Bamboo is a plant of the bamboo family, a symbol of the spirit of the country, so it also has a strong vitality, growing on barren land. In Bac Kan, bamboo is available in every region and bamboo shoots have become a specialty.

In January, underground, bamboo shoots begin to stir and rise. Day by day, they grow and gradually rise to the surface. By the second lunar month, the bamboo shoots are only a short distance from the ground. The bamboo shoots are strong and vigorous, and when you lift the carpet of dry leaves, you can see the zigzag cracks on the ground caused by the bamboo shoots pushing up from deep below.

By the end of the second lunar month, the bamboo shoots begin to emerge from the ground. And when the thunder of the rainy season begins, the bamboo shoots begin to turn green, covered with purple hairs, and also when the bamboo shoots have a characteristic bitter taste. Just a short time later, the bamboo shoots will grow tall into mature bamboo trees, starting a new life cycle.

In the highlands, from young to old, everyone is proficient at finding bamboo shoots. In the cold weather, groups of people go into the forest, carrying shovels, knives, and bags and baskets on their backs.

When the bamboo shoots are still young, they lie underground. To find them, you have to lift the leaves and dig up the soil. (Photo: HA TUYET)

Experienced people only need to use their feet to gently brush away dry leaves on the ground and look closely to detect signs of bamboo shoots buried deep underground.

The soil dug up and pushed aside revealed young bamboo shoots (also known as bamboo shoots) with small leaf buds. On a “lucky” day, digging up a small area could be enough to carry a heavy bag back home.

Bamboo shoots are a traditional dish of the highlanders, especially during difficult times. Bamboo shoots were a “specialty” that fed soldiers during the resistance war against the French. As the poet To Huu mentioned in the poem Viet Bac: “I return to the mountains and forests, missing someone/The sweet plums fall, the bamboo shoots grow old”.

Mai is also a bamboo plant but is very large in size. A mai bamboo can weigh up to several kilograms. But for eating, the bamboo shoots are tastier and also easier to harvest.

Now, bamboo shoots are a specialty because they are delicious and clean. Bamboo shoots are a very effective way to earn extra income for people in the highlands of Bac Kan .

A stretch of communes along Highway 3C connecting Bang Lung town (Cho Don) to Dinh Hoa (Thai Nguyen) is a paradise for bamboo shoots. Bamboo shoots are expensive and easy to sell, so these days the bamboo shoot forests are always bustling with the laughter of people looking for bamboo shoots.

Dumping her heavy bag of bamboo shoots onto the ground, Ms. Hoang Thi Yen, Yen Phong commune (Cho Don) happily said: "Climbing the hill and carrying heavy loads is tiring, but fun. Bamboo shoots are also expensive. If you work hard, you can earn a few hundred thousand dong a day."

Bamboo shoots are best when fresh. Wash, slice thinly and stir-fry with garlic until the edges are burnt. Simply boil them and dip them in hot fermented rice or shrimp paste with lemon juice. For more elaborate methods, thinly slice them and roll them in meat and steam them.

Those who cannot eat bitterness should choose bamboo shoots, those who can eat bitterness should choose bitter bamboo shoots. For the locals who are used to eating bitter bamboo shoots, bitter bamboo shoots are the right taste of bamboo shoots. Every dish is delicious, so now bamboo shoots are not only a seasonal food of the highlanders, but have become a specialty product in the city.

Bamboo shoot harvesting is a job that brings additional income to people in the highlands of Cho Don district. (Photo: HA TUYET)

Secretary of the Party Committee of Binh Trung Commune (Cho Don) Ban Van Binh, a son of the Dao ethnic group here, shared that from just serving his family, bamboo shoot collection has now become a profession that brings in a good income. Basically, everyone has a forest garden, and in addition to new forest planting areas, people also actively protect bamboo areas to have continuous bamboo shoot seasons.

A preliminary statistic a few years ago from the Department of Agriculture of Cho Don district showed an "impressive" figure, that is, on average each bamboo shoot season, the southern communes of the district can earn several billion VND from selling bamboo shoots in just 3 main months.

Traders drive their vehicles along Highway 3C to buy bamboo shoots and transport them downstream.

Bamboo shoot season only lasts about 3 months but brings joy to many people in the highlands of Bac Kan.

If tourists can experience wading in the fields to catch fish in the Mekong Delta or participating in rice planting in the North, then picking bamboo shoots can also become an attractive tourist experience . Especially when under the canopy of the bamboo forest in Bac Kan are countless historical revolutionary relics from the period of resistance against the French.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/mua-mang-cua-minh-o-cho-don-bac-kan-post864435.html