Bamboo and Pork Soup

Ingredients

300 g (11 oz) bamboo shoots, cut into small chunks
250 g (9 oz) pork chops or spareribs, chopped into 5 cm (2") pieces
5 cups water
I cup of chicken stock
Salt to taste

Method

Parboil bamboo for 10 minutes in an uncovered pot with plenty of water. Taste bamboo; if bitter, replace the water and boil for a further 10 minutes.
Blanch pork to remove fatty odour. Pour out water and clean pot.
Add 5 cups of water and stock to pot, bring to boil.
Add pork and cook for 10 minutes.
Drain bamboo and add to pork.
Salt if necessary
Simmer for 30 minutes.

Notes

This dish is preferably made from fresh, raw shoots. Most commonly Taiwanese use shoots from one of the largest varieties of bamboo in the world – Taiwan giant bamboo. But any fresh shoots will do. If you cannot source the fresh article, use canned, but as these are normally pre-cooked, the flavour will be weaker. If you use other preserved shoots, rinse them before use, as they may be very salty or sour.