Many years ago, when I was a child living in a small town in Binh Dinh, a province in the middle of Vietnam, the most common dessert of the kids was jelly. It could be white jelly (Vietnamese “sương sa”) made from some edible algae such as agar-agar or grass jelly, made from edible leaves. There are two types of grass jelly, black and green. Black grass jelly is the most common grass jelly, which is believed to help lower blood pressure, treat cold or joint pain. Moreover, the most importance to be a dessert, it tastes uniquely delicious. Let’s explore how to make it at home and enjoy it as a dessert or substitute it for boba (tapioca pearls) as a healthier topping for milk tea.
What is Black Grass Jelly?
Grass jelly is a type of dessert popular in China and Southeast Asia for hundreds of years. People here make it by processing some types of leaves like Chinese mesona or Tiliacora triandra. From tiliacora triandra (Vietnamese “cây sương sâm”), its leaves are crushed with pure water, then rested in a few hours to get an edible green jelly, so its name can be called “green grass jelly”. On the other hands, Chinese mesona is the only ingredient to make Black Grass Jelly (Vietnamese “sương sáo” or Chinese xiān cǎo (仙草),with brown or black color.
You can see Black Grass Jelly across East and Southeast Asia, from China, Taiwan, Japan to Thailand and Vietnam, alone or mixed with other ingredients in dessert and bubble tea. Meanwhile, Green Grass Jelly seems common only in Southeast Asia, especially in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It’s simply because the plant is native here. When I was young, I sometimes harvested Tiliacora triandra’s leaves on the fence to make green grass jelly.
The difference between these two types of grass jelly also lies at the processing method. To make Black Grass Jelly, the leaves and stem must be processed like tea. People dry them, then oxidized to get a brown powder. Then, the powder is mixed with water to boil, then cooled down to get a black jelly. It has a slightly chewy texture and a strong plant flavor, and is low in calories which make it a great choice for a healthy diet.
Let’s dive into how to make black grass jelly in detail below.
Ingredients
To make Black Grass Jelly, I bought a package of Black Jelly Powder produced in Vietnam, including a pack of grass powder and a pack of banana flavoring extract. You can find it in many Asian Food Stores. A pack of 50g of grass powder can make 1 liter of grass jelly. You don’t need to add sugar in the jelly, but it’s possible you would like to have a sweeter taste.
To enjoy the jelly, you can combine it with chia seeds, soy milk, almond milk, pumpkin milk, cow milk, or milk tea (I tried it with mung bean milk tea). It’s all tasty.
How to make Black Grass Jelly
Prepare the powder mixture: to dissolve the powder mixture, we need 1 liter of water. Follow these steps:
Step 1. Mixing dried grass powder with water
- Mixing grass powder with water requires a bit of patience. You shouldn’t mix right away 1 liter of water with 50g grass powder, but slowly add water in little by little and whisk continuously. It’s to avoid clumping. In a large bowl or pot (I recommend to use the pot directly to avoid washing one more bowl), add the grass powder and 250ml (~1 cup) of water in. Add the powder carefully because the powder is very light, so it flies easily. Use a whisk to stir the mixture until you no longer see any lumps of flour. Then add one more cup of water (~250ml) into the bowl and stir well until the powder is completely dissolved. Finally, add the remaining water (500 ml or a bit more than 2 cups) and stir well with 50 grams of sugar (optional).
Step 2. Cook the mixture
- After stirring the powder, transfer the mixture to a pot. Turn on the stove and heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring regularly to avoid burning the bottom of the pot.
- When the mixture thickens slightly, you can add the available banana flavoring extract (optional). The mixture will slowly thicken. When the mixture feels heavy and boiling, turn off the stove and pour into the prepared mold. The mold can be a porcelain bowl, a glass box, heat-safe box, or silicon mold.
- Rest it in fridge in at least 2 hours so the jelly is totally cooled down and thickened. To test if it’s good to go, shake the box. If the jelly jiggles and is firm completely, it is ready for you to eat.
Step 3. Serve Black Grass Jelly
- Cut the jelly into square cubes by making cross cuts.
- With chia seeds: to eat this jelly with chia seeds, soak chia seeds in water for 10-15 minutes so that the seeds absorb water and form the mucilage around the seeds.
- Mix a desired amount of sugar with chia seeds water, then add black grass jelly and its juice in. Serve in a high ball glass, or you can try decorating it as a fine dining dessert like the image below.
- With Milk or Milk Tea: Add black grass jelly to a glass, then pour the milk/milk tea in.
Storing Black Grass Jelly
From my experience, we can store black grass jelly in fridge for 4-5 days. This jelly shouldn’t be kept at room temperature as it can be watery. It’s also impossible to freeze.
Once you see your jelly becomes waterier, you should consume it as soon as possible. Enjoy this healthy dessert and share me your review!
Black Grass Jelly
Black grass jelly is the most common grass jelly, which is believed to help lower blood pressure, treat cold or joint pain, and also very delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 package of black grass powder (50g - 1.8 oz)
- 1 liter of water
- (Optional) 50g (1.8 oz) sugar or more
Instructions
Step 1. Mixing dried grass powder with water
- Mixing grass powder with water requires a bit of patience. You shouldn’t mix right away 1 liter of water with 50g grass powder, but slowly add water in little by little and whisk continuously. It’s to avoid clumping. In a large bowl or pot (I recommend to use the pot directly to avoid washing one more bowl), add the grass powder and 250ml (~1 cup) of water in. Add the powder carefully because the powder is very light, so it flies easily. Use a whisk to stir the mixture until you no longer see any lumps of flour. Then add one more cup of water (~250ml) into the bowl and stir well until the powder is completely dissolved. Finally, add the remaining water (500 ml or a bit more than 2 cups) and stir well with 50 grams of sugar (optional).
Step 2. Cook the mixture
- After stirring the powder, transfer the mixture to a pot. Turn on the stove and heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring regularly to avoid burning the bottom of the pot.
- When the mixture thickens slightly, you can add the available banana flavoring extract (optional). The mixture will slowly thicken. When the mixture feels heavy and boiling, turn off the stove and pour into the prepared mold. The mold can be a porcelain bowl, a glass box, heat-safe box, or silicon mold.
- Rest it in fridge in at least 2 hours so the jelly is totally cooled down and thickened. To test if it’s good to go, shake the box. If the jelly jiggles and is firm completely, it is ready for you to eat.
Step 3. Serve Black Grass Jelly
- Cut the jelly into square cubes by making cross cuts.
- Serve With chia seeds: to eat this jelly with chia seeds, soak chia seeds in water for 10-15 minutes so that the seeds absorb water and form the mucilage around the seeds.
- Mix a desired amount of sugar with chia seeds water, then add black grass jelly and its juice in. Serve in a high ball glass, or you can try decorating it as a fine dining dessert like the image below.
- Serve With Milk or Milk Tea: Add black grass jelly to a glass, then pour the milk/milk tea in.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 250Amount Per Serving: Calories: 105
