Water Chestnut
Chinese water chestnut more often called simply the water chestnut, is a grass-like sedge native to Asia (China, Japan, India, Philippines, etc.), Australia, tropical Africa, and various islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is widely grown in many countries for its edible corms.
The water chestnut is actually not a nut at all, but an aquatic vegetable that grows in marshes, underwater in the mud. It has tube-shaped, leafless green stems that grow to about 1.5 metres. The water caltrop, which is also referred to by the same name, is unrelated and often confused with the water chestnut.
The small, rounded corms have a crisp white flesh and can be eaten raw, slightly boiled, or grilled, and are often pickled or tinned. They are a popular ingredient in Chinese dishes. In China, they are most often eaten raw, sometimes sweetened. They can also be ground into a flour form used for making water chestnut cake, which is common as part of dim sum cuisine. They are unusual among vegetables for remaining crisp even after being cooked or canned, because their cell walls are cross-linked and strengthened by certain phenolic compounds, like oligomers of ferulic acid. This property is shared by other vegetables that remain crisp in this manner, including the tiger nut and lotus root.
The corms are rich in carbohydrates (about 90 percent by dry weight), especially starch (about 60 percent by dry weight), and are also a good source of
dietary fiber, riboflavin,
vitamin B6,
potassium, copper, and manganese.
If eaten uncooked, the surface of the plants can transmit Fasciolopsiasis.
Taste and Cooking
Raw water chestnuts are slightly sweet and very crunchy. Boiled water chestnuts have a firm and slightly crunchy texture, with a flavor that is very mild and slightly nutty, so it can be easily overpowered by any seasonings or sauces with which the water chestnut is served or cooked. Water chestnuts are often combined with
bamboo shoots,
coriander,
ginger,
sesame oil, and
snow peas. They are often used in
noodle or
rice dishes and
Spiced pork and Water chestnut siu mai dumplings,
Soup,
Sauteed,
pudding,
Stir-fry,
Bacon wrapped water chestnuts,
Dessert....
Read More at
Wikipedia.
Recipes with
Water Chestnut.
