We have a neighbour, bless his heart, that gives us fresh 竹の子 / bamboo shoots that he's just dug up in the mountain.Today's batch of bamboo shoots are slimmer than the ones we see earlier in the Spring, but no doubt they'll be just as tasty.As my wife is busy doing other things, today I'm taking care of the bamboo shoots. This is my second time to try cooking them.After carefully opening up the shoot and peeling off the outer leaves, the inner shoot is cut into smaller pieces and placed in a pot. Water is added and ぬか or rice bran is added as well. If you don't have any rice bran, you can add some uncooked rice and use that. Right now I'm slowing cooking it, so I have to run to the kitchen every few minutes to make sure it isn't bubbling over, even though it is on a low simmer.We cook the bamboo shoots gently until tender and then add 油げ/deep-fried tofu skin and some 　かまぼこ/ fish paste sausage. Along with soy sauce, dashi, and some sake, this gives more flavour to the bamboo shoots.When finished, the bamboo shoots can be eaten as is, or used in other dishes. One way we use some of the bamboo shoots is to make tempura.A gift from our neighbour and from nature is something to enjoy.