Bitter bamboo shoot season in the West

(Baonghean.vn) - Every year, on the occasion of Tet, people in the highlands of Ky Son and Tuong Duong districts eagerly invite each other to go to the forest to collect bitter bamboo shoots. The bitter bamboo shoot season lasts from January to March of the lunar calendar. Currently, bitter bamboo shoots are a food that not only helps ethnic minorities overcome hunger during the pre-harvest period, but it has also become a specialty favored by consumers..

Arriving at Luu Phong village of Luu Kien commune (Tuong Duong), we met a group of people carrying bamboo shoots home after a hard day's work, but everyone's face was filled with joy. Mr. Lo Van Xa in Luu Phong village said: "After Tet holiday, we invited each other to go to the forest to get bamboo shoots. It's the beginning of the season so bamboo shoots are easier to find, but towards the end of the season, they are even more scarce, you have to walk all day to get a little." Looking at the gray-yellow bamboo shoots, as big as an adult's calf, heavy on the back of the sweaty people's baskets, we can see their hardship but also their joy.

Bitter bamboo shoots are sold everywhere.

Bitter bamboo shoots are related to bamboo shoots, bamboo, giang... but have external characteristics similar to bamboo and only grow in highlands with cold climates. When winter is about to pass, the trees on the mountain are bare of leaves to prepare for a warm and sunny spring, but underground, bitter bamboo shoots are struggling to grow. The tools people bring to pick bamboo shoots are hoes, knives and shovels. It is not as simple as bamboo shoots, just cut horizontally and bring them home, but to get bitter bamboo shoots, you have to dig deep into the ground.

Village elder Luong Van Quyen in Luu Kien commune (Tuong Duong) said: “Although it is available in the forest, bringing bitter bamboo shoots home is not simple at all. When the rooster crows in the morning, we have to carry a shovel into the forest and dig hard to fill the basket. When we get home, the rooster has already gone to sleep in the coop.”

Peel bamboo shoots.

There are many types of bitter bamboo shoots, some are as small as a human finger and are often bundled by people like green vegetables. This type has a bitter taste mixed with sweetness when eaten. This type of bitter bamboo shoots grows a lot in high mountainous areas and does not have to be dug up like other types. As for the type of bamboo shoots that are as big as an adult's calf, you have to dig deep into the ground to get it. This type has the characteristic of being more bitter towards the top while the part underground is sweeter.

In fact, not everyone knows how to distinguish between bitter bamboo shoots. The big ones have bitter and non-bitter types. Most of these types are called “nô khốm” by the Thai people, but “nô khốm” has a purple color on the outside and is less bitter. The “nô khốm” type is a little more yellow, the leaves are green when they first emerge from the ground, and whether they are in the ground or when they are high up, they are still very bitter. Therefore, when buying bamboo shoots, buyers can choose according to their preferences, but it is best to ask the locals which types are bitter and which are not. Because, with the naked eye, it is very difficult to distinguish between bitter bamboo shoots on the outside, only those who go and get them will know clearly.

Grilled bitter bamboo shoots

In the chilly spring weather, sitting by the red fire of the local people to enjoy grilled bamboo shoots is an indescribable pleasure. Mr. Lo Van Xa said: "People from the lowlands bring bamboo shoots back without knowing how to prepare them, but the traditional dishes of the people here are boiled dishes, grilled on charcoal or cooked with betel leaf soup. Among them, grilled bitter bamboo shoots on charcoal is the most favorite dish."

Along Highway 7 from Tuong Duong district to Muong Xen town of Ky Son district or in the villages of Thai, Mong, Kho Mu people... everywhere you can see people bringing bitter bamboo shoots to the street to sell. The price of a kilo of bitter bamboo shoots at the beginning of the season is about 8,000 VND to 10,000 VND, when they reach the town it can be more expensive but there are always many buyers. Some people buy them to eat, some buy them as gifts. Mr. Va Ba Lau in Lien Son village of Nam Can commune (Ky Son) happily said: "Every year when the bitter bamboo shoot season comes, I eagerly go to the forest, both to get them to eat and to earn extra income. Every season like that, at least I earn five to seven hundred, at most more than a million, which also helps my family's life."

Dao Tho