High-fiber and low calorie bamboo shoots are in season, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday, encouraging consumers to savor them during the hot summer months.
Bamboo shoots are mostly grown in the northern part of the country, where they are planted atop hills up to 500m above sea level, said Lee Chuang-ming (李窗明), a spokesperson for the council’s Taoyuan district agricultural research and extension station, adding that out of the 7,000-odd hectares of bamboo shoot plantation, about 5,000 are in northern regions.
These include Taipei County’s Wugu (五股), Bali (八里) and Sansia (三峽) townships, Taipei City’s Shilin (士林) and Muzha (木柵) districts, as well as Taoyuan’s Fuhsing (復興) and Dasi (大溪) townships, he said.
“At 27 calories and 2.2g of fiber [of a recommended daily intake of 20g] per 100g, bamboo shoots provide a light, good food source in summer, especially when they are chilled and sliced after cooking,” Lee said.
“Fibrous bamboo shoot can also balance out fats contained in contemporary diets,” he said.
When selecting good bamboo shoots, people should choose the ones that have no greenness on the surface and those with a larger “base,” Lee said.
“As a defense mechanism to avoid being eaten by animals, bamboo shoots turn bitter when they break the soil, which is a result of being in contact with the sun. Choosing bamboo shoots that do not have any greenness ensures they will be sweeter,” he said.
A shoot with a broader base also means that it contains more edible parts, Lee said.
“As a rule of thumb, choose ones that are short and stout,” he said.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
RSS