Textual Chef Textual Chef

Grass Jelly

A traditional herbal gel dessert made from dried grass jelly herb with a cooling, mild taste. Serve chilled with simple syrup or fresh fruit.

65 minMediumServes 425 cal/serving

ChineseDessertStovetopVeganVegetarianLow CarbHalal-friendlyKosher-styleGluten-FreeNut-FreeDairy-FreeSoy-FreeEgg-FreeShellfish-FreeSesame-FreeLow-SodiumLow-SugarPork-FreeAlcohol-FreeNightshade-Free

Cook this free in the appFree. No download, no account. The screen stays awake and each step can run its own timer.

Ingredients

  • 3 oz dried grass jelly herb, rinsed
  • 8 cups water
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup cold water

Instructions

  1. 1

    Combine 3 oz rinsed dried grass jelly herb, 8 cups water, and 1/2 tsp baking soda in a large pot.

  2. 2

    Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes.

  3. 3

    Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot, pressing the herbs to extract liquid.

  4. 4

    Whisk 3 tbsp cornstarch into 1/4 cup cold water in a small bowl until smooth.

  5. 5

    Bring the strained herbal liquid back to a boil, then whisk in the cornstarch slurry.

  6. 6

    Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes while stirring constantly until thickened.

  7. 7

    Pour the mixture into a glass dish and chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours until set.

Cook this free in the appCooking it now? The app keeps the screen awake and times each step. Free, nothing to install.

Questions

How long does Grass Jelly take?

As written, 65 minutes: 15 of prep and 50 of cooking. The longest single stretch is the hands-off wait in step 7, 3 hours. That wait sits outside the stated prep and cook times, so plan around it.

Why mix the cornstarch with water first in Grass Jelly?

Step 4 reads: "Whisk 3 tbsp cornstarch into 1/4 cup cold water in a small bowl until smooth." Dry starch clumps the moment it meets hot liquid. The slurry in step 4 disperses it first, and it only thickens once the sauce comes back to a simmer.

Is there a substitute for cornstarch in Grass Jelly?

The entry for Grass Jelly calls for 3 tbsp cornstarch. In its place: Use twice as much all-purpose flour and cook it a few minutes longer, or the same amount of arrowroot or tapioca starch.

Is Grass Jelly gluten-free?

Yes. As written, nothing in the ingredient list for Grass Jelly is wheat, barley or rye. Gluten hides in packaged goods, so read the label on the cornstarch.

How many calories are in Grass Jelly?

One serving (the recipe makes 4) is about 25 calories, with 0 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate and 0 g fat, plus 1 g fiber and 60 mg sodium. The figures are estimates computed from the ingredient list.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,530 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.

More Chinese entries

All Chinese recipes · All Dessert recipes