Description
A staple summer sweet where pitch-black jelly made from boiling the mint-family herb 'Mesona' is topped with taro balls (Yu Yuan) and boba, drizzled with sweet coffee creamer (or milk).
Restaurants serving Grass Jelly Dessert
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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(Herb)
- Yu Yuan(Taro balls)
- Boba
- Red beans
- Coffee creamer
- Ice
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- [Grass Jelly] Wash dried stems/leaves of 'Mesona (Xiancao)', simmer slowly in a large pot with water and a little baking soda for hours to half a day.
- Strain the pitch-black extract, sweeten slightly with sugar, and thicken by dissolving potato starch (or sweet potato/tapioca starch).
- Pour into a mold, chill solid in the fridge into a jiggly pitch-black 'Xiancao Dong (Jelly)'.
- Lay a little shaved ice (Cua Bing) in a bowl, top heavily with large chunks of grass jelly.
- Top with chewy Yu Yuan (taro balls), Digua Yuan (sweet potato balls), boba, and sweet-simmered red beans.
- Finish by beautifully drizzling 'coffee creamer (Nai Jing)'—often used in Taiwanese drink stands—or condensed milk in white over the black jelly.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Unique refreshing aroma of Mesona
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Store-bought canned grass jelly (Asian supermarkets)
Pairing
None(The main star on its own)
Trivia
[For Women] Looks like coffee jelly, but tastes like 'tea with a faint mint-like freshness'. Mesona is medicinally believed to 'lower body heat (Tui Huo)', a strong ally for women cooling flushed bodies in Taiwan's sweltering heat. Pouring milk erases bitterness, instantly turning it into a dessert.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Crush the black jelly with a spoon, mixing completely into a marble pattern with the white milk, savoring the fusion of herbal aroma and milk richness with cold ice!
Allergen
Dairy (if milk is added)