Rice doesn’t have to be the bland side dish that gets overlooked next to a much more exciting entree, it can be the fancy entree. In Cooking with Chopsticks, Hanna discusses all the labor and love that goes into preparing a rice dish cooked with bamboo shoots, or takenoko. Not only must care be taken with how the takenoko is cooked, but also how it is preserved. There is a reason why this plant tends to run on the pricier side, it needs quite a bit of well-deserved tender lovin’ care and attention.

Rice with Bamboo Shoots is the translated name, but the traditional name that Hanna uses to refer to this rice dish is takenoko gohan. Hanna explains that the dish tastes best when fresh bamboo is used as opposed to canned; she says the flavor comes out as much more subtle. Combined with shiitake mushrooms, salt, and soy sauce, what would appear to be a simple rice dish is enhanced with crunchy bamboo in Hanna’s takenoko gohan.