Bamboo Shoot and Wakame Salad (若竹和え, Wakatake-ae)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta), or a circle of parchment
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Suribachi and surikogi, or a small bowl and whisk

Instructions

1. 1

   Parboil the shoot

   If using fresh bamboo shoot, trim the tip on a slant and score the husk lengthwise just deep enough to help peeling later. Put the whole shoot in a pot, cover with water, add the rice bran and dried chile, and simmer gently until a skewer slides into the thick base, 45 to 60 minutes. Let it cool completely in the cooking water. The bran helps draw out bitterness, the chile keeps the flavor clean, and cooling in the pot lets the texture settle without drying the flesh. If using boiled bamboo shoot, rinse it well and begin at the cutting step.

   Don't peel a fresh shoot before parboiling. The husk protects the flesh while it cooks, and the score gives you a clean place to open it afterward.
2. 2

   Make the dashi

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in the cold water and bring it up slowly over low heat. Pull the konbu just before the water boils, when small bubbles climb the sides of the pot. Add the katsuobushi all at once, take the pot off the heat, and leave it alone for two minutes. Strain through a cloth or fine sieve and let it drip naturally. Don't squeeze the flakes, because squeezing presses out stronger, oily flavors and clouds the clean stock you need for this quiet dish.

   This is not a place for instant powder. The dressing is small, but the dashi gives it depth without weight.
3. 3

   Season the bamboo

   Peel the cooled bamboo shoot, trim away any hard base, and cut the tender tip into narrow wedges and the base into 5mm half-moons. In a small pan, combine 1 cup of the dashi with the usukuchi shōyu, mirin, and salt. Add the bamboo shoot and simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes, then let it cool in the broth. Bamboo shoot is mild and a little porous; this short simmer gives it seasoning from within, so the final dressing doesn't have to work like a blanket.

   A wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta) keeps the pieces under the broth. A circle of parchment with a small hole in the center does the same work.
4. 4

   Prepare the wakame

   If using salted wakame, rinse off the salt and soak it in cold water for about 5 minutes. If using dried wakame, soak it until just opened and pliable. If using raw fresh wakame, blanch it briefly until the color turns clear green, then cool it in cold water. Drain, squeeze gently but firmly, and cut into bite-size pieces. Wakame carries water easily, and water is the enemy of a clean aemono; squeeze it well or the dressing will thin in the bowl.

   Don't soak wakame longer than it needs. Once it is supple, stop. Too much soaking washes away the sea flavor you bought it for.
5. 5

   Mix the su-miso

   In a small bowl, stir the sweet white miso, rice vinegar, sugar, 1 tablespoon of prepared dashi, and the karashi if using. Add a little more dashi only if the dressing is too thick to coat lightly. It should be glossy and pour slowly from a spoon, bright enough to wake the bamboo shoot but not sharp enough to bully the wakame.

   Taste before you dress. If the miso is very sweet, use less sugar; if it is salty, loosen with more dashi rather than more vinegar.
6. 6

   Dress and serve

   Drain the seasoned bamboo shoot and blot it lightly. Fold the bamboo shoot and wakame with about two-thirds of the su-miso, adding more only where the ingredients still look bare. Arrange in a shallow bowl with the bamboo pieces standing at a slight angle and the wakame tucked around them, leaving at least a third of the vessel empty. Slap the kinome once between your palms and set it on top; that small bruise wakes its green pepper fragrance. Serve cool or at room temperature.

Chef Tips

• •Choose fresh bamboo shoot with a moist cut base, tight husk, and good weight in the hand. A dry base or sour smell means the shoot has already started to lose the sweetness this dish depends on.
• •Vacuum-packed yude takenoko is a sensible stand-in when fresh shoots aren't in season. Rinse it, taste it, and give it the dashi simmer. It won't carry the whole spring field with it, but it can still make a correct bowl.
• •Fresh new wakame is best if you can find it. Salted wakame is often better than tired fresh wakame, because it keeps its clean sea taste and firm bite when soaked with care.
• •For a meatless table, make the dashi with 10g konbu and 2 dried shiitake soaked overnight in 2 1/2 cups cold water, then warmed gently and strained. That is honmono in the temple-kitchen line, not a compromise.
• •Don't drown the dish in su-miso. Aemono means dressed, not buried. The bamboo shoot should still look pale, the wakame still green, and the bowl should taste of spring before it tastes of miso.

Advance Preparation

• •Fresh bamboo shoot can be parboiled two days ahead. Keep it refrigerated in clean water and change the water daily.
• •The bamboo shoot can be simmered in seasoned dashi one day ahead and kept in its broth. Drain and blot it before dressing.
• •Dashi keeps two days refrigerated. The konbu can also soak overnight in the measured cold water for a rounder stock.
• •Su-miso can be mixed one day ahead. Stir it again before serving and loosen with a spoonful of dashi if it has tightened.
• •Dress the bamboo shoot and wakame no more than 1 to 2 hours before serving. Wakame releases water as it sits, and the clean shape of the dish softens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 105g)