Can you eat bamboo? Yes, but not all of them… Of the 1718 known bamboo species worldwide, 132 species are recorded to have edible shoots. Edible meaning a satisfactory to delicious taste, because even though some bamboo shoots are classified as edible, they must be carefully prepared and boiled before consuming!
Bamboo shoots may contain significant, potentially very toxic amounts of cyanogenic glycosides. Various reports even place bamboo shoots amongst the most potentially toxic plant materials, exceeding apricot, bitter almond stones and considerably exceeding that of cassava.
However, the cyanogenic glycoside in bamboo is in fact taxiphyllin. Taxiphyllin is unusual amongst other similar compounds in the sense that it degrades readily in boiling water. Thus boiling or cooking bamboo shoots before you eat them will eliminate any toxicity. Of course you could also buy canned bamboo shoots that are ready for immediate consumption.
A Complete List of all known Edible Bamboo Species
| Scientific Name | Common Names | Region of Origin | Taste/Quality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acidosasa chinensis | — | South China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Acidosasa edulis | Food-shoot bamboo | SE & South China (Fujian/Zhejiang→Guangdong/Guangxi) | 🟢 Delicious | Major commercial sweet-shoot bamboo |
| Acidosasa lingchuanensis | — | China | 🔴 Bitter | No documented edible use — probably not eaten |
| Acidosasa notata | — | South China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Acidosasa purpurea | — | South China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots; local use |
| Arundinaria gigantea | Giant cane | Southeastern USA | 🟡 Good | Traditionally eaten by Indigenous peoples |
| Bambusa balcooa | Female/Balcooa bamboo | Indian subcontinent & mainland SE Asia | 🔴 Bitter | Higher HCN; requires thorough boiling/processing |
| Bambusa bambos | Giant thorny bamboo | South Asia | 🔴 Bitter | Fibrous & bitter without processing |
| Bambusa beecheyana | Beechey bamboo | S China, SE Asia, Taiwan | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Bambusa blumeana | Spiny bamboo (Kawayang tinik) | Philippines & island SE Asia | 🟡 Good | Popular edible shoots (labong) in the Philippines |
| Bambusa chungii | White bamboo | South China/Vietnam | 🟡 Good | Young shoots edible; occasional use |
| Bambusa dissimulator | — | South China (cultivated) | 🟡 Good | Young shoots edible; minor species |
| Bambusa edulis | Taiwan edible bamboo | Taiwan | 🟢 Delicious | Cultivated specifically for sweet shoots |
| Bambusa emeiensis | Emei bamboo | Sichuan (China) | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots; regional use |
| Bambusa gibboides | — | Guangdong (China) | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Bambusa maydis | — | China (cultivated) | 🟢 Delicious | Cited as high-quality edible-shoot bamboo in reviews |
| Bambusa merrilliana | — | Philippines | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots (documented in PH literature) |
| Bambusa multiplex | Hedge bamboo | China | 🟡 Good | Young shoots edible; small diameter |
| Bambusa nutans | Drooping bamboo | Indian subcontinent | 🟡 Good | Shoots eaten locally after boiling |
| Bambusa odashimae | — | Taiwan | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots; evaluated in nutrition studies |
| Bambusa oldhamii | Oldham’s bamboo; Giant timber bamboo | Taiwan & South China | 🟢 Delicious | Crisp, sweet shoots; widely cultivated |
| Bambusa pervariabilis | — | South/Southeast China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots (FAO exemplar) |
| Bambusa philippinensis | — | Philippines | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots (documented in PH literature) |
| Bambusa polymorpha | Burmese bamboo | Mainland SE Asia | 🟡 Good | Common edible shoots |
| Bambusa rigida | — | China | 🟡 Good | FAO exemplar; edible shoots |
| Bambusa stenoaurita | — | China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots; studied for nutrition variability |
