As is so often the case in Japanese cuisine, the most profound flavours are the simplest.
Simply steamed, sliced and presented with an aemono dressing of wagarashi mustard-infused miso, this was probably the finest bamboo shoot I have ever tasted.
This was the focal dish of a remarkable meal at Kozue, prepared in person by chef Kenichiro Ooe. I will put up a full post on this banquet in due course. For the moment, here are a few shots focusing on the takenoko and its preparation...
The root was cooked whole, wrapped in bamboo leaves and sealed in foil, then slowly steamed in its own moisture over a beautiful hand-thrown ceramic charcoal brazier.
Then it was just sliced and arranged on the plate. Nothing more, nothing less.
The secret? The takenoko came from one of the premier bamboo groves of Kyoto, dug that same morning, scrutinized for quality, and carried up to Tokyo by hand — or, rather, in a traditional woven bamboo carrier, which allows the takenoko inside to breathe perfectly.
A big thanks to chef Ooe — and to Okamoto-san, the takenoko master.
