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 strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
Japanese Councilor Hei Seki (石平) on Wednesday said that he plans to visit Taiwan, saying that would “prove that Taiwan is an independent country and does not belong to China.” Seki, a member of the Japan Innovation Party, was born in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Province and became a naturalized Japanese in 2007. He was elected to the House of Concilors last year. His views on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — espoused in a series of books on politics and history — prompted Beijing to sanction him, including barring Seki from traveling to China. Seki wrote on X that he intends
RSS