Bamboo shoots substitutes

Canned or jarred palm cores, pale and firm with a mild tang.

Best for

red and green curry, jungle curry, stir-fries, the closest overall match

The best swap because it is the only common option with something like bamboo's faint sourness, which is the flavour most people do not realise they are missing. It is a little softer and more fibrous, so slice it thick and add it in the last five minutes of a curry rather than at the start. Rinse it well, since the canning brine is assertive and will make your sauce taste sharp.

Crisp white corms that stay crunchy through any amount of cooking.

Best for

stir-fries, red curry, dishes that will simmer a long time, maximum crunch

Crunchier than bamboo and, unusually, they stay exactly that crunchy no matter how long they cook, which makes them very forgiving. The trade-off is flavour: they are noticeably sweeter and rounder, with none of bamboo's earthy or sour edge. In a jungle curry, where bitterness and sourness matter, they can read slightly dessert-like, so cut them half and half with celery.

A pale, snappy stalk vegetable that is always in the shop.

Best for

stir-fries, red curry, when the shopping is done and you are improvising

Similar snap and similar pale colour, and it holds up to a few minutes of simmering. What it brings is a clear green celery flavour and a natural saltiness that bamboo does not have, so it announces itself in a delicate dish. Very good in a red curry or a stir-fry, less good in a clear soup. Add it in the last three or four minutes so it keeps some bite.

Spears cut to roughly the shape of sliced bamboo.

Best for

green curry, quick stir-fries, spring cooking

The shape and fibrous bite are a good match, and it looks right on the plate. It is clearly sweeter and grassier than bamboo, and it cooks in about three minutes, so it will go army-green and floppy if you put it in at the start of a curry. Add it right at the end. Use the thinner spears; thick ones need peeling to avoid a woody outside.

Hard pale roots that keep their crunch indefinitely.

Best for

stir-fries, curries you want to reheat, kohlrabi for a cleaner flavour, jicama for sweetness

Both stay crunchy through anything, which is bamboo's most useful quality, and both are cheap and easy to find. Neither has any earthiness at all: jicama is distinctly apple-sweet and jicama-heavy curries taste noticeably sweeter, while kohlrabi is closer to neutral with a faint radish note and is the better of the two here.

Soft mild squashes filling the same space in the pot.

Best for

green curry, bulking out a curry cheaply, when crunch is not the priority

This is the fill-the-pot option rather than a texture match, and it is worth being honest about that. Both are soft, watery and completely mild, so they add volume and no crunch, and they will thin your sauce slightly as they release water. Chayote is the firmer of the two and holds its shape better. Add them in the last five minutes and cut them thick.