Water chestnut

Jianli Water Chestnuts

　　Water chestnuts, commonly known as "earth chestnuts," "horse hooves," "pond rice," or "water caltrops," among other names. They belong to the Cyperaceae family and are perennial aquatic herbaceous plants. They have creeping underground stems, the tips of which swell into spherical corms (these corms are what we commonly refer to as "water chestnuts"); the above-ground stems grow in clusters, upright and tubular, resembling dragon whiskers, in deep green. They thrive in warm, moist environments and are well-suited to low-lying lakeside areas in southern China.

　　In Huangxiekou Town, once located by the shores of Bailu Lake, there is a legend about water chestnuts: In the late Spring and Autumn period (522 BC), the foolish King Ping of Chu, believing slander, wrongfully executed the minister Wu She and his eldest son Wu Shang. Wu She’s second son, Wu Zixu, escaped from the capital (now Jiangling) under the protection of family members and retainers, traveling day and night to his hometown by Bailu Lake (now Huangxiekou Town’s Wujiachang), hoping to hide there for a while. But the pursuers sent by King Ping of Chu were hot on his heels. Fearing he would endanger fellow villagers, Wu Zixu disguised himself as a farmer and hid in the reeds and thatch along Bailu Lake. “Misfortunes never come singly,” as grief, exhaustion, hunger, and exposure to cold left Wu Zixu utterly drained, and he collapsed unconscious in the wild marsh.

　　A young farm girl who had come to the lake to dig for water chestnuts discovered Wu Zixu and carried him back to her home to nurse him back to health. Though kind-hearted, the girl came from a poor family and could only offer him wild vegetables and fruits to stave off hunger, along with herbs she gathered to treat his illness. Wu Zixu, raised in an official household, was not particularly accustomed to lotus root cakes or salt-and-oil-lacking radishes and cabbages. But in his weakened state, thirsty and parched, he developed a liking for water chestnuts. He found them crisp, sweet, cooling, and thirst-quenching. Thanks to the girl’s care, within a few days, he regained his strength. Deeply grateful, he revealed his identity to the girl and shared his plans to seek refuge in the State of Wu. Though moved by his tall, handsome figure and strong spirit, the girl knew he was ambitious and driven by a personal vendetta. Unable to persuade him to stay, she gave him a bag of dried water chestnuts to sustain him on his journey and rowed him out onto Bailu Lake. As they parted, Wu Zixu urged her to keep his presence a secret. To ensure his safety, after he disembarked, the girl threw herself into the lake. Wu Zixu admired her kindness and bravery so much that throughout his journey, he chose to endure hunger and eat wild greens rather than consume the water chestnuts she had given him.

　　After enduring countless dangers, Wu Zixu finally arrived in the State of Wu. He presented some of the water chestnuts he had brought as rare treasures from Chu to Prince Guang. While eating the water chestnuts, Prince Guang listened to Wu Zixu speak passionately about his ambitions for revenge and plans for governance. Wu Zixu earned Prince Guang’s trust and was highly valued. He assisted Prince Guang in seizing the throne, then marched west to defeat the powerful state of Chu, north to repel Qi forces, and south to subdue the Yue people. With the support of the King of Wu, he also conducted trials planting and promoting the remaining water chestnuts in Wu, helping to establish the state as a major producer of water chestnuts.

　　Whether this ancient legend is true remains difficult to verify, but the water chestnuts of Huangxiekou Town are indeed top-quality. They are large, thin-skinned, shaped like horse hooves, dark brown in color, with delicate flesh, a sweet taste, lots of juice, and very little pulp. They are loved by both urban and rural dwellers, old and young alike.

　　Zhou Zuoren wrote in one of his essays: “Water chestnuts are of course best eaten raw... They possess a uniquely simple and fresh flavor, quite distinct from rich and luxurious fruits. In the countryside, they are sometimes boiled and eaten, cooked together with bamboo leaves and sugarcane segments, and fed to children as a remedy for clearing internal heat—the soup is sweet and delicious. When boiled, the chestnuts are easy to peel, but actually taste rather bland. Dishes or desserts made with water chestnuts—anything that is cooked—are generally not very tasty. Even if you slice them like lotus root and marinate them in sweet and sour sauce, they still aren’t very good.” Raw Huangxie water chestnuts indeed have that “uniquely simple and fresh flavor.” It’s a pity that Mr. Zhou never had the chance to enjoy the taste of cooked Huangxie water chestnuts; otherwise, his eloquent pen would surely have penned even more praise for them. In Huangxiekou Town, water chestnuts are an important ingredient in banquets. Add slices of water chestnut to the “Three Fresh Head Dish,” and its color, aroma, and taste will be even better—otherwise, the banquet might seem a notch lower in the eyes of guests. Add the right amount of water chestnut slices to stir-fried slippery fish slices, and they become tender, sweet, and crisp. Even as an ingredient in stir-fried dishes, Huangxie water chestnuts remain delicious.

　　The wild water chestnuts of Huangxiekou Town are rich in starch. The starch made from them is white and shiny, superior to others; made into tofu, it is crystal clear, like beautiful jade. In today’s highly developed food industry, Huangxie water chestnuts are also used to make canned goods and beverages.

　　Water chestnuts are not only a delicious fruit suitable for all ages, but also a “sweet” medicinal remedy for many illnesses. The great Ming Dynasty physician Li Shizhen wrote in the Compendium of Materia Medica that water chestnuts “quench thirst and relieve arthralgia heat, warm the middle and benefit qi. They expel stones, dispel wind toxins, and eliminate excess heat in the chest. They improve hearing and vision, reduce jaundice, stimulate appetite and aid digestion. Used as food, they strengthen the stomach and intestines, preventing hunger; they can detoxify and are suitable for those who ingest metals or minerals; they treat five types of blockage in the chest, eliminate old food, and should be eaten after meals; they cure accidental ingestion of copper objects, treat bloody dysentery and uterine bleeding, and ward off insect poisons.” Modern traditional Chinese medicine also considers water chestnuts to have the effects of “resolving phlegm, clearing accumulations, clearing heat, promoting fluid production, and improving vision.”

　　Through years of practice, the people of Huangxiekou have accumulated rich experience in cultivating water chestnuts and have created an optimized cultivation model of “early rice – water chestnuts,” significantly increasing yield. (Jianli)