Grass Jelly - Revision history

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	== See also ==		== See also ==

			* [[Guiling Gao]]
	* [[Liangfen]]		* [[Liangfen]]
	* [[Almond Tofu]]		* [[Almond Tofu]]

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← Older revision		Revision as of 19:04, 23 September 2026
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	'''Grass Jelly''' (Chinese: 仙草 / 烧仙草; Pinyin: ''Xiāncǎo'' / ''Shāo xiāncǎo''; also Mesona jelly) is a dark brown to black jelly made by boiling the herb ''Mesona chinensis'' (仙草) with starch, then setting and cutting the gel into cubes or strips. It is eaten as a chilled dessert, in sweet soups, or as a topping for drinks. It is '''not''' [[Liangfen]] (凉粉), the pale savory starch jelly dressed with chili and vinegar<ref name="wp">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_jelly English Wikipedia]</ref>.		'''Grass Jelly''' (Chinese: 仙草 / 烧仙草; Pinyin: ''Xiāncǎo'' / ''Shāo xiāncǎo''; also Mesona jelly) is a dark brown to black jelly made by boiling the herb ''Mesona chinensis'' / ''Platostoma palustre'' (仙草) with starch, then setting and cutting the gel into cubes or strips. It is eaten as a chilled dessert, in sweet soups, or as a topping for drinks. It is '''not''' [[Liangfen]] (凉粉), the pale savory starch jelly dressed with chili and vinegar.<ref name="wp">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_jelly English Wikipedia: Grass jelly]</ref>

	== Characteristics ==		== Characteristics ==

	Color is nearly black with a slight herbal bitterness balanced by sugar syrup or ~~milk~~. Texture is soft jelly, firmer than ~~almond tofu~~. Often mixed with red beans, taro balls, or ~~condensed milk~~ in dessert shops.		Color is nearly black with a slight herbal bitterness balanced by sugar syrup, condensed milk, or fruit. Texture is soft jelly, usually firmer than [[Almond Tofu]]. Soft tasting notes in food writing praise a light smoky undertone when mesona is properly dried and boiled, versus flat canned cubes. Often mixed with red beans, taro balls, sago, or fresh fruit in dessert shops. Warm “melted” bowls (烧仙草) read as thick sweet soup rather than set cubes.

	== Ingredients (overview) ==		== Ingredients (overview) ==

	Dried Mesona herb, starch (~~often cornstarch~~ or ~~tapioca~~), water, sugar syrup or evaporated milk for serving. No chili-vinegar savory dressing (contrast [[Liangfen]]).		Dried Mesona herb, starch (arrowroot, cassava/tapioca, potato, or corn in industrial lines), water, sugar syrup or evaporated milk for serving. Soft alkaline carbonate notes appear in traditional boiling descriptions. No chili-vinegar savory dressing (contrast [[Liangfen]]). Overview only—not a recipe.

	== History and culture ==		== History and culture ==

	Southern Chinese, Hakka, Fujian, and Taiwan dessert tradition; Hong Kong and Southeast Asian Chinese cafés serve grass jelly drinks and bowls. ~~English~~ name "grass jelly~~" is standard on bilingual menus. Peer cold desserts include [[Almond Tofu~~]~~] and [[Red Bean Soup]].~~		Southern Chinese, Hakka, Fujian, and Taiwan dessert tradition; Hong Kong and Southeast Asian Chinese cafés serve grass jelly drinks and bowls. Soft cultural attribution: writers often call grass jelly a Hakka signature linked to cooling relief after field work—label as folk/cultural framing, not a certificate of exclusive invention.<ref name="vice">[https://www.vice.com/en/article/sweet-black-grass-jelly-shouldnt-come-out-of-a-can/ Clarissa Wei / VICE: handmade grass jelly]</ref>

	=~~= Serving~~ and ~~variations ==~~		Soft naming trap: in some Cantonese menus the characters 凉粉 may point at this dark jelly, which collides with Mandarin savory [[Liangfen]]; English “grass jelly” / xiancao and the pale chili-vinegar plate should be kept distinct on this wiki.<ref name="wp" /> Taiwan shaved-ice and bubble-tea counters use cubes as toppings; diaspora Southeast Asia knows related cincau / chaokuai forms. Peer cold desserts include [[Almond Tofu]] and [[Red Bean Soup]].

