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    Home » Recipes » Pantry

    Grass Jelly (cincau)

    Last Modified: October 7, 2018 by Elaine| 29 Comments

    3.3K shares
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    Iced grass jelly has been one of my favorite summer desserts as it helps to keep the body cool during hot days. 

    grass jelly with sweetened red beans

    grass jelly drink

    Grass jelly (仙草烧) is a sweet dessert, popular in Hong Kong, Southern China and Taiwan area. Traditionally, we boil leaves and stalks from a plant named Mesona Chinensis with a small amount of starch or rice flour to make grass jelly. After cooling down, the liquid will firm into a jelly like texture. However, this method cannot be popular in our daily life as it is quite time-consuming. In order to simplify the process, there are popular canned grass jelly (outside China) and powdered grass jelly (in and outside China).

    To make grass jelly from grass jelly powder (the ratio of powder and water need to be adjusted according to the package), you will need to mix sugar and cornstarch as well.

    If you use grass jelly powder like this one: use 2 packages (6g)+3 to 4 tablespoon sugar (optional)+10g to 20g cornstarch(the more starch you add, the firmer your jelly will be). Firstly mix all the ingredients together and add around 200ml water to dissolve.

    grass jelly

    Heat the left 800ml water to a boil and stir the mixture in slowly. Continue heating for 1-2 minutes until there are lots of large bubbles on surface.

    grass jelly

    Transfer the mixture out.

    grass jelly

    Cool down several hours in fridge. And move out.

    grass jelly

    Cut into small cubes.

    grass jelly

    Add fresh fruits(mango cubes) and sweetened red beans. Drizzle some cream or condensed milk.

    grass jelly with sweetened red beans

    To make a classic grass jelly drink with a cold soaking method (perfect for summer): heat around 100ml water in a sauce pan and then throw in 2 bags of black tea and 3 tablespoons of sugar, simmer for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the fire and then add around 300ml to 350ml milk. Cover the pot to cool down and set in refrigerator for several hours.

    Lay the grass jelly cubes in the bottle of the container.

    grass jelly drink

    Add chilled milk tea in.

    grass jelly drink

    Grass Jelly (cincau)

    Elaine
    Grass jelly made from powder with a cold soaking milk tea. It can be also served with fresh fruits, usually mango and sweetened red beans in China.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe
    Prep Time 4 hrs
    Total Time 4 hrs
    Course Drinks
    Cuisine Chinese
    Servings 2
    Calories 253 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    For homemade grass jelly from powder (you can directly purchase canned ones)

    • 2 package grass jelly powder
    • 10-20 g cornstarch
    • 3-4 tbsp. sugar
    • 1000 ml water

    For the cold soaking milk tea

    • 2 black tea bags
    • 100 ml water
    • 2-3 tbsp. sugar
    • 300-350 ml milk

    Instructions
     

    To make the grass jelly from powder

    • Firstly mix all the ingredients together and add around 200ml water to dissolve.
    • Heat the left 800ml water to a boil and stir the mixture in slowly. Continue heating for 1-2 minutes until there are lots of large bubbles on surface.Transfer the mixture out.Cool down several hours in fridge.

    For grass jelly milk tea

    • heat around 100ml water in a sauce pan and then throw in 2 bags of black tea and 3 tablespoons of sugar, simmer for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the fire and add sugar. Stir to dissolve. Add around 300ml to 350ml milk. Cover the pot and set in refrigerator for several hours. Take the tea bags out.
    • Cut the grass jelly into cubes, transfer them into your serving container carefully. Add chilled milk tea.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 253kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 4gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 92mgPotassium: 198mgSugar: 44gVitamin A: 245IUCalcium: 184mg
    Keyword Grass Jelly
    Tried this recipe?Mention @ChinaSichuanFood

    Bon appetite in summer. This has been my favorite dessert in 38 degree C days. I hope you will love it. Just comment, rate or tag me #chinasichuanfood on Instagram of if you tried it.   Thanks for reading. 

    grass jelly drink

    More recipes you may enjoy

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Yusof

      April 15, 2020 at 9:39 am

      Hello Elsine,
      I have tried to make the black gtsss jelly but the final product is not chewy
      Ingredients:
      black grass jelly dried leaves
      lye water
      starch
      please help to varify the mistake
      Thanks

      Reply
      • Elaine

        April 18, 2020 at 4:00 pm

        Send me a picture via facebook or instagram if you have a picture. I will help to check. If you use dried leaves, the most possible reason is too much water contained.

        Reply
        • Zainal

          February 23, 2021 at 3:12 pm

          We sell dried liaves from indoneaia

          Reply
    2. Avery

      July 16, 2020 at 11:18 pm

      I went to grass jelly powder in soft drink .This grass jelly cube resistant with 90 degree.

      Reply
    3. Darla

      June 18, 2021 at 11:45 am

      Is Grass Jelly caffeine free?

      Reply
      • Elaine

        June 20, 2021 at 7:22 am

        Pure grass jelly does not contain caffeine.

        Reply
    4. mofizul hoque

      April 21, 2022 at 12:56 pm

      very good

      Reply
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