| Bambusa textilis | Weaver’s bamboo | South China | 🟡 Good | Young shoots edible; not a premier shoot species |
| Bambusa tulda | Bengal/Timber bamboo | Eastern Himalaya to SE Asia | 🟡 Good | Common food bamboo in NE India/Nepal |
| Bambusa tuldoides | Punting-pole bamboo | South China to N Vietnam | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots widely used |
| Bambusa variostriata | — | China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots; evaluated in nutrition studies |
| Bambusa ventricosa | Buddha belly bamboo | Vietnam/SE China | 🟡 Good | Young shoots edible; small and seasonal |
| Bambusa vulgaris | Common bamboo | SE Asia (now pantropical) | 🟡 Good | Very common edible shoots; coarser texture |
| Chimonobambusa communis | — | China | 🟡 Good | Shoots edible, locally consumed |
| Chimonobambusa macrophylla | — | South-central China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Chimonobambusa marmorea | Marble bamboo | China & Japan | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Chimonobambusa pachystachys | — | China | 🟢 Delicious | Young shoots highly valued as food |
| Chimonobambusa puberula | — | South-central China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Chimonobambusa quadrangularis | Square bamboo | SE China, Taiwan, N Vietnam | 🟢 Delicious | Prized shoots; square culms |
| Chimonobambusa rigidula | — | China | 🟢 Delicious | Edible shoots, considered tasty |
| Chimonobambusa szechuanica | — | Sichuan (China) | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Chimonobambusa tumidinoda | Walking-stick bamboo | SW China (Sichuan/Yunnan) | 🟢 Delicious | Large, tasty shoots |
| Chimonobambusa utilis | — | South-central China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Chimonocalamus delicatus | — | China (Yunnan) | 🟢 Delicious | Shoots rated the best of the genus |
| Chusquea culeou | Culeu bamboo | Southern Chile & Argentina | 🟡 Good | Local Andean cuisine; mild flavor |
| Dendrocalamus asper | Giant bamboo | Mainland & island SE Asia | 🟡 Good | Thick shoots; neutral to slightly sweet after boiling |
| Dendrocalamus brandisii | Velvet-leaf bamboo | NE India–Myanmar–Thailand | 🟡 Good | Sweetish shoots in some regions |
| Dendrocalamus calostachyus | — | Mainland SE Asia | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots; local cuisines |
| Dendrocalamus giganteus | Giant bamboo | NE India, Myanmar, Thailand, Yunnan | 🟡 Good | Edible but variable; can be fibrous |
| Dendrocalamus hamiltonii | Hamilton’s bamboo | Eastern Himalaya | 🔴 Bitter | High HCN; requires long boiling/fermentation |
| Dendrocalamus latiflorus | Taiwan giant bamboo | Taiwan & South China | 🟢 Delicious | Premier edible-shoot species in Taiwan |
| Dendrocalamus longispathus | — | Bangladesh, Myanmar | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Dendrocalamus membranaceus | — | Mainland SE Asia–South China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots; regional cuisine |
| Dendrocalamus minor var. amoenus | — | China (cultivated) | 🟡 Good | Tender young shoots; small |
| Dendrocalamus pendulus | — | NE India/Myanmar | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots (regional) |
| Dendrocalamus sikkimensis | Sikkim bamboo | Eastern Himalaya | 🟡 Good | Shoots eaten in Nepal/Sikkim |
| Dendrocalamus stocksii | — | India (Western Ghats) | 🟡 Good | Young shoots eaten locally |
| Dendrocalamus strictus | Male bamboo | Indian subcontinent & SE Asia | 🔴 Bitter | Tough, bitter; eaten mainly with processing |
| Fargesia denudata | — | China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Fargesia murielae | Umbrella bamboo | Sichuan (China) | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots; garden favorite |
| Fargesia nitida | Blue fountain bamboo | China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots (small) |
| Fargesia robusta | Umbrella bamboo | SW China | 🟡 Good | Shoots edible; not a premier species |
| Fargesia rufa | — | China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots; small diameter |
