南川方竹筍? 世界餐桌的山野珍饈

Nanchuan Square Bamboo Shoots，

A Wild Dainty for the World

By Yang Yan/The World and Chongqing

At the product conference of “Chongqing Gifts—Premier Gift of Mount Jin Fo” held in January this year， Chen Jian， inheritor of traditional processing technology of Mount Jin Fo square bamboo shoots and chairman of the board of directors of Chongqing Tezhen Food Co.， Ltd， introduced “Premier Gift of Mount Jin Fo” products to the guests. In particular， the Mount Jin Fo square bamboo shoots listed as “2022 Chongqing Gifts for Foreign Affairs” are also at the conference， attracting guests to stop and taste and winning numerous praises.

Ancient Tribute & Current Delicacy

The Mount Jin Fo Square Bamboo Shoots of Nanchuan in Chongqing are renowned as “The King of Bamboo Shoots” by being a purely natural mountain delicacy for being round inside and square outside.

Historical documents show that Nanchuan square bamboo shoot boasts a history of over 900 years. Nanchuan County Annals tells us that the Nanchuan square bamboo shoot was a court tribute in the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty. Botanist professor Yang Rong praised it as “the most delicious bamboo.” The square bamboo shoot business has become one of Nanchuan Districts “3+2” agricultural specialty industries.

The square bamboo shoot has a strict requirement for its growing environment. It grows only in the high-altitude region above 1，400 m. Rainfall in autumn brings a boom in bamboo shoots. August of each year is the harvest season when square bamboo shoots become mature and fresh. They rise above the ground， either show their sharp tops or stand nearly 33 cm high. The bamboo shoot farmers， wearing straw hats， move across forests and are heartened by the harvest.

“There are two difficulties when dealing with the Nanchuan square bamboo shoots. The one is the difficulty of harvesting them because they only grow in high and steep mountains. The other is that it is seasonal and hard to preserve， turning stale and bad after being harvested for 3-5 days. Chen Jian said that to retain the freshness of square bamboo shoots and create more convenience for preservation， farmers in the past set up a cauldron in a bamboo shoot shed， drying them after two days and nights. It is time-consuming and laborious to make 6 kg fresh bamboo shoots into 0.5 kg dried ones， the prices of which are even 30% lower than the fresh ones. A rough estimation shows that the bamboo shoot production volume of Mount Jin Fo in Nanchuan is close to 30，000 tons a year， with only around 10% of the shoots sold as fresh yearly.

Technology Breakthrough & All-Year Selling Boom

The workshops of Chongqing Tezhen Food Co.， Ltd. in Nanchuan District are filled with bamboo shoot fragrance. In these workshops， bamboo shoots are processed through steps such as screening， processing， and packaging， into delicacies like smoked bamboo shoots， white oil bamboo shoots， stewed pig feet with square bamboo shoots， bamboo shoots with wild vegetables， preserved pork with sliced bamboo shoots， roast chicken with bamboo shoots for thousands of households meals.

“These are all indigenous square bamboo shoots from Nanchuan.” Chen Jian shared that Tezhen Food has built bamboo shoot processing lines with a yearly processing volume of 6，000-odd tons to promote the fine processing of Mount Jin Fo square bamboo shoots.

Recent years have witnessed the rapid development of the Nanchuan square bamboo shoots industry. Based on traditional dried bamboo shoot production and fresh bamboo shoot preservation， a complete set of scientific systems of raw material treatment， slip drying， rinsing， draining， and drying of square bamboo shoots， as well as bamboo shoot preservation and deep processing， has been developed to produce a variety of square bamboo shoot products with several flavors.

At the fresh storage area， the journalist finds that the square bamboo shoots produced last year are still fresh and tender after the quick-freezing processing. “Nanchuan， combining its industrial layout and focusing on its supply chain services， has been supporting its agricultural product processing enterprises in building processing facilities for storage， preservation， freezing， etc. Quick-freezing and preservation practices with ultra-low-temperature liquid nitrogen technology and intelligent and precise control are widely promoted.” According to Chen Jian， the fresh square bamboo shoots harvested at high mountains can be stored for a long time in general freezers after several minutes of processing.

Owing to such a mature technology， the square bamboo shoots， without being processed by traditional baking and antiseptic technology， can still maintain their primitive nutrients and flavors for more than a year. This makes it possible to break the tradition that fresh square bamboo shoots can only be sold and processed in September and October and offers a guarantee for off-peak sales， deep processing， quality and price increases， thus giving birth to the all-year selling boom of fresh square bamboo shoots.

Nowadays， Mount Jin Fo square bamboo shoots have been transformed from “initial processing” to “deep processing” and from “rough processing” to “fine processing”， which creates a brighter future for developing this industry. Consumers deeply favor the square bamboo shoots harvested in forests after being processed into packaged noodles， biscuits， and fiber foods after washing， slicing， drying， etc.

Produced in Nanchuan & Sold Around the World

The nurturing of square bamboo shoots for several years has promoted the development of related industries such as tourism， transportation， and food， making it the pillar industry of Nanchuan. A total of 200，000 Nanchuan bamboo shoot farmers have planted 300，000 mu of square bamboo shoots with an annual output of 15，000 tons， many of which are exported to Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan， as well as countries such as the U.S.， Japan， Singapore， Malaysia， and Russia， creating an annual output value of RMB160 million.

The Mount Jin Fo square bamboo shoots are also frequently shown in large exhibitions such as the China International Modern Agricultural Exhibition and the Western China （Chongqing） Agricultural Products Fair. Its related products have won honors like the “Brand-Name Agricultural Products，” “Excellent Quality Agricultural Products，” and “The Most Popular Products.” At the 24th China Agricultural Products Processing Industry Investment and Trade Fair， the Nanchuan “Tezhen Food” square bamboo shoots were rated as excellent quality products.

