Water-Borne Poplar Blossom (Ottelia Greens)

"Water-borne poplar blossom" is the Lijiang name for Ottelia, a submerged plant that lives only in clean fresh water, its white flowers floating on the surface while stems and leaves hang below; because it grows only where water is pure it serves as a living gauge of water quality. Its tender stems and leaves are stir-fried or made into soup, slick and tender with a clean, sweet aftertaste.

Ottelia is native to the lakes of the Yunnan plateau, exacting in its demand for clean water and most lush in Lugu Lake, Lashihai and the clear streams around Lijiang. The Naxi have gathered it for generations, naming it for the way its blossoms sway with the water, and it is the dish on the Lijiang table closest to the taste of the mountains and waters themselves.

It is most often stir-fried with garlic over fierce heat to keep it green and slick, or simmered in a clear soup with tofu; the cooking is simple yet demands the freshest ingredient, and it is the signature vegetable on nearly every menu in the old town.

Its fastidious life in clean water only, the white blossoms swaying on the surface, and the slick delicate freshness of a simple stir-fry are the singular marks of this dish.