Grass jelly

Grass jelly
Pieces of grass jelly cut into ~1 cm hexahedrons
Alternative namesLeaf jelly, cincau
CourseDessert
Place of originChina
Region or stateEast Asia and Southeast Asia
Created byHakka people
Serving temperaturechilled or hot
Main ingredientsPlatostoma palustre (Mesona chinensis) stalks and leaves, potassium carbonate, starch
Grass jelly
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese涼粉
Simplified Chinese凉粉
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinliángfěn
Wade–Gilesliang2 fen3
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationlèuhng fán
Jyutpingloeng⁴ fan²
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese仙草
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinxiān cǎo
Wade–Gileshsien1 ts'ao3
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationsīn chóu
Jyutpingsin¹ cou²
Southern Min
Hokkien POJsian-chháu
Second alternative Chinese name
Chinese草粿
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyincǎo guǒ
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationchóu gwó
Jyutpingcou² gwo²
Southern Min
Hokkien POJtsháu kué
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetsương sáo
thạch đen
Thai name
Thaiเฉาก๊วย
RTGSchaokuai

Grass jelly, also known as leaf jelly or herbal jelly, is a jelly-like dessert originating in China. It is commonly consumed in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is created by using Chinese mesona (a member of the mint family) and has a mild, slightly bitter taste. Grass jelly was invented by the Hakka people who historically used the food to alleviate heat stroke after long days working in the field. The dish was introduced to Southeast Asia by the Chinese diaspora. It is served chilled, with other toppings, such as fruit, or in bubble tea or other drinks. Outside Asia, it is sold in Asian supermarkets.