Yan Can Cook: Spice Kingdom

>> Bamboo -- in China, we called it [speaks Chinese].

In Sichuan and Yunnan, we find bamboo forests spreading far and wide with towering plants reaching for the sky, but they do much more than giving shade.

Bamboo is also a reliable building material that inspires art and poetry.

The many faces of [speaks Chinese] next on "Yan Can Cook."

>> "Yan Can Cook: Spice Kingdom" is brought to you by... >> Yeah, yeah >> Circulon cookware.

Circles for life.

>> Monogram.

A full line of professional appliances designed for food and entertaining enthusiasts.

By Melissa's.

The freshest ideas in produce.

By Lutian.

Tasting the essence of lotus.

By Granite Expo.

Offering a wide selection of cabinet and countertop solutions.

And by B&G Group of Malaysia.

Building Malaysia's tomorrow.

>> We're only about 10 miles north of Chengdu City Center.

This research facility began with six pandas back in 1987.

Today, it houses the world's largest population of giant pandas in captivity along with dozens of red pandas.

Millions of visitors come here all over the world just for the privilege of taking a picture of China's national treasure.

I know.

I have my own collection.

Make no mistake about it.

It is not a zoo.

This research facility carries out state-of-the-art breeding and medical research.

It has a nursery, a medical facility, labs and rehab center.

They follow each panda from birth.

It has by far the most comprehensive data on the world's giant panda population.

And thanks largely to such efforts, the giant panda species has been downgraded from endangered to vulnerable.

There are only about 1,800 giant pandas in the entire world, so every one of them matters.

Food deliveries for the pandas!

[ Sighs ] And it got busy.

A lot of work to do.

Loosen it up.

Hack it.

Okay.

Open this, and then there's another one here.

Hack it off.

Hack it off.

[ Grunts ] Done.

Now put the stick here, and then this is the breakfast for the panda -- nice, fresh, young bamboo leaves.

You got to clean it up.

Just like human being, we love fresh vegetables, nice and clean.

The panda knows if it's not fresh, so they won't touch it.

I just cleaned up all these bamboo leaves, pandas' breakfast.

Look at how hungry they are.

Looks like these are panda twins.

Looks exactly the same.

I couldn't tell the difference, anyway.

These tall mature bamboos around here will make very sturdy scaffolding for skyscrapers, for tall buildings all over the world.

Now, anyone familiar with Chinese cooking will know that bamboo shoots are one of the most popular ingredients in many dishes all over China, but just what are bamboo shoots?

[ Grunts ] [ Grunts ] That's bamboo shoot, very tender, sweet, juicy.

[ Grunts ] [ Grunts ] [ Grunts ] [ Grunts ] Ah.

Look at that, wonderful, smells sweet.

Ah.

This one is big.

[ Grunts ] [ Grunts ] [ Grunts ] As you can see, it's popping up everywhere.

Bamboo, technically, belongs to the grass family, a very, very fast-growing grass.

In fact, some species can actually grow up to 3 feet a day.

You know the expression, watching the grass grow?

Well, with bamboos, you need some quick eyes.

[ Grunts ] [ Grunts ] [ Grunts ] [ Grunts ] Ah.

This is called [speaks Chinese] It means an empty bamboo.

You know why it is called empty bamboo?

Because when you open the bamboo, it is empty, hollow.

Okay?

This particular [speaks Chinese] is a toy made mostly with bamboo and is a popular toy in many parts of China for generations.

Look at all of these.

Today, I am so happy to invite two of the champions of [speaks Chinese] all the way from Chengdu, China, to come over here to perform using this kind of traditional toy, and now I want to invite them to come.

[ Applause ] [ Applause ] Very good.

That's what a champion is all about, right?

Look at that.

[ Applause ] Very good, very good, very good, very good, very good.

This is winter bamboo, normally thicker, more robust in taste, and this -- spring bamboo, more gentle and lighter, more delicate in taste and texture, makes it perfect for simple stir-fried dishes.

So the first thing I'm going to do is chicken wing served in the royal court.

The first thing I'm going to do is water-blanch this.

You quickly just blanch it for a minute at the most, just a minute.

Okay?

One minute later, look at that.

It's kind of plump.

Look at that, nice, and take it out.

This is a very unique dish.

Okay?

We use the sugar.

We caramelize the sugar.

And you can use sugar.

Look at it.

It's already... Can you see that?

It melts.

It doesn't take too long.

Just let it caramelize.

It will become like this.

Look at this.

This is all we need and then Sichuan peppercorn powder, flavor this.

Okay?

And then let it braise our chicken.

Okay?

Very good.

Look at the caramelization.

Look at that.

And then use a tiny bit of wine or rice wine, dark soy to make it really nice and rich.

Look at the color when I put it in.

It's dark.

You can see the color.

You can see the color.

Look at this, 1/2 teaspoon and broth, and let it braise a little while.

Okay.

In the meantime, we cut up the bamboo.

I cut it up like this, one, two and three.

The inside looks like this, and when you cut it up, it is already like a garnish.

And then I have some green onion at an angle like this one, about the same size.

Put it aside.

Ginger -- I also slice it, one, two, very, very thin slices.

I put this, also, in my braising.

Okay?

When this is almost ready, about 10 minutes, then we put the bamboo shoot there, and then that's all we have to do.

Okay?

