Grass jelly with coconut milk
Grass jelly powder cooked into a jelly, set and cubed, then dressed with coconut milk and a little syrup — cooling without any ice.
- 20 min
- Serves 4
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: A balanced constitution just needs to beat the heat, and Minor Heat brings a dry mouth and a short temper. Grass jelly, made from the mesona herb, clears summer heat and quenches thirst — a Cantonese summer favourite. With a little coconut milk and slab sugar it is smooth and gently sweet, far kinder to the stomach than iced drinks or ice cream.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 10 min- 1Mix the grass jelly powder with 100 ml cold water until smooth.
- 2Bring 400 ml water to the boil, turn the heat down low and slowly pour in the paste, stirring constantly, until it bubbles and thickens, about 2 minutes.
- 3Pour into a square container, leave to cool, then chill for 2 hours until set. Cut into cubes.
- 4Dissolve the sugar in the remaining 100 ml water and leave to cool. Spoon the jelly into bowls and pour over the syrup and coconut milk.
Cautions
- Grass jelly is cold: go easy if your digestion is weak or during your period. Coconut milk is rich, so one bowl is plenty.
Chef's tips
- Let it sit out for ten minutes after chilling so it isn't too cold; grass jelly powder is sold in large supermarkets and baking shops.
The TCM view
Mesona, the grass jelly herb, is sweet, bland and cold, clearing summer heat, quenching thirst and cooling the blood — a traditional southern Chinese summer remedy. Coconut milk is sweet and neutral, generating fluids and tonifying, and slab sugar is sweet and warm, harmonising the middle and softening the jelly's coldness. Cooling yet balanced by warm sweetness, it clears heat without upsetting the stomach.
