# Help with a chinese ingredient
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-chinese-ingredient/512015
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [September 29, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-chinese-ingredient/512015 "2009-09-29T18:19:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-chinese-ingredient/512015/1 "2009-09-29T18:19:50Z")
[Water Caltrops](http://rasamalaysia.com/water-caltrops/) also known as black horn nut … on a whim, we just bought a double handfull of them from the chinese grocery, and in looking up online for how to use them, it says to cook them because otherwise they have a harmful parasite :eek:
Anybody … what is the parasite, because I have a real almost phobia about eating bugs/worms/maggoty things …
Some reassurance would be nice…
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-chinese-ingredient/512015/2 "2009-09-29T18:29:46Z")
From wiki
[Fasciolopsiasis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasciolopsiasis)can be transmitted by the surface of the plants. At a certain point in their [life cycle](http://blog.blinkbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/fluke.jpg), they infest on aquatic plants. From there they can be passed on to pigs, humans and other animals by raw consumption.