	Chilled dessert bowl, sweet soup, or drink topping. See [[Taiwan Food]], [[Hong Kong Food]], [[Liangfen]], and [[Almond Tofu]].		== Serving and regional variations ==

			Chilled dessert bowl, sweet soup, drink topping, or warm shaoxiancao with tangyuan and taro balls. Soft regional map: Hakka/Guangdong herbal dessert shops; Taiwan night-market bowls; Hong Kong café fruit mixes with condensed milk; Southeast Asian iced drinks. Soft quality cue: freshly cut blocks often taste more fragrant than long-shelf canned cubes. See [[Taiwan Food]], [[Hong Kong Food]], [[Liangfen]], and [[Almond Tofu]].

	== See also ==		== See also ==

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{{#seo:
|title=Grass Jelly (仙草 / 烧仙草) - Chinese Food Wiki
|keywords=Grass Jelly,仙草,烧仙草,Liangfen,Hong Kong Food,Taiwan Food
|description=Grass Jelly is a dark herbal dessert jelly made from Mesona, distinct from savory Liangfen starch jelly.
}}

{{Infobox chinese food
| image = Grass Jelly.jpg
| caption = Grass Jelly
| alternate_name = Xiancao; Mesona jelly; herbal jelly; 仙草冻; cold grass jelly drink topping
| pinyin = Shāo xiāncǎo
| type = Herbal jelly dessert
| course = Dessert / drink topping
| country = China
| region = Southern China, Taiwan, and Southeast Chinese diaspora (Fujian, Guangdong, Hakka, Taiwan)
| other = Dark jelly from Mesona herb — not savory Liangfen starch jelly
}}

'''Grass Jelly''' (Chinese: 仙草 / 烧仙草; Pinyin: ''Xiāncǎo'' / ''Shāo xiāncǎo''; also Mesona jelly) is a dark brown to black jelly made by boiling the herb ''Mesona chinensis'' (仙草) with starch, then setting and cutting the gel into cubes or strips. It is eaten as a chilled dessert, in sweet soups, or as a topping for drinks. It is '''not''' [[Liangfen]] (凉粉), the pale savory starch jelly dressed with chili and vinegar<ref name="wp">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_jelly English Wikipedia]</ref>.

== Characteristics ==

Color is nearly black with a slight herbal bitterness balanced by sugar syrup or milk. Texture is soft jelly, firmer than almond tofu. Often mixed with red beans, taro balls, or condensed milk in dessert shops.

== Ingredients (overview) ==

Dried Mesona herb, starch (often cornstarch or tapioca), water, sugar syrup or evaporated milk for serving. No chili-vinegar savory dressing (contrast [[Liangfen]]).

== History and culture ==

Southern Chinese, Hakka, Fujian, and Taiwan dessert tradition; Hong Kong and Southeast Asian Chinese cafés serve grass jelly drinks and bowls. English name "grass jelly" is standard on bilingual menus. Peer cold desserts include [[Almond Tofu]] and [[Red Bean Soup]].

== Serving and variations ==

Chilled dessert bowl, sweet soup, or drink topping. See [[Taiwan Food]], [[Hong Kong Food]], [[Liangfen]], and [[Almond Tofu]].

== See also ==

* [[Liangfen]]
* [[Almond Tofu]]
* [[Red Bean Soup]]
* [[Taiwan Food]]
* [[Hong Kong Food]]
* [[Mango Pudding]]
* [[List of dishes (A-Z)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}