| Gigantochloa apus | String bamboo | Indonesia, Malaysia | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots; widespread use |
| Gigantochloa atroviolacea | Black bamboo (wulung) | Indonesia | 🟡 Good | Shoots edible; require boiling |
| Gigantochloa atter | Wulung bamboo | Indonesia | 🟡 Good | Acceptable when boiled; common food bamboo |
| Gigantochloa levis | — | Malaysia, Philippines | 🟢 Delicious | Highly valued tender shoots |
| Gigantochloa ligulata | — | Thailand–Peninsular Malaysia | 🟡 Good | Edible; regional use |
| Gigantochloa nigrociliata | — | Thailand–Indonesia | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots (documented) |
| Gigantochloa pruriens | Thorny bamboo | Thailand/Myanmar | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Gigantochloa pseudoarundinacea | — | Indonesia | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Gigantochloa robusta | — | Vietnam/SE Asia | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots; local markets |
| Gigantochloa thoii | — | Thailand | 🟡 Good | Edible; local |
| Guadua angustifolia | Guadua | Northern Andes (Colombia, Ecuador) | 🔴 Bitter | Shoots sometimes eaten after boiling/fermentation; variable reports |
| Guadua sarcocarpa | — | Amazon Basin, South America | 🟡 Good | Shoots edible; species also noted for fleshy fruit |
| Himalayacalamus falconeri | Candy cane bamboo | Himalayas | 🟡 Good | Young shoots edible, slightly bitter |
| Nastus elatus | New Guinea sweet bamboo | Papua New Guinea | 🟢 Delicious | Shoots eaten raw or cooked; noted for sweet taste |
| Oxytenanthera abyssinica | Savanna bamboo | Tropical Africa (Sahel to East/Southern Africa) | 🔴 Bitter | Famine/processing food; requires boiling/processing |
| Phyllostachys acuta | — | China | 🟢 Delicious | Mild and slightly sweet |
| Phyllostachys arcana | Ghost bamboo | China | 🟡 Good | Shoots edible, mildly bitter |
| Phyllostachys atrovaginata | Incense bamboo | China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots with aromatic notes; requires boiling |
| Phyllostachys aurea | Golden bamboo/Fishpole bamboo | China (cultivated pantropically) | 🟡 Good | Young shoots edible; common in gardens |
| Phyllostachys aureosulcata | Yellow-groove bamboo | China (cultivated widely) | 🟡 Good | Young shoots edible; mild flavor |
| Phyllostachys bambusoides | Madake | China; widely cultivated in Japan | 🟢 Delicious | Prized in Japanese cuisine (takenoko) |
| Phyllostachys bissetii | Bisset bamboo | China | 🟡 Good | Commonly noted as edible; mild taste |
| Phyllostachys circumpilis | — | China | 🔴 Bitter | Young shoots reported edible but limited/different assessments; caution advised |
| Phyllostachys concava | — | China | 🔴 Bitter | Shoots reported edible in some lists; limited confirmatory sources |
| Phyllostachys decora | — | China | 🟡 Good | Shoots edible after boiling |
| Phyllostachys dulcis | Sweetshoot bamboo | Eastern China (Fujian/Zhejiang/Jiangxi) | 🟢 Delicious | Among the sweetest cultivated shoot bamboos |
| Phyllostachys edulis | Moso bamboo | Southern China, Taiwan (widely cultivated in East Asia) | 🟡 Good | Industry standard; mild to pleasant after boiling |
| Phyllostachys elegans | — | China | 🟢 Delicious | Shoots considered excellent |
| Phyllostachys fimbriligula | — | China | 🟢 Delicious | Shoots edible, mild flavor |
| Phyllostachys flexuosa | — | China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Phyllostachys glauca | — | China | 🟡 Good | Shoots edible; neutral flavor |
| Phyllostachys heteroclada | Water bamboo | Southeastern China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots, widely used locally |
| Phyllostachys humilis | — | China | 🟡 Good | Young shoots edible; smaller diameter |
| Phyllostachys incarnata | — | China | 🟢 Delicious | Shoots eaten raw or cooked |
| Phyllostachys iridescens | — | Eastern China | 🟡 Good | Recognized edible shoots; acceptable flavor |
| Phyllostachys makinoi | Makino bamboo | Central China | 🟡 Good | Edible, typically boiled; decent flavor |
