Description
A magical dessert where a pitch-black hot soup brewed from 'Mesona (Xiancao)' herb is topped with boba and peanuts; as it cools, it solidifies into a jiggly jelly.
Restaurants serving Hot Grass Jelly Soup
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We are researching restaurants that serve this dish.
On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Mesona(Mint family herb)
- Potato starch
- Sugar
- Roasted peanuts
- Boba
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- [Grass Jelly Soup] Slowly boil dried leaves of 'Mesona', a mint-family herb, in water with a little baking soda for hours to half a day until pitch-black. Strain to make 'Xiancao Juice (Extract)'.
- Sweeten lightly with sugar, and thicken very slightly with potato or tapioca starch.
- At stalls, this black soup is kept piping hot (remains liquid while hot, but mesona pectin and starch magically solidify it into jelly as it cools).
- Pour the hot Shao Xiancao into a cup.
- Quickly top with boiled boba, red beans, Yu Yuan, and the texture accent: 'roasted hard peanuts (Ying Huasheng)'.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Unique refreshing bitterness and aroma of Mesona herb
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Store-bought canned grass jelly (reheat)
Pairing
To cool down after fried foods(like Da Ji Pai)
Trivia
[For Health Conscious] Looks pitch-black like ink, but tastes slightly sweet with a herbal freshness (similar to mint/mugwort). Believed to 'lower body heat', highly popular among women as a beauty/health sweet for acne and sore throats.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Drink it initially as a 'piping hot soup', enjoying the texture gradient as it transforms over time into a 'jiggly jelly'!
Allergen
Peanuts