Eating bamboo

This is when the alchemy happens. Bamboo shoots, fatty pork, liquor and seasoning cook down into a mouth-watering emulsion.

The pork melts away in the mouth. The bamboo shoots retain their crunch but absorb all the sweetness of the meat through a magical osmosis. And our whole family would polish off the entire platter in no time, aided by generous bowls of steamed white rice.

It is a time-consuming dish to make, which takes a week from start to finish, but one that never tasted better.

Bamboo shoots are popular in Sichuan as well, where they are shredded and pickled in large jars topped with bright-red chopped chilies and neon-lit chili oil. As a result, they are full of umami flavors, and a little saucer will chase down a huge bowl of noodles, rice or porridge.

It takes an excellent chef to coax such flavors from the bland little bamboo shoot, but then the Chinese chef has always had a talent for creating ambrosia out of the most ordinary ingredients.