Labong (Bamboo Shoots)

With Ground Beef

Bamboo shoots in Filipino is called “Labong”.  They are available fresh at Asian markets but also available canned at regular grocery stores in the Asian section.  If they are available fresh, they are kept in water, sliced or whole. 

It is quite bland with an earthy taste.  You are actually eating a whole baby bamboo tree, which is grass, but is quite good as a vegetable dish or a side dish.  It picks up the flavor of whatever it is cooked in. 

This dish is easy to make without fuss.  It does not have any exotic oriental spices or seasonings typical of an Oriental dish. 

Ingredients:

• ½ lb. ground beef
• 1 pint (2 cups) bamboo shoots
• 1 large clove garlic crushed or minced
• ½ med. Onion coarsely sliced
• 1 beef bouillon
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 tsp. Patis
• Salt, Pepper, MSG
• ½ tsp. Maggi seasoning (optional)
• 1 TBS cooking oil

Wash the bamboo shoots well, squeeze then change water and do this again a couple of times.

Brown the ground beef then drain excess liquid.  Add 1 TBS cooking oil, add the garlic and onion and stir until onions are soft.  Add patis, then add the water, boil and add the bouillon.  Add the bamboo shoots when the bouillon is dissolved.  Simmer for about 5 minutes, taste and season with pepper, salt, a dash of MSG and a dash of Maggi.   

In the Philippines, this is normally cooked with shrimp and pork as in ginisa. The extracted juice from the shell of the shrimp is used as the stock and the cubed pork is salted as it is browned that is used in lieu of the salt pork sold here.

Ground pork can also be used instead of ground beef with an addition of chopped small tomato sautéed with the onion and garlic.   

Eat with rice as a meal or have it as a side dish with fried fish or grilled pork chops.