Bamboo Shoots

Okay, so I might be a little late on this...

But as I was growing up, Beef and Broccoli was my favorite dish to order at or from any and every Chinese restaurant. Never a big fan of broccoli when I was younger, this was just a bit out of character for me. But I think my childhood preferences had to do, mostly, with the perfect mixture of simply steamed rice, some sort of meat that was chewy and wonderful and not very beef-like, broccoli that doesn't taste like broccoli because it was drowning in a delicious sauce, and finally, those wonderful little slices of something-or-other that were kind of veggie-like and had a very slight crisp to them and tasted wonderful.

Well, I finally figured out what those veggie-like entities were last night while dining at Genghis Grill with the Mays, and my mind was blown. I'd been there before, but last night, as I was browsing the very well-stocked veggie portion of the bar, I noticed a metal bucket of what looked to me like the mystery ingredient in my favorite beef & broccoli dishes. I searched frantically on the glass sneeze guard above me for the label and sure enough, right there in front of me...

Bamboo Shoots.

Who would have though it?!

And you can be sure my bowl was loaded up with that stuff once the discovery was made. Heck, yes.