vegetablesweet-corn · crisp · watery · clean · mild

Water bamboo

A wild grass stem swollen by a fungus into something that eats like a sweeter, whiter bamboo shoot.

on its own

0.0sour

2.0sweet

0.0savoury

0.0bitter

1.0umami

order · canon first

1 of these 9 are wild — theory says yes, nobody has cooked them. why →

9 pairings for Water bamboo.

classic

Stir-fried with shredded pork, the sweetness of the stem is the entire dish.

classic

Salt and savour against a stem sweet enough to need the contrast.

common

Toasted fat finishes a vegetable that is otherwise crunch and mild sweetness.

common

Warm root against a very clean-tasting stem keeps the dish from reading flat.

common

Heat and fat give the stem a top note it does not generate on its own.

uncommon

Shredded through a stir-fried egg, the sweetness reads like a milder sweetcorn.

uncommon

A splash of wine deglazes the pan and lifts a stem that on its own is fairly quiet.

rare

Dried mushroom depth against a stem that has almost none of its own.

wild

Aged salt umami on a sweet watery stem; not a Chinese pairing, but the sweetness carries it.