"Pantang Wu Xiu" is one of the most famous Guangzhou dishes. (file photo)

Water Chestnut

Arrowhead

Wild-Rice Shoots

Water Caltrop

Lotus Root

"Pantang Wu Xiu" (in Chinese: 泮塘五秀) refers to five aquatic products served in almost every traditional Cantonese restaurant. These products are water chestnut, water caltrop, lotus root, arrowhead and wild-rice shoots and they are some of the mostordinary local food in Guangzhou.

"Pantang" is a pool that lies in Liwan District where these five aquatic plants used to grow. According to the legend, a long time ago a terrible flood struck Guangzhou, destroying all the crops and especially rice which was the main grain in South China. As famine was threatening, to many people's surprise, new plants started to flourish in Pantang Lake, becoming people's only means of survival.

First, these products were called "Pantang Wu Sao" (in Cantonese). The character "Sao" referring to the fact that lots of oil is required to cook them. Later, people replaced "Sao (瘦)" with "Xiu (秀)", which sounds similar in Cantonese but has a more positive connotation in Chinese as it means elegant and beautiful.

(Chen Xiaoqiong and David Keyton) (The End)