| A most bizarre curry side dish, Bamboo Shoots with Chili Sauce. Here's how to make it: you'll need to begin with somewhere around a pound of bamboo shoot tips. Although the fresh variety is widely available at most Asian supermarkets (Chinese, Indian etc) they require more than a bit of fancy knife work and an extra sharp blade to peel and prepare. Better Cafe Drake thinks to buy the canned shoots, packed simply in water without salt or any preservatives. Drain and rinse the bamboo shoots well and slice into 2" long pieces. If you want to serve more than four people as a side dish, you'll need to grab two cans (not a problem as they coast about $1.75 each). Now in a small saucepan bring a cup of water to boil along with 20-25 fresh small green chilies. Yes it's a lot! Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until chilies are soft. Put the chilies in a blender with a bit of the boiling water and a good bit of salt - puree until relatively smooth. Now add 2-3 T. canola oil and stream in while blending. Toss the chile puree with the bamboo shoots and leave for 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Even better: mix all together and refrigerate for a few hours. Bring to room temperature before serving as a side dish or condiment. |
Comments