If you don't want to overcook the bamboo shoot, don't add it on too early.

Look how beautiful.

When it's almost ready, you put the bamboo shoot in there, bamboo shoot.

Okay?

Look at that.

Let it braise.

This way, the bamboo shoot has wonderful texture.

If you cook it too early, it doesn't have the texture anymore.

Okay?

Let me taste this and check the flavor.

A little bit sweet, so I add a tiny bit of soy to balance the flavor.

Then now turn it up high, and I caramelize it.

Look at this.

I'm going to... Look at the color.

This, what is this?

Bamboo root, this is the root, and this, bamboo leaf, [speaks Chinese] and fresh.

The Chinese use this to make Chinese tamale.

When this is done, I put it right over here, wow, the whole thing.

Look at this, how beautiful, and then a little piece of these, a little piece of these, a little piece of these.

Now you serve the bamboo.

How beautiful.

Is it nice?

[ Applause ] Huh?

Bamboo may grow in many parts of the world, but around Chengdu, it doesn't just grow.

It thrives.

Ah.

Let us cook.

You can guess it right.

We're doing something with bamboo -- julienne bamboo shoot with julienne meat and fungus.

Okay?

Here, 2 teaspoon of oil, the pickled chili right here, oh, garlic, chopped ginger, shredded meat.

Look at that.

Marinate a tiny bit with salt and pepper and cornstarch.

And then, of course, we cannot miss our bamboo shoot we just harvested.

Bamboo shoot, wood ear, julienne, oh, and chili oil and a bit of salt and a bit of sugar.

And then, finally, the dish is ready.

Fresh julienne bamboo shoots, harvested just moments ago, oh, perfect.

Look how beautiful from the farm, bamboo farm, bamboo forest.

And final touch, sprinkle chopped green onion.

And you have it, freshly harvested bamboo shoot.

Everybody can do it with a spicy garlic sauce.

Tasting time.

I love this bamboo shoot, tender, moist and crunchy.

Just how many ways can we cook with bamboo, 100 or even 1,000?

Here, a few very popular dishes use bamboo shoots.

Here, I have cold bamboo-shoot salad with a spicy garlic sauce, mm.

Bamboo shoot in clear broth, mm, mm, mm.

Oh, that salmon, salmon roll with bamboo shoot inside, nice and crunchy.

Braised chicken with bamboo shoot and garlic.

All about bamboo shoot.

You can make not thousands, maybe millions of dishes.

Cheer to the most wonderful natural resources in the city of Chengdu, bamboo.

[ Speaking Chinese ] Around Chengdu are many quaint old towns, each preserved and restored to its former glory by teams of restoration artisans.

Walking down these old streets is like a journey back in time.

And, of course, they didn't have this cute little red taxi back in the Tang dynasty.

It wasn't a very mobile society then.

We have seen how tasty bamboo can be, but now let us see how bamboo can enhance our good taste in art.

[ Speaking Chinese ] Around Chengdu, bamboo is everywhere, even in our museums.

Along with plum blossom, orchid and chrysanthemum, bamboo is called the Four Gentlemen or the four pillars of the society, and they're often the creative subjects for China's poets and painters.

Mm.

Look at this bamboos.

It bends, but I have my own interpretation.

Bamboo stands straight, tall and upright.

It is proud yet flexible, and it is strong.

For me, that is every bit that defines a true gentleman.

Right here, I am in the world's cultural heritage site, also the Sichuan giant pandas' habitat.

We are at the panda research facility in Dujiangyan.

While this place is not quite the tourist attraction as the facility in Chengdu, however, it carries out every important research right here.

Back in February, an American-born panda was returned from the Smithsonian Zoo in Washington, D.C. A panda exchange program between China and the U.S. stipulates that all pandas must be returned to China when they reach maturity to be a part of the breeding and research program.

So, earlier this year, the 4-year-old panda, American panda, Bao Bao, boarded a FedEx plane with 50 pounds of fresh bamboo and loads of other goodies and flew back all the way from Virginia to Chengdu.

The flight was lovingly called, hey, the Panda Express.

So when he come back here, they basically eat bamboo, so it has to be reduction and a smooth transition of this dietary habit.

So it takes... [ Speaking Chinese ] You know, just like human beings, the panda had the problem of jet lag in Washington, D.C., overseas.

So when he come back, supposed to be sleeping.

It's during the day, so you have to adjust to it, the jet lag.

The panda also have jet-lag problem.

Besides welcoming returning pandas, this facility is also a rehab center.

It prepares pandas selected to be released back to nature, and thanks to the hard work of so many people here and around the world, the giant panda population is no longer endangered.

Let's hope that it won't be long before they will not even be vulnerable.

They have come a long way since the days of imminent extinction.

>> You can visit our website to learn more about Martin and his travels, get information about upcoming events, find and print selected recipes, provide e-mail feedback and more.

It's all at yancancook.com.

"Yan Can Cook: Spice Kingdom" is brought to you by... >> Yeah, yeah >> Circulon cookware.

Circles for life.

>> Monogram.

A full line of professional appliances designed for food and entertaining enthusiasts.

By Melissa's.

The freshest ideas in produce.

By Lutian.

Tasting the essence of lotus.

By Granite Expo.

Offering a wide selection of cabinet and countertop solutions.

And by B&G Group of Malaysia.

Building Malaysia's tomorrow.