grass jelly — People's Republic of China

Grass jelly is a jet-black, softly wobbly dessert made by boiling the dried leaves and stems of the mesona plant with water, then setting the strained liquid with a little starch. Its flavor is faintly herbal and slightly bitter, often compared to gently roasted grass, and its cool, slippery texture is part of why it is prized in hot weather. It is widely reported across southern China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and much of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, where it is sold as a packaged dessert in supermarkets as well as freshly made at market stalls and dessert shops. It is also increasingly found bottled as a ready-to-drink beverage. To prepare it, dried mesona is boiled for a long time to draw out a dark liquid, which is strained and mixed with a starch such as tapioca or potato starch, then poured into a shallow tray where it sets as it cools; once firm, it is cut into cubes or strips. The proportion of starch used governs whether the finished jelly ends up soft and quivering or dense enough to hold its shape when scooped. Some versions are eaten plain with a sugar syrup, others are mixed into iced milk drinks or grass jelly bubble tea, or combined with fruit, taro balls, grass jelly cubes of varying color, and condensed milk in mixed dessert bowls. The firmness of the jelly and the sweetness of the syrup differ from one stall or household to another, and some cooks add a touch of pandan for extra fragrance.