To this day， square bamboo shoots have been sold overseas in diversified forms， while the square bamboo shoot dishes are used to welcome tourists all over the world with their luxurious processing techniques. Chen Jian was once invited to Anuga FoodTec， the largest global professional food grand gathering in Germany， where he has broadened his horizons by interacting with the international food industry players. This gathering exhibited the products and demands of the food and drink industry， enabling him to know more about the developing trend of FMCG. “Though there is still a gap in domestic food processing and trade compared with those of the advanced countries in the world， I still have confidence in agricultural product processing and its future development，” said Chen Jian.

Photo/The Interviewee

文/本刊記者 楊艷

在今年1月舉行的“重慶好禮—金佛山首禮”產品發布會上，金佛山方竹筍傳統加工工藝重慶市非物質文化遺產第六代傳承人、重慶特珍食品有限公司董事長陳建向嘉賓們推介“金佛山首禮”產品。其中，入選“2020重慶好禮·外事禮品”的金佛山方竹筍位列其中，吸引現場嘉賓駐足觀賞、仔細品鑒，收獲一大波贊譽。

古時貢品今為佳肴

重慶南川金佛山方竹筍，因其主桿截面內圓外方而得名，是純天然山珍佳肴，被喻為“筍中之王”。

史料顯示，南川方竹筍已有900多年歷史。《南川縣志》記載，南川方竹筍在清嘉慶時期為朝廷貢品。植物學家楊嶸教授贊其“味居竹類之冠”。如今，方竹筍已成為南川區“3+2”特色農業產業之一。

方竹筍對生長環境要求苛刻，只在1400米以上的高海拔地域生長。一場秋雨，一茬秋筍。每年八月，方竹筍肥美鮮嫩，正值收獲的季節，破土而出的方竹筍或露出尖尖角，或長出一尺高。筍農戴著草帽，穿梭在竹林間，雖汗如雨下，卻滿臉喜悅。

“南川方竹筍一直有兩大痛點：一是長在高山險峻處，采收難；二是季節性強，采收3—5天后就會變老變壞，保存難。”陳建介紹，為了留住方竹筍的鮮美，更便于保存，過去筍農需在筍棚里支起大鍋，經兩天兩夜炕制成筍干。12斤鮮筍炕成1斤干筍，不僅費時費力，干筍價格還比鮮筍低30%。據粗略統計，南川金佛山每年產筍近3萬噸，只有約10%以鮮筍形式銷售。

技術突破全年“通吃”

位于南川區的重慶特珍食品有限公司，車間內彌漫著濃郁的竹筍清香，一根根竹筍經過篩檢、加工、打包等環節，成為柴火燒筍、白油筍、方竹筍燉豬蹄、野菜筍絲、臘肉筍片、筍燒雞公等佳肴，端上千家萬戶的餐桌。

“這都是南川土生土長的方竹筍。”陳建介紹，為了推動金佛山方竹筍精加工，特珍食品建立了竹筍加工生產線，年加工竹筍超過6000噸。

近年來，南川方竹筍產業迅速發展，在傳統筍干制作、鮮筍保存的基礎上，研發出一套完整的方竹筍原材處理、殺青、漂洗、瀝干、烘干及鮮筍保存與深加工科學體系，生產出多種風味的方竹筍產品。

在特珍食品保鮮倉儲區，記者發現，經過速凍工藝處理、產于去年的方竹筍依然鮮嫩如初。“南川結合產業布局，聚焦供應鏈保障，積極扶持農產品加工企業建設貯藏、保鮮及冷凍等初加工設施，廣泛推廣以超低溫液氮技術、智能精準控制為核心的速凍保鮮技術。”陳建說，高山采下的新鮮方竹筍，僅需幾分鐘處理，就能實現普通凍庫長期保存。

依托這一成熟工藝，方竹筍不靠傳統烘烤與防腐技術，原生態的營養成分、口感味道也可以保持1年以上，還打破了新鮮方竹筍只能在9月、10月集中上市、集中加工的傳統規律，為錯峰銷售、精深加工、提質增價提供了保障，實現了新鮮方竹筍全年“通吃”。

如今，金佛山方竹筍從“初加工”轉向“深加工”，從“粗加工”轉向“精加工”，產業發展之路越走越寬。林間的方竹筍經過清洗、切片、烘干等工序，還變身掛面、餅干、纖維食品，深受消費者喜愛。

產自南川遠銷世界

經過多年培育，方竹筍帶動了旅游、運輸、食品工業等相關產業的發展，已成為南川的支柱產業。20萬南川筍農種植方竹筍面積30萬畝，年產量1.5萬噸，產品遠銷至港澳臺等地區，及美國、日本、新加坡、馬來西亞、俄羅斯等國家，年產值達到1.6億元。

金佛山方竹筍也頻頻亮相中國國際農業博覽會、重慶·中國西部農產品交易會等大型展會，其系列產品獲得“名牌農產品”“優質農產品”“最受消費者喜愛產品”等榮譽稱號。在第24屆中國農產品加工業投資貿易洽談會上，南川“特珍食品”牌方竹筍被評為優質產品。

時至今日，方竹筍以各種制品遠銷海外，方竹筍全宴以其近乎奢侈的工藝迎接全世界游客。陳建曾受邀參加全球規模最大的專業食品盛會——德國科隆國際食品展覽會，國際食品行業的交流讓他大開眼界，展會上展示了食品飲料行業的產品和需求，讓他對快消品的發展趨勢有更多了解。“盡管國內食品加工及貿易與世界先進國家相比仍存在差距，但我依然對我們的農產品加工及未來的發展充滿信心。”陳建表示。

圖/受訪者提供