| Phyllostachys mannii | — | Southwest China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots documented; acceptable flavor |
| Phyllostachys meyeri | — | China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Phyllostachys mirabilis | — | China | 🔴 Bitter | Shoots edible but documentation sparse; treat as lower-rated/mixed |
| Phyllostachys nidularia | Nest bamboo | China | 🟢 Delicious | Shoots highly rated for taste |
| Phyllostachys nigella | — | China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Phyllostachys nigra | Black bamboo | China | 🟡 Good | Shoots edible when young; often used pickled in Asia |
| Phyllostachys nuda | Nude-sheath bamboo | Central/Eastern China | 🟡 Good | Pleasant, sometimes mildly bitter; widely eaten |
| Phyllostachys parvifolia | — | Zhejiang (China) | 🟡 Good | Tall species; shoots eaten locally |
| Phyllostachys platyglossa | — | China | 🟢 Delicious | Cultivated for excellent edible shoots |
| Phyllostachys praecox | Early-shoot bamboo | Eastern China (Zhejiang/Jiangsu) | 🟢 Delicious | Premium early-season shoots; sweet and tender |
| Phyllostachys prominens | — | China | 🟡 Good | Recognized edible shoots; acceptable flavor |
| Phyllostachys propinqua | Northern hardy bamboo | China | 🟡 Good | Shoots edible, sometimes good quality |
| Phyllostachys rivalis | Stream bamboo | China | 🟢 Delicious | Some sources list shoots as delicious; reports are mixed/limited |
| Phyllostachys robustiramea | — | China | 🔴 Bitter | Reported edible in compilations but scarce corroboration; rated lower for taste |
| Phyllostachys rubella | — | China | 🔴 Bitter | Limited information; listed as edible in some compilations |
| Phyllostachys rutila | — | China | 🔴 Bitter | Listed in compilations with low-to-moderate ratings |
| Phyllostachys sapida | — | China | 🔴 Bitter | Listed as edible in some sources but not widely documented |
| Phyllostachys tianmuensis | — | China | 🔴 Bitter | Little documentation; included in compilations as lower-rated |
| Phyllostachys viridiglaucescens | — | China | 🔴 Bitter | Listed as edible but often considered average or lower quality |
| Phyllostachys yunhoensis | — | China | 🟢 Delicious | Listed among higher-rated edible Phyllostachys |
| Pleioblastus amarus | — | South/Central China | 🟡 Good | FAO exemplar; decent flavor |
| Pleioblastus argenteostriatus | — | China | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Pleioblastus hindsii | — | China | 🔴 Bitter | Young shoots reported edible in some sources but often lower-rated; limited data |
| Pleioblastus simonii | Simon’s bamboo | China/Japan | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots used locally |
| Pseudosasa japonica | Arrow bamboo | Japan | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots; garden species |
| Sasa kurilensis | Kuma bamboo | Japan, Korea, Sakhalin (Russia) | 🟡 Good | Wild foraged shoots; strongly documented in Hokkaido cuisine |
| Sasa palmata | — | Japan | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots |
| Sasa veitchii | Kuma-zasa | Japan | 🟡 Good | Wild foraged shoots |
| Sasaella masamuneana | — | Japan | 🔴 Bitter | Shoots edible but small and less significant; lower-rated in compilations |
| Sasaella ramosa | — | Japan | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots; regional foraging |
| Thamnocalamus aristatus | — | Himalayas | 🔴 Bitter | Young shoots eaten locally but usually lower-rated/limited evidence |
| Thyrsostachys oliveri | — | Myanmar/Thailand | 🟡 Good | Edible shoots; regional importance |
| Thyrsostachys siamensis | Monastery bamboo | Thailand, Myanmar | 🟡 Good | Common edible shoots in Thailand |
| Yushania maling | — | Himalayas | 🟡 Good | Very young shoots eaten, tender at early stage |
Impact of Food-based Cyanide on Humans
Cyanide can and does cause significant health problems at sub-lethal levels. Some of the cassava-eaters in Africa have suffered harmful effects to the nervous system, including weakness of the fingers and toes, difficulty walking, dimness of vision, and deafness.
