This southern aquatic vegetable, commonly known among the people as "adding-a-child fruit," tastes best after frost.

The variety of vegetables we can eat now is truly rich and diverse. I remember when we were kids, we could only eat whatever our family grew, and sometimes we ended up eating just one or two kinds of vegetables over and over. Back then, people rarely bought vegetables; they all grew their own, eating whatever they had. Unlike now, when people's living standards have improved and different vegetables are available all year round. Northerners can eat vegetables from the south, and southerners can also taste delicacies shipped from the north.

Today I'd like to introduce a vegetable called cigu (arrowhead), a unique aquatic vegetable native to southern China, mainly grown for its corms. It grows in subtropical environments and was originally a wild vegetable that grew naturally in water, but later people discovered that cigu tasted good and began cultivating it artificially. At first glance, cigu looks just like taro, but a closer look reveals the difference: cigu's shoots are pointed and long. In some areas of southern China, when people celebrate the joy of a new birth, this cigu dish is indispensable at the banquet, taking the auspicious meaning from its similar appearance, which is why folk tradition also calls it "adding-a-child fruit."

Cigu is rich in vitamins and protein, as well as other trace elements, and has great benefits for the human body. In addition, cigu is very delicious, especially when stewed together with duck; the cigu absorbs the duck's rich fat, giving it a rich and wonderful taste. Cigu is not only nutritionally rich, but in medical terms it is also considered to have swelling-reducing and blood-circulating effects. In the "Compendium of Materia Medica," the effects of cigu are recorded: it reaches the kidney qi, strengthens the spleen and stomach, and nourishes the skin and hair. Eating it regularly helps nourish the body and moisten the lungs to stop coughing.

Now cigu can also be cultivated artificially, and artificial cultivation can appropriately extend the harvest period, so that people can eat fresh cigu for a longer time. Moreover, the yield of cigu is relatively high, reaching 2,000 jin per mu. However, cigu cultivation cannot do without water, so it is currently rarely seen in northern regions. If fresh cigu is drained of moisture and simply placed in a dry spot, it can still be stored for a relatively long time.

Cigu generally comes on the market in autumn and winter, and the best-tasting cigu is that after frost, as it has accumulated more sugar and its bitter taste has faded, making it very delicious. In the south, cigu is usually cooked together with meat, and whether braised plainly or red-braised, it is very tasty. Friends from the south probably won't find it unfamiliar, right?