Liangfen (凉粉) is one type of Jelly noodles which are quite popular in western part of China. Generally, Liangfen is made with starch, pea starch, sweet potato starch or mung bean starch. In today’s recipe, I amusing mung bean starch to make mung bean jelly noodles. They are crystal, smooth and cool.
There is a famous dish in Sichuan province named as Beichuan Liangfen ( heart breaking jelly noodles). It is featured by the spicy taste. If you feel sad or heart breaking, go and taste it, then your sadness will go with wind since it is too spicy so that all the feeling you have is spicy taste.In addition to an easy Sichuan style dressing jelly noodle salad, those jelly noodles can be also stir-fried. Fried jelly noodle is a famous street food.
Cook’s note
- You need to mix the starch with water and set aside for minutes until they are well combined.
- Before pouring the mixture into the boiling water, stir the mixture once again in case the starch is settled to the bottom.
- My favorite ratio of jelly noodles is 1:9 (starch vs water). But it can succeed with small adjustments. But you need to add at least 8 portions water or 10 portions water at most for each portion of starch. The more water you add, the more tender the jelly noodle can be.
- You can also use roasted chili pepper sauce (烧椒汁) in the bok choy soup.
Ingredients
- 1 cup mung bean starch (around 120g)
- 4 and 1/2 cup water, divided
Instructions
In a large bowl, mung bean starch with 1 cup of water. Set aside until they are well combined.
In a pot, boil the left 3 and ½ cups of water in a larger pot. Turn down the fire firstly and then stir the starch mixture in slowly. Gently stir during pouring. Heat until the mixture turns transparent.
Transfer out and cool down completely.
Then cut into small strips. Mix well with the salad dressing.
- 1 cup Mung bean starch ,around 120g
- 4.5 cup water ,divided
- 2 tbsp. Szechuan style chili oil
- 2 tbsp. black vinegar
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- ½ tsp. sugar
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. Sichuan peppercorn powder or oil ,optional
- 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 2 garlic cloves ,minced
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp. minced green onion
- 1 tbsp. minced coriander
-
In a large bowl, mung bean starch with 1 cup of water. Set aside until they are well combined.
-
In a pot, boil the left 3 and 1/2 cups of water in a larger pot. Turn down the fire firstly and then stir the starch mixture in slowly. Gently stir during pouring. Heat until the mixture turns transparent.
-
Transfer out and cool down completely.
-
Then cut into small strips.
-
Place chopped garlic and half of the green onion in a bowl.Heat oil until hot. Pour the hot oil over the garlic. Mix all the other seasonings in.
-
Mix well with all the seasoning and enjoy!
Hi Elaine, I love this recipe and have made it many times for myself and for guests, who always love it. I rarely get to eat this dish unless I am visiting China which these days is not often, maybe every 2-3 years. There is an authentic Chinese restaurant near me that serves this, but the dressing it mostly oil. Yours is just the perfect balance of flavors. Well done.
I do seem to have an issue when adding the starch mixture to boiling water as in the recipe, it does not mix well for me and forms clumps, so maybe I am doing something wrong. Instead I mix all the water with the starch at once and bring it to a boil which works for me. Maybe I am not patient enough. 🙂
Anita,
When pouring the starch mixture, please control your speed and keep stirring. But it is completely ok to mix the ingredients directly before heating. You are a creative cook.
When I eat locally in my city, I found the same problems quite universal too. Restaurants are pursuing too much spices and oil and make the dishes universally the same. Home made Sichuan dishes are much healthier, lighter and more delicious.
Looks really delicious, one of my favorite appetizers to order when I am eating in a Szechuan restaurant. I’ll have to try this recipe at home one day, thanks so much for sharing!
It is actually super easy, Han. It is the best season to eat Liangfen now.
This was one of the first things my chopsticks reached for when dinning at a Chinese banquet. I’m so glad to get the recipe and will try very soon.
It is actually very humble and easy salad. Happy cooking.
Very easy recipe, I loved it. I used the whisk and was super surprised how nothing stuck!
Thanks for the feedback, Mint!
Hi, I wanted to know how to make stir fry with this mung bean jelly? What ingredients am I supposed to use? Actually I have made this jelly for the first time today, never tasted it before but I really wanted to try this so I made the mung bean starch from scratch coz I don’t have it available in my country
Aniqa,
If you want o use stir fry mung bean jelly, I suggest using garlic, ginger, scallion and then match with chili paste and soy sauce.
If you say your ratio is 1:9, shouldn’t the measurement be 0.5 cup starch to 4.5 cup water, not 1 cup starch as stated in your recipe?
Darren,
It is weight ration not volume.
I made 2 batches using different ratios I’ve seen in different recipes.
1st batch = 1 cup starch + 4.5 cup water
2nd batch = 0.5 cup starch + 3.5 cup water
Surprisingly, both batches turned out just fine. The firmness is different, but both held their form and tasted great.
Just made this today because I have a few bags of the mung bean starch and didn’t know how to use it before it expires. I found this recipe and decided to try it out. It’s so simple and the instructions here are well written. As written, it’s vegetarian . I think next time I make this, I’ll add some protein such as grilled chicken or shrimp. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for your great feedback!! Love the idea of adding chicken and shrimp. Happy cooking.
Absolutely delicious! Thank you Elaine!! I first made this to satisfy special request of my Chinese husband who wanted a this dish as a taste of home. I now make this several times per week! We like the sauce on cold noodle dishes, too. Easy, quick, and VERY tasty!
Thanks Will!! Your husband is so lucky because of you. Happy cooking!