The water chestnut is pronounced: "bí qí". Water chestnut is a perennial herbaceous plant, mostly cultivated in lowland, the underground stem, also called water chestnut, is flat and round, with russet or black-brown skin and white flesh, which can be used as a vegetable or a fruit, and can be made into starch.

Water chestnut is one of China's characteristic vegetables, usually underground bulb for food, can be eaten raw, cooked or cooked, especially suitable for making canned food, known as "water horseshoe", is one of the main condiments of the restaurant; and can be extracted from the starch, with the lotus root and the diamond powder known as starch three kui, cold and slippery, sweet and cool flavor, can benefit the qi Anzhong. Meanwhile, the tubular leafy stems on the ground have the effect of quenching thirst and relieving fever.

Expanded Information:

The water chestnut is distributed in China, Japan, the Ryukyu Islands, the South Seas Islands (Luzon being the first locality where the species was found), and India. In China, it is found in Taiwan, Jiangsu, Guangdong and Hainan. It grows on flat land with water.

Water chestnut is a cold food, and grows in underground swamps or paddy fields, more bacteria, parasites (such as ginger bugs) attached to the skin, so it should not be eaten raw too much, and be sure to do a good job of cleaning the skin, especially for those who have a cold stomach and spleen to pay more attention.

Water chestnut can be divided into two types according to the amount of starch contained in the bulb: one is the water horseshoe type, the bulb top bud tip, umbilical cord flat, rich in starch, meat coarse, suitable for cooked food or extraction of starch, such as Su Chestnut and high postal water chestnut, etc. The other is the red horseshoe type. Another type of red horseshoe: bulb top bud obtuse, umbilical concave, containing more water, less starch, sweet and tender meat, Guilin horseshoe.

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