Ginseng in the water, practicing pond zibai

Zibai is the leader of the traditional aquatic crop "Eight Immortals of Water" in Jiangnan. The ancients called Zibai "菰", and since the Tang and Song dynasties, there are many delicious verses praising "菰". In the Song Dynasty Xu Jingquan's poem "Zi Bai", there is a sentence cloud: "If the rivers and lakes borrow the autumn wind, it is good to accompany the seasonal eagle with the sea bass", which obviously compares the white with the delicious lettuce and four gills in Jiangnan.

Liantang Town, on the outskirts of Shanghai, is a typical water town area, where lakes and ponds are staggered, the terrain is low-lying, and the cultivation of zibai has a history of hundreds of years. In the 1970s, the Liantang people began to plant Zibai on a large scale, and they introduced a wide variety of Zibai varieties from Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, and after improvement and optimization, they finally cultivated the high-quality varieties "Qinglian Zi No. 1" and "Qinglian Zi No. 2" in the region, which were affirmed by the Ministry of Agriculture. The Zibai in Sidian Village is particularly famous, and Xie Qiuhua, a large planter, is also famous. Zibai cultivation has become one of the main sources of liantang agriculture and the main source of farmers' family economy.

The Ming Dynasty Zhang Dai praised Zibai in this way: its tenderness is like jade, its fragrance is like orchid, the entrance is sweet, and the world is incomparable. Russet is a nutrient-rich vegetable that has always been loved by people. After years of optimization and improvement, Liantang Zibai is even more delicious, smooth as jade, rich in nutrition, and is known as "ginseng in the water".

Zibai can be made into light shredded pork, oily but not greasy oil braised white, thick oil red sauce of russet white braised meat, can also be shredded, sliced, diced, fried edamame, sautéed shredded meat, fried green pepper. Cut into hob pieces, boiling water, add soy sauce and vinegar together as a cold dish, has a special tender taste, and the tip of the tongue will be a sweet water vapor. Zibai can also be dried in the sun, and served on the table at the New Year, which is more popular than dried bamboo shoots and roasted meat, and the toughness and elasticity of dried bamboo shoots are far more than those of dried bamboo shoots. Zibai contains soluble nitrogen-free 6.59%, moisture 81.9%, fat 2.3%, protein 6.75%, fiber 1.28%, ash 1.17%. It is cold and frequently consumed to quench thirst, relieve fever and diuretic effect. Many Shanghai guests who come to the water town to travel, for the first time, tasted the delicious taste of Liantang Zibai and praised it, and even became a repeat customer for Yi Er. As the Liantang Zibai Festival song "Taste of Liantang" said: "The taste in the blue and white bowl can't forget to share, the singing of Tian Shan, the fashion of the ancient town." Invited in the name of Zibai, the mouth is not shallow, and the appearance of happiness. The feast on the tip of the tongue, the shearing keeps thinking..."

The clever Tang practitioners also used the knotting of white leaves to create wealth and art. They use the green leaves without disease spots to be assembled, dried, and kept fresh, and woven into pleasing crafts, which not only decorate the home and bring people a sense of beauty, but also it is a dry item, which can absorb indoor odors, improve indoor air quality, and benefit people's health. There are handicrafts with white leaves that are generally applicable to auspicious patterns, as well as handmade teaching aids and toys for the children's market. These knotted crafts retain the original color and refreshing aroma of the white leaves.

Today, Liantang Zibai planting applies modern technology, continuously improves the internal and external quality of products, implements multi-variety stubble protection, staggers the peak season of vegetable marketing, expands the sales field of Zizhibai and the four-season supply of balanced market. With refrigeration, preservation and deep processing technology, Liantang Zibai has entered the standardized vegetable farms in Shanghai and stepped onto the tables of thousands of citizens. (Ling Geng)