Cool off with a nice and refreshing Asian herbal dessert that’s surprisingly easy and simple to make. Learn several different grass jelly dessert recipes that are smooth and creamy, sweet and delectable using simple ingredients.

What is Grass Jelly?
You’ve probably come across grass jelly before if you’ve ever stepped foot inside a bubble tea (boba tea) shop.
You see some cube-like black substance that is added to the bubble tea drinks that sort of resembles jello.
These Chinese bubble tea shops will advertise it as a topping to add to your bubble tea drink for an extra surcharge.
Want some grass jelly to go along with your overpriced plain generic milk tea drink? That’ll be an extra $2 or $3 (if they want to squeeze every last penny out of you 😈).
Suddenly your $4 or $5 milk tea drink has turned into a $6 or $7 drink (not including tax).
Now I remember why I haven’t visited a bubble tea shop in nearly a decade over here!
This mysterious far-east Jelly-like substance is very popular in Asia and is commonly consumed in an Asian household.
But what is grass jelly exactly?
Grass jelly also known as leung fun (涼粉) in Cantonese or Sương sáo (southern Vietnam) and Thạch đen (northern Vietnam) in Vietnamese is a refreshing jelly dessert that is made using the leaves of Chinese mesona (a member of the mint family).
The plant originated in China but soon spread throughout Southeast Asia thanks to overseas Chinese traveling to neighboring countries in the region.
There are a lot of different ways of enjoying grass jelly such as combining it with your milk tea drink just like how bubble tea shops do by ripping you off and charging you a hefty fee for a few pathetic slivers of grass jelly that probably cost them only a few cents to make or adding in a simple sugar syrup, or combining it with your favorite fruits or desserts, and milk beverages.
You’ll often see grass jelly being black, however, there is also a green and white version of grass jelly as well. In my Chrysanthemum Jelly Dessert recipe, I use the white grass jelly powder version.

Now since making grass jelly from scratch is a very time-intensive process and that’s if you can even locate the plant overseas, most people prefer instead to either make grass jelly from using grass jelly powder or buying pre-made grass jelly in a can. For this black grass jelly recipe, we’re going to be making grass jelly from grass jelly powder.


What Does Grass Jelly Taste Like?
Grass jelly resembles the texture of jello or jelly. It’s soft and wiggly. As for the taste, it has a very mild earthy, and herbal taste and smell to it, with a slight bitterness to it, none of which is too overpowering which makes it perfect as a topping for numerous drinks and desserts such as bubble tea (boba tea), Taiwanese taro and sweet potato bowl dessert, and the numerous grass jelly dessert recipe options that I will share with you below.
Ingredients
Grass Jelly:
- 50g of Black Grass Jelly Powder (1 box)
- 1L of Water

Sugar Syrup:
- 90g of Yellow Rock sugar
- 200ml of water

Basil Seeds & Longan Grass Jelly Dessert
- 1-2 Tablespoons of Basil Seeds
- Enough filtered room temperature water to soak the basil seeds (approximately 1 cup)
- Ice cubes
- Grass jelly
- Sugar syrup
- 1 can of Longan
- Optional: additional filtered water added when serving it to make it more runny.

Condensed milk + Evaporated milk Grass Jelly Dessert
- 1-2 teaspoons of condensed milk
- 1-2 teaspoons of evaporated milk
- Grass jelly
- Optional: add in ice or shaved ice

Milk/Coconut Milk Grass Jelly Drink:
- 1 cup of Milk or Coconut milk
- Ice
- Grass jelly
- Sugar syrup
Ingredient Notes
Black Grass Jelly Powder: We’re using black grass jelly powder for this recipe due to its convenience, ease of making grass jelly, and also value. You get more grass jelly from the powder vs buying the canned version.
Yellow Rock Sugar: Yellow rock sugar is a bit less sweet than white sugar and also does not contain molasses unlike brown sugar, which makes it the perfect candidate for making our sugar syrup. I’m using the yellow version of the rock sugar as it produces a nice golden yellow color for the syrup and is less refined compared to the white version, however, you can use white rock sugar if you prefer or have it lying around the house.
Canned Longan: I recommend using canned longan instead of fresh longan