Some children who ate large quantities of apricot stones, which naturally contain cyanide as part of complex sugars, had rapid breathing, low blood pressure, headaches, and coma, and some died.
How to Detect Cyanide in Bamboo Shoots?
There are simple test kits to determine the presence of cyanide in bamboo shoots that can be used by an unskilled person for looking at cyanide levels in bamboo shoots, cassava roots and products, as well as other cyanogenic plant parts such as sorghum leaves, and flax seed meal.
The general principle is that a small sample of the plant or product is placed in a container with filter paper containing the required catalyst and a piece of picrate paper that reveals the amount of poison produced. The bottle is left overnight at room temperature. Next morning, when the breakdown to poisonous gas is completed, the color of the picrate paper indicates the level of toxicity.
How to Remove Cyanide in Bamboo Shoots?
The cyanogen in bamboo is taxiphyllin and therefore one of the few cyanogenic compounds that decompose quickly when placed in boiling water. Bamboo becomes edible because of this instability.
Boiling bamboo shoots for 20 minutes at 98°C removes nearly 70% of the HCN while all improvements on that (higher temperatures and longer intervals) remove progressively up to 96%. Thus even the highest quoted figures of cyanide found in bamboo shoots would be detoxified after cooking them for 2 hours.
The usual practice to remove toxicity from bamboo shoots in the Philippines, is to remove the skin of the bamboo shoots and grate it in a course grater making strings about the size of spaghetti and boil it for about ten minutes. Then rinse the shoots in cold water and then it is ready for any dish. Is this enough to remove any toxicity in Dendrocalamus asper shoots?
Bamboo shoots of Dendrocalamus asper do contain cyanogenic glycosides (mainly taxiphyllin), which can release hydrogen cyanide if eaten raw. The good news is that taxiphyllin is heat-sensitive, boiling easily destroys it.
The common Filipino method (peel → grate → boil ~10 minutes → rinse) is effective and widely practiced. Discarding the boiling water is essential, since that’s where most of the toxins go. If the shoots are still bitter after boiling, cook them a second time. When prepared this way, D. asper shoots are considered safe to eat.
For D. asper, a study found that boiling in 5% salt water for 10 minutes reduced cyanogen levels from 0.016 g/100 g to just 0.002 g/100 g, a substantial (≈88%) reduction, while preserving nutrients.
I remember collecting bamboo shoots in Pingtung Taiwan in 1968. My then mother in law made the most delicious bamboo soup from those shoots. I was also interested in bamboo as a construction / building material. Especially interesting were bamboo flutes which I later learned to play a little. In the process I found that the thin inner sheath found in bamboo was bad news. It could cause severe even fatal internal bleeding. I am interested in finding a reference for this.
Some bamboo shoots in Laos are so good in taste that it doesn’t need to be cooked before serving especially with locally prepared chili sauce.
Do you know the species/varietal name of these non-toxic bamboo types? Any nurseries carrying this that might have phytosanitary certs?
Is Moso Bamboo edible and does it contain cyanide at all? If a bamboo shoot which contains cyanide is eaten by an animal, say, a buffalo, would the animal die?
Yes, Moso Bamboo is definitely edible.
Moso bamboo is known by the scientific names ‘Phyllostachys heterocycla pubescens’ and ‘Phyllostachys edulis.’ “Edulis” translates as “edible,” which makes sense, given that Moso bamboo shoots are imported to the United States from China and “are likely the ones you are eating at your local Chinese restaurant,” according to Bamboo Valley, a U.S. Bamboo grower.
The poisonous one that you are referring is “Cathariostachys madagascariensis” This bamboo species found in Madagascar. These bamboos contain cyanide in growing shoots.
So not only your animals, even you can eat Moso Bamboo.
I live in Central Victoria Australia and want to start growing edible bamboo. Can you please supply me with a list, if any at all, of edible bamboos which will be happy in frosts of down to -7°C? Actually this temperature is rare here but we got it once. Normally -5°C is the coldest.
