Bamboo Shoots substitute

Best substitute

Hearts of palm, drained and sliced

Same volume

Best for red and green curry

Close match

Drained canned hearts of palm are the closest on both texture and that faintly sour vegetal flavour, and canned water chestnuts or thickly sliced celery are the easiest swaps if you mainly want the crunch. Use the same volume as the bamboo shoots and add crunchy swaps in the last few minutes so they stay firm. This is also one of the easier ingredients to simply leave out.

Other bamboo shoots substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Canned water chestnuts
Different taste
Same volume, sliced or quartered
Crisp white corms that stay crunchy through any amount of cooking.
What changes
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.
3Celery, sliced thick on the bias
Different taste
Same volume
A pale, snappy stalk vegetable that is always in the shop.
What changes
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.
4Asparagus, cut into 5 cm lengths
Taste and texture differ
Same volume
Spears cut to roughly the shape of sliced bamboo.
What changes
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.
5Jicama or kohlrabi batons
Different taste
Same volume
Hard pale roots that keep their crunch indefinitely.
What changes
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.
6Zucchini or chayote
Taste and texture differ
Same volume, cut into 2 cm chunks
Soft mild squashes filling the same space in the pot.
What changes
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.

What is Bamboo Shoots?

Bamboo Shoots is Bamboo shoots, called nor mai in Thai, are the tender young sprouts of bamboo, sold canned in water or in slender vacuum packs, and used in Thai curries and stir-fries for a firm faintly sweet crunch and a mildly earthy, slightly sour note.

Cooking tips

Canned bamboo shoots often smell sour or metallic straight from the tin, which is what puts most people off them. Drain them, rinse them thoroughly, then simmer them in fresh water for five minutes and drain again. That removes almost all of it and is worth the extra pan.
Vacuum-packed refrigerated shoots taste much better than canned ones, with more sweetness and a firmer bite. If your grocer stocks both, the packs are worth the extra money.
Never eat fresh bamboo shoots raw. Raw shoots contain natural cyanogenic compounds and must be peeled and boiled in plenty of open, uncovered water before use, typically 10 to 20 minutes for small young shoots and longer for large ones, changing the water once. Canned and vacuum-packed shoots have already been processed and are ready to use after rinsing.
Cut your substitute to match the shape the recipe wants, because shape is doing as much work here as flavour: thin matchsticks for stir-fries, thicker wedges or slices for curries.
Only bamboo shoots and water chestnuts can sit in a simmering curry for 20 minutes without changing. Every other swap on this list should go in during the last few minutes, or you will have no crunch at all.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the bamboo shoots out?

Yes, this is one of the easiest omissions in Thai cooking. Bamboo contributes texture and a mild background note, and nothing in the seasoning depends on it. Add a bit more of whatever other vegetable you are using so the curry does not turn into all sauce and protein, and nobody will notice anything is missing.

Why do canned bamboo shoots smell bad?

It is a combination of the canning liquid and compounds naturally present in the shoots, and it is much stronger in cheaper brands. Drain and rinse them, then simmer them in fresh water for five minutes and drain again before adding them to the dish. That fixes it almost completely. Refrigerated vacuum packs have far less of the smell to begin with.

Are bamboo shoots and water chestnuts the same thing?

No, they are unrelated. Bamboo shoots are young bamboo sprouts and taste mildly earthy with a slight sourness. Water chestnuts are the corms of an aquatic sedge and are distinctly sweet and much crunchier. Water chestnuts are a good textural substitute for bamboo, but the sweetness is a real change in flavour.

Are bamboo shoots safe to eat?

Canned and vacuum-packed shoots are fully processed and safe to eat after a rinse. Fresh shoots must be peeled and boiled in plenty of open water before eating, because raw bamboo contains natural cyanogenic compounds that are destroyed by boiling. Never taste raw fresh bamboo to check for bitterness, and do not shortcut the boiling step.

Do bamboo shoots taste like anything?

Mildly. Good ones are faintly sweet and earthy with a slight sourness and a texture somewhere between water chestnut and artichoke heart. They are in the dish mainly for that firm crunch, which is why almost any crisp pale vegetable works as a substitute, and why hearts of palm, which shares the sourness, works best.

Related substitutes

More vegetables & aromatics substitutes

Bamboo Shoots substitute

Other bamboo shoots substitutes

2Canned water chestnuts

3Celery, sliced thick on the bias

4Asparagus, cut into 5 cm lengths

5Jicama or kohlrabi batons

6Zucchini or chayote