Bamboo shoot: nutrition per 100 g

1. 01

   Potassium ranks 2nd of 39

   Bamboo shoot carries 422 mg potassium per 100 g, 2nd of 39 vegetables and 78th of 243 foods. Potassium helps the body balance sodium, which is useful in a cuisine that leans on salted, fermented foods.

2. 02

   Very light and watery

   With 16 kcal, 0.3 g fat and 94.6 g water per 100 g, bamboo shoot is among the lowest-energy foods in the tables. It adds bite and sourness to a dish rather than calories.

3. 03

   Some vitamin C

   Fresh shoots have 15.7 mg vitamin C per 100 g, 20 per cent of a man's daily requirement and 24 per cent of a woman's. Boiling and fermenting lower this, so the cooked dish keeps less.

4. 04

   Low in most minerals

   Bamboo shoot is poor in calcium, 10 mg, and magnesium, 8 mg per 100 g, ranking last of 39 vegetables for magnesium. Its value is flavour, texture and potassium more than mineral density.

Values per 100 g of the edible portion. Source: Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad. Daily-need shares use the ICMR-NIN 2020 recommended dietary allowances for a 65 kg man and a 55 kg woman doing sedentary work (ICMR-NIN brief note). Nutrients IFCT did not analyse for this food are left out rather than shown as zero.

• Naga pork with bamboo shoot: pork slow-cooked with fermented shoot, dried chilli and ginger.
• Eromba and singju in Manipur: boiled vegetables mashed with fermented fish and chilli, or a salad, both often using soibum.
• Khorisa tenga in Assam: a light, sour fish curry soured with fermented bamboo shoot.
• Kanile curry in Kodagu and Mangaluru: boiled fresh shoots in a spicy coconut and tamarind gravy.
• Bamboo shoot pickle: boiled or fermented slices preserved in mustard oil with chilli, sold across the north-east.

Raw bamboo shoots contain taxiphyllin, a natural compound that releases cyanide when the shoot is cut and chewed. Traditional preparation removes it: peel the shoots, slice them thinly, and boil them in plenty of water for at least twenty minutes, changing the water once, or ferment them for several weeks. Never eat fresh bamboo shoot raw or lightly cooked. Fermented shoots are safe but strongly flavoured and often salted, so watch the salt in the rest of the dish.

Food composition is general information, not a diet plan. Anyone managing a medical condition should plan their diet with a doctor or a registered dietitian.

• Colocasia stem

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Raw jackfruit

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Chillies (green and red)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Pork

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Button mushroom

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

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