There certainly are bamboos which grow here. I have a list of 4 which I did believe were edible but none of them appear on your edible list:
– Phyllostachys Boryana
– Phyllostachys Nigra Boryana
– Bambusa Textilis Gracilis
– Bambusa Multiplex Fernleaf
Are you please able to confirm with me; are any of the above 4 bamboo species edible and to what degree? If you can suggest a list of other bamboo types which are edible and can grow here, that would also be much appreciated. Many thanks for your help.
Are the outer leaves of the bamboo shoot edible, good for compost or bamboo broth, or useful for anything besides throwing away? It seems that the vast majority of the shoot is not good for eating.
I have several other questions as well. First, when I buy canned bamboo shoots, the canning liquid is both edible and tasty. Is this true of the water used for boiling, or must it be thrown out? Is it useful for anything else?
What is the best way to identify an edible variety of bamboo growing wild?
And what are the most commonly sold (in nurseries) types of edible bamboo (that is, which types of edible bamboo would one be likely to find for sale in a nursery)?
Outer sheaths of bamboo shoots are not edible — they’re tough, fibrous, and often contain more toxins. Best use: compost or mulch.
Boiling water from fresh shoots must always be discarded, because it collects the bitter cyanogenic compounds you’re trying to remove. This is very different from canned bamboo brine, which is safe because the shoots were pre-detoxified before canning.
Identifying edible bamboo in the wild: Nearly all young shoots are technically edible after proper peeling/boiling, but bitterness varies by species. Always discard the first boiling water, and when in doubt, cook longer.
Most common edible nursery species: Dendrocalamus asper, Bambusa oldhamii, Bambusa vulgaris, and in temperate regions, Phyllostachys edulis (Moso) and Phyllostachys aurea, among many others.
The bamboo shoot should be eaten when it’s young. Old ones are not chewable. If you can still make a wound on the skin of the shoot with the nail of your small finger, it should be edible. Don’t use the outer leaf of the shoot. But leaves at the tip are soft and edible.
I wonder if Guadua angustifolia is similar to the Chinese kind of bamboo and if it grows all over Latin American nations? Which Latin country can harvest and export bamboo shoots? I am asking 3 questions here. Can anyone help?
Guadua angustifolia shoots are “technically” edible if properly boiled, but they are usually considered too bitter to be a desirable food, furthermore Latin America doesn’t have a culture of consuming bamboo shoots like Asia has.
I have lots of bamboo in my backyard and was wondering if you could eat the shoots. I think I have identified it as Phyllostachys aureosulcata lama. Pictures of shoots and leaves look the same.
Are shoots of the Ghost bamboo (Dendrocalamus minor ‘Amoenus’) edible? When boiling bamboo shoots, how many water changes are required?
I harvested Gigantochloa atroviolacea shoots and had kind of a bitter almond cyanide compound odor which dissipated on boiling. What would be the recommended cooking times and water changes to optimize safety and minimise nutrient loss?
On steep rain forest slopes with clay soil in hurricane prone areas, what edible bamboo species would be better for erosion control and withstand uprooting of hurricane force winds? Guadua? I read it spreads out almost like a runner. Does Guadua produce edibility shoots?
Yes Dendrocalamus minor var. amoenus produces good edible shoots. Guadua angustifolia is also edible but very bitter, a better choice would be Guadua sarcocarpa, although plants of this species are not easy to find.
Bamboo shoots need to be peeled and cooked before using. Do not eat bamboo shoots raw as they are bitter tasting and can be hard to digest. Trim the roots, peel the outer leaves (sheath leaves), and remove any tough flesh of the shoots before cooking. Tender leaves can be left attached and eaten. The shoots should be cut across the grain into one-eighth inch slices. If very tender, the shoot can be cut into any pattern.
Cook bamboo shoots in boiling water in an uncovered pan for 20 minutes. Leaving the pan uncovered allows the compounds that cause bitterness to dissipate into the air. If there is any bitter taste to the shoots after cooking, boil them in fresh water for 5 more minutes. Bamboo shoots can also be microwaved, in an uncovered shallow pan of water for four minutes. Bamboo shoots will still be crisp and crunchy after cooking.