi-access=free |pmid=27433496 |pmc=4897250 }}</ref>

The sap of young stalks tapped during the rainy season may be [[fermentation (wine)|fermented]] to make ''ulanzi'' (a sweet wine)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ulanzi (Bamboo Wine)|website=elkinvanaeon.net |url=http://elkinvanaeon.net/Alchemy/Brewed_Beverages/ulanzi_bamboo-wine.htm |access-date=2021-12-17}}</ref> or made into a soft drink.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hallgren |first=Steve |date=2018-07-22 |title=Ulanzi: The Miracle Drink of Tanzania |website=Teaching High School Biology in Tanzania: A Peace Corps Volunteer Experience |url=https://hellofrompeacecorpstanzania.wordpress.com/category/mufindi-highlands-in-iringa-region/ulanzi-the-miracle-drink-of-tanzania/ |access-date=2021-12-17}}</ref> Bamboo leaves are also used as wrappers for steamed [[zongzi|dumplings]] which usually contains glutinous rice and other ingredients, such as the [[zongzi]] from China.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

[[File:Khao lam87.jpg|thumb|upright|left|''Khao lam'' ({{langx|th|ข้าวหลาม}}) is [[glutinous rice]] with sugar and coconut cream cooked in specially prepared bamboo sections of different diameters and lengths]]
Pickled bamboo shoots ({{langx|ne|तामा|link=no}} {{transliteration|ne|tama}}) are cooked with black-eyed beans as a delicacy in Nepal. Many Nepalese restaurants around the world serve this dish as ''aloo bodi tama''. Fresh bamboo shoots are sliced and pickled with mustard seeds and turmeric and kept in glass jar in direct sunlight for the best taste. It is used alongside many dried beans in cooking during winters. Baby shoots ([[Nepali language|Nepali]]: ''tusa'') of a very different variety of bamboo ({{langx|ne|निगालो|link=no}} {{transliteration|ne|Nigalo}}) native to Nepal is cooked as a curry in hilly regions.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

In [[Sambalpur]], India, the tender shoots are grated into [[julienning|juliennes]] and [[fermentation (food)|fermented]] to prepare ''kardi''. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word for bamboo shoot, ''karira''. This fermented bamboo shoot is used in various culinary preparations, notably ''amil'', a sour vegetable soup. It is also made into pancakes using [[rice flour]] as a binding agent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kardi bhaja / Bamboo shoot cutlets Recipe by Sona Senapati|url=https://cookpad.com/uk/recipes/15265917-kardi-bhaja-bamboo-shoot-cutlets|access-date=2021-12-17|website=Cookpad|date=14 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref> The shoots that have turned a little fibrous are fermented, dried, and ground to sand-sized particles to prepare a garnish known as ''hendua''. It is also cooked with tender pumpkin leaves to make sag green leaves.

In [[Konkani people|Konkani]] cuisine, the tender shoots (''kirlu'') are grated and cooked with crushed jackfruit seeds to prepare ''kirla sukke''.

[[File:Tukir (a way of cooking using bamboo as recipient to cook in the fire).jpg|thumb|In [[East Timor]], cooking food in bamboo is called ''tukir''.]]
In southern India and some regions of southwest China, the seeds of the dying bamboo plant are consumed as a grain known as "bamboo rice". The taste of cooked bamboo seeds is reported to be similar to wheat and the appearance similar to rice, but bamboo seeds have been found to have lower nutrient levels than both.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Yang|first=Wang Ting|date=September 2021|title=Qualitative and quantitative characterization of nutrient content and morphology in seeds of bamboo, rice, and wheat|url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2021.103273|journal=Journal of Cereal Science|volume=101|page=103273|doi=10.1016/j.jcs.2021.103273|via=Elsevier Science Direct}}</ref> The seeds can be pulverized into a flour with which to make cakes.<ref name="Skyhorse Publishing-2009" />

The Indian state of [[Sikkim]] has promoted bamboo water bottles to keep the state free from plastic bottles<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/in-fight-againt-plastic-pollution-sikkim-introduces-bamboo-water-bottles-for-tourists-507454.html|title=In Fight Against Plastic Pollution, Sikkim Introduces Bamboo Water Bottles For Tourists|date=2020-03-01|website=indiatimes.com|language=en|access-date=2020-03-04}}</ref>

The empty hollow in the stalks of larger bamboo is often used to cook food in many Asian cultures. Soups are boiled and rice is cooked in the hollows of fresh stalks of bamboo directly over a flame. Similarly, steamed tea is sometimes rammed into bamboo hollows to produce [[compressed tea|compressed forms]] of [[pu'er tea]]. Cooking food in bamboo is said to give the food a subtle but distinctive taste.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}