Bamboo Chicken

Jeff loved this dish, and I even inspired my friend to make her own version of this too.

I love bamboo but I rarely eat it since I don't go asian shopping often.  And when I do, bamboo isn't exactly on my mind when I shop, I am usually shopping for staples such as green veggies, fresh fruits, and meats.

However, during my recent visit to the Asian store (to buy dungeness crabs), the bamboo was placed in the front of the store... and I also happened to be really hungry when I was shopping, so I had to buy some!

To make the dish, I first thinly sliced some chicken (I use dark meat, but you can use white), and marinated it a little soy sauce, mixed with some tapioca starch to soften the meat up (gives it the gooey texture you find in a lot of asian dishes). 
I used canned bamboo rather than fresh bamboo since it's WAY cheaper, and sliced up the bamboo into smaller pieces.  In a skillet, added a little oil and cooked the chicken until it was almost cooked then added in the bamboo.  The bamboo can be consumed as is, so you are really merely heating it up on the stove, rather than cooking it.  Add in some oyster sauce to give it the sweet flavor and xiaoxing cooking wine for an additional layer of flavor (this is optional).

The dish was light and tasty.  The dish can also be substituted with beef, pork, or tofu.