Plastic bamboo

[Ptipois]

During my last trip to South China, which occurred in October, I spent some time in the Anxi mountains in Fujian. There I repeatedly was served a delicious vegetable whose name, roughly translated in English, was 'plastic bamboo'.

It is slightly crunchy, very tender and tastes very sweet. Much like fresh bamboo shoot but more tender. White in color tinged with light green, and in its raw state it looks like a tapered stalk, about 2-inch wide at the base. Before being sliced and stir-fried, it has to be stripped of a few light green layers, a bit like lemongrass. My Cantonese friends who were spending time with me in Fujian told me that vegetable was also available in Guangzhou and other parts of South China. Botanically, it does not seem to be related to bamboo but it might if it is a graminea (as the taste would suggest).

Does anyone know of this very remarkable vegetable and of a possible English name? I haven't seen it yet on any Chinese market outside of China.

Oh here's the thing in its raw state, just before being cooked:

Edit: OK, got it. Zizania latifolia Turcz., AKA water bamboo, jiao sun, jiao bai, kuw-sun, chiao-pei sun, co-ba. It is a graminaea, hence bamboo-related and a cousin of rice, particularly of American wild rice. The swelling of the stem is caused by a fungus.

Edited November 8, 2008 by Ptipois (log)