[Spring Tohoku Meals This Weekend] #71 Nemagari Bamboo Shoot Feast (Grilled in the husk, bamboo shoot rice, simmered bamboo shoots and chicken, bamboo shoot soup, pickled bamboo shoots), Brown Rice with Daikon, Plum, and Chirimen Jako, Kale Shira-ae, Burdock Salad and Crunchy Small Plums 2025

This was the weekend meal from the week before last. I thoroughly enjoyed the Nemagari bamboo shoots (long, thin bamboo shoots harvested in Northern Japan) that arrived from Yamagata in late May.
Click here for the preparation (pre-boiling) method for Nemagari bamboo shoots. I suppose I find the method I've been accustomed to since childhood to be the most delicious.

Now, when it comes to the joy of having Nemagari bamboo shoots arrive, it has to be“grilling them in the husk.”This is the most luxurious way to eat them, as the refreshing aroma unique to freshly dug shoots is further enhanced by being steamed inside the husk.
I chose the relatively thinner ones from the batch that seemed easy to heat through, and grilled them over medium heat in the fish grill for about 10 minutes. Actually, it would be even better if grilled on a wire mesh. Maybe I should have grilled them until they were even blacker.

I eat these by dipping them little by little into seasonings of my choice, such as coarse salt, miso, sansho pepper soy sauce, shichimi, or mayonnaise. While the real thrill is eating them piping hot while peeling the husks together and blowing on them, this time they arrived on a weekday and I was alone, so I peeled them and cut them into bite-sized pieces before bringing them to the table. Serving them with bakke miso or sansho paste makes them feel like a snack and lifts my spirits. It immediately makes me want to drink sake.The sansho paste is a particularly perfect match.Perhaps it's good that the flavor isn't as strong as yuzu kosho.

Also, for the parts that were a bit tough during pre-boiling or the pieces that broke off near the base, I cut them into small cubes, simmered them lightly with dried shiitake mushrooms and carrots (it's even better with deep-fried tofu), and placed them on top of washed rice to cook as takikomi gohan. While mixed rice is good, I prefer cooking the bamboo shoots with the rice because the aroma of the bamboo shoots permeates the grains. I can feel the luxury of spring in every mouthful. It's such a treat.
Sansho also goes well with this, so mixing in salted sansho berries to make rice balls is also exceptionally delicious and very spring-like.

Well then, the weekend meal a few days later.
I worked hard from the morning to consume all the pre-boiled bamboo shoots on this day, as simmered dishes and bamboo shoot soup taste better when the flavors have soaked in.

◆Simmered Bamboo Shoots, Chicken, and Ito-konnyaku

I remember this being the dish that appeared on our table most often at my parents' house. At home, they used chicken breast for a hearty meal, but this time I used bone-in chicken wings, which provide more stock. Chicken wing drumettes also add volume and are delicious.
The preparation is very simple. You can adjust the seasoning to your liking.
1. Pre-boil the ito-konnyaku and cut it into easy-to-eat lengths. For the pre-boiled bamboo shoots, cut the thick parts in half lengthwise so the flavor soaks in better. Or, you can cut them diagonally into bite-sized pieces. This time, I cut them lengthwise for presentation.
2. Heat salad oil or sesame oil in a pot or deep frying pan, stir-fry the ito-konnyaku, and sear the chicken skin-side down. Once the surface of the chicken is browned, add the bamboo shoots and stir-fry together.
3. Add enough water to just cover the ingredients, a splash of sake, 1 tablespoon of mirin, and 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce (you can also use Hondashi, mentsuyu, or your favorite seasoning), cover, and once it boils, turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
*Since bamboo shoots don't absorb flavor easily, a slightly stronger seasoning is just right.

◆Bamboo Shoot Soup with Pork Belly and Enoki Mushrooms (Miso Soup Style)

Bamboo shoot soup is delicious with either a soy sauce base or a miso base. This time, I went with a miso base.
I think at my parents' house, if it was soy sauce-based, we often used chicken and konnyaku (which overlaps with the simmered dish above), and if it was miso soup, we often used tofu or deep-fried tofu as ingredients, but many households also used pork belly. I feel like bamboo shoot soup with pork belly was even served at school lunches...
So, this time I made it into a miso soup with pork belly and enoki mushrooms. It's also delicious to add carrots, burdock, or konnyaku like in tonjiru, and you can use mushrooms like shimeji or maitake. This time, I stir-fried the bamboo shoots and pork belly first and then poured in water, but you can also boil the bamboo shoots from cold water without stir-frying, and then add the pork once it boils to let the fat melt out for a richer flavor.
I used Akita miso from Kodama Brewing. In the end, this is also a “taste I'm used to.”

◆Brown Rice with Daikon, Plum, and Chirimen Jako
I wanted to pair the simmered bamboo shoots and soup with a simple rice dish, so I diced the leftover tail end of a daikon radish and cooked it in brown rice with a little chirimen jako for flavor and 1-2 pickled plums. Once cooked, I drizzled a little soy sauce and mixed it while breaking up the plums. This wholesome rice dish is perfect with pickles and miso soup, and I highly recommend it.

◆Kale Shira-ae
The kale I bought the previous week intending to stir-fry had turned a bit yellow, so I boiled it lightly and made shira-ae. Leafy greens with a bitter taste go well with sesame, nuts, and walnuts, so I think they are suitable for shira-ae. My husband liked it.

◆Burdock Salad
I added thinly sliced cucumber and paprika to a store-bought burdock salad (Ishii Foods) and mixed it well, adding plenty of tomatoes when serving. Store-bought burdock salad has more mayonnaise than the one I make, so I always want to add more vegetables.

◆Various Pickles (Bamboo Shoots in Mentsuyu, Pickled Melon, Crunchy Small Plums)
All of these were made recently, and I have written articles for all of them.
The bamboo shoots in mentsuyu can be found in the bamboo shoot preparation article at the beginning.

Man, this year's crunchy small plums are really delicious. I find myself snacking on them for one reason or another.
While I'm saying that, it's about time for the yellow plums for making pickled plums to start appearing. I need to switch my mood to plum-processing mode soon. I'm looking forward to it.