Food Anthropologist Explores Bamboo Shoots During Yunnan Art Expedition

Food anthropologist Cao Yu participated in the 'Expeditionary Botanics' project organized by curator Dai Xiyun and artist Cheng Xinhao in April 2025. The month-long journey covered 4,000 kilometers along Yunnan's border, starting at a subtropical river mouth and concluding at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. During the expedition's final phase in Jinghong, artist Zi Bai invited participants to gather ingredients at Manmai farmers' market and cook a meal at his home. Cao Yu focused on bamboo shoots, which were abundant in April markets, and prepared a dish with sour pork, a fermented food tradition called 'zha' dating to the Song dynasty. The bamboo shoots turned out unexpectedly bitter due to chemical changes from sun exposure, sparking discussion about regional culinary practices. The article explores bamboo's cultural history, noting its consumption in China for over 2,000 years and its literary significance from the Tang dynasty onward. It examines the misconception that bamboo grows primarily in mountains, explaining that agricultural development pushed it to higher elevations. The piece also discusses fermented bamboo shoots, particularly their popularity through Luosifen rice noodles, and notes that East Asia consumes 95% of the world's bamboo shoots. Cao Yu's personal cooking experience serves as a lens to examine broader themes of food anthropology, cultural geography, and culinary traditions.