My earliest memory of grass jelly is from my Cantonese neighbor who lived above us way back when I lived in Shanghai. We all called her Ah–Mou, a respectful way to address an elderly woman in Cantonese.
I still remember what she looked like, and the stainless steel plates of varying sizes that she used to serve food on. She always had a game of majiang going in her tight quarters on the third floor, furthest away from the listening ears (as majiang was banned in those days). My grandmother was one of her game buddies, so I observed many of those “illegal” games up close.
A-mou loved grass jelly and had it often with sugar water in the summertime. As a child, I didn’t see the appeal of those dark brown jelly cubes, beyond the sugary water they came in. Today, though, it’s growing on me!
What Is Grass Jelly Made Of?
Grass jelly is made by boiling a plant called Chinese mesona along with starch and potassium carbonate (the same alkaline substance used to make alkaline noodles and jianshui zong).
Grass jelly is mostly tasteless, with a slight hint of bitterness and the texture of jello. People often cook their own grass jelly in China, or they make it from a powder that also requires cooking.
It comes in a can, much like cranberry sauce.
Simply open the can, use a butter knife to loose it from the edges, and pop it out. Then you can slice and dice the jelly into whatever shapes/sizes you like. It can be added to bubble tea, as well as some of the Asian desserts we’ve posted, like our Coconut Tapioca Dessert.
Health Food?
As it turns out, grass jelly might be a health food. Some say its health benefits include detoxification, weight loss, lowering blood pressure, and aiding those with kidney disease and arthritis. It is also a “cooling” food, meaning it expels excessive heat or “yang” in your body, according to Chinese medicine.
That’s why it’s usually eaten on hot days across Asia. Despite all that, it’s most often seen in sugary drinks and Asian desserts, so who knows how healthy it really is!
Grass Jelly Dessert Recipe
The grass jelly dessert we assembled for the photographs in this post includes:
- Cubed grass jelly
- A mixture of sweetened condensed milk, coconut milk, and regular milk, like in our Mango Black Sticky Rice Dessert
- Cooked tapioca pearls
- Diced mango
- Green tea ice cream (optional)
We simply cubed the grass jelly and mango…
And mixed coconut milk with some regular milk and sweetened condensed milk to taste. (You could also use all coconut milk and omit the regular milk, if you prefer a stronger coconut flavor.)
And added the milk mixture to a bowl, topping it with the grass jelly, mango, tapioca pearls, and a scoop of green tea ice cream.
But you can create a grass jelly dessert from whatever ingredients you like, based on your own personal preferences and diet. That said, this recipe is more of a set of guidelines for you to create your own version.
You can’t really go wrong with any of these ratios or combinations, so look into your refrigerator and pantry, and build your own grass jelly dessert creation!
Key Component:
- grass jelly (cubed, sliced, or shredded)
Liquid Base:
- Regular milk, coconut milk or oat milk mixed with sweetened condensed milk to taste
- Sweetened coconut milk (dairy-free)
- Cold coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk
- Milk tea
- Simple syrup
Optional Toppings:
- Mango
- Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
- Banana
- Papaya
- Dragon Fruit
- Soft boiled shelled peanuts
- Boiled lotus seeds
- Cooked red bean or mung bean
- Boiled taro
- Boiled yam/sweet potato
- Tapioca pearls
- Sweet rice balls
- Black sticky rice
- Mochi
- Ice cream
- Honey
- Maple Syrup
- Crushed ice (not recommended by Traditional Chinese Medicine, but very refreshing)
Or whatever else you can dream up! Enjoy!
Grass Jelly Dessert
Ingredients
Key Ingredient:
- grass jelly (cubed, sliced, or shredded)
Liquid Base Options:
- regular milk, coconut milk or oat milk mixed with sweetened condensed milk to taste
- sweetened coconut milk (dairy-free)
- cold coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk
- milk tea
- simple syrup
Optional Toppings:
- mango
- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
- banana
- papaya
- dragon fruit
- soft boiled shelled peanuts
- boiled lotus seeds
- cooked red bean or mung bean
- boiled taro
- boiled yam/sweet potato
- tapioca pearls
- sweet rice balls
- black sticky rice
- mochi
- ice cream
- honey
- maple syrup
- crushed ice (not recommended by Traditional Chinese Medicine, but very refreshing)
Instructions
- Choose your liquid base and add to a bowl.
- Top with grass jelly and whatever toppings you choose!
mvmaithai says
I have a similar experience. My family owned an herbal shop in a small town in Malaysia, and my mom would have her friends over to play mahjong. We would buy ice kacang, a shaved ice treat topped with grass jelly, red beans, corn and evaporated or condensed milk, from a stall nearby. Since we don’t get shaved ice here, we make do with the canned grass jelly with ginger sugar syrup over ice cubes. It’s a perfect antidote for hot summer days (heatwave in the southeast) like today!
Judy says
Thanks to these traditional recipes, you and I get to re-live those unforgettable memories \^_^/
Gene says
I like it with maple syrup.
Judy says
Totally agree!
Victor Bortolot says
Spring, a year ago, I spent a couple of weeks in Guangxi and Guizhou. In all my 35 or so trips to China on business since 1981, I never had visited the South. I had mentioned to my older son that I really wanted to get to Guilin to see the karst hills and rivers, he gave me a plane ticket for Christmas. I organized a private tour which was a bit expensive considering it was just me, with a really good guide and a driver. Really a great trip visiting minority villages as well. Had a cooking class at the Yangshuo cooking school where I did learn a few basic things I had missed in all my self-taught Chinese cooking over the years. Really worthwhile. I had a whirlwind food tour of Guilin one evening, and had a dessert similar to this. Here is my write up of it:
Black turtle jelly with taro, sago and coconut milk Guilin style as served in a Guilin restaurant March 15 2018
Black turtle jelly was originally made in Guangxi from the shells of turtles and many spices as a medicine. Packets of this in powder form (add boiling water and let gel) are supposedly available in markets there, but I was unable to find it. Sherry, my food tour guide, says to add sugar or honey as a sweetener. Mix per directions and pour onto a dish to gel about ¼ inch thick. Cut into pieces about 1 by 5/8 inch with a spoon. Cut large taro into cubes about 5/8 inches and steam till tender. Soak some sago or tapioca pearls (cooked size about 1/8 inch or so diameter) in hot water and drain when plumped up.
To assemble, place about ½ C jelly pieces, ½ – ¾ C taro pieces, 1 T sago pearls (can be clumped), and thin sweetened coconut milk in a bowl for one serving.
The jelly is also available prepared as a dessert in cans in Chinatown markets, I am told. I think that black raspberry Jell-o would be an acceptable substitute, using less water than is on the package directions for a strong gel. You also might use canned grass jelly if it is sweetened.
Just a bit of experience from one of your fans. What do you think about the raspberry jell-o?
Fran says
Cool story- turtle shells! I think black raspberry would mimic the color and texture, maybe not the flavor. I wonder if a tea flavored agar would be closer?
Victor Bortolot says
Fran—the stuff called black turtle jelly sold in cans, sweetened for dessert, is not made with turtle shell anymore, but with all the traditional herbs and spices. I have not a clue as to whether it has any medicinal use now, or people just like the flavor. What I had in Guilin was quite sweet. I bought a can of grass jelly thinking to try it, but it isn’t sweetened. This recipe makes think it would be worth trying anyway. Now if only I could find the giant taro, not to mention the dessert turtles! My local Thai market has the small taros but they don’t have the same texture.
Judy says
Thank you for your story, Victor. I am so jealous. I want to have a trip with a private guide and a car. Truth be told, I’ve never tried black turtle jelly. Its “use” is similar to grass jelly, but black turtle jelly is made with big-headed turtles that are so rare in the wild, I’ll stick with grass jelly!
Joyce says
Would you have a recipe to make grass jelly from scratch? I remember my mom making it when I was young. Tried to get the recipe from her before she passed but she was stubborn and said it was too much work so would not give me the recipe. 🤣🤣 Would love to make it from scratch.
Gene says
https://tastessence.com/how-to-make-grass-jelly-from-scratch
But can you get the Mesona leaves???
Grass jelly powder concentrate is fairly easy to find and simplifies making grass jelly.
For a look at how much work it really is to make:
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xymma7/foraging-and-pig-hunting-still-sustain-one-of-taiwans-most-remote-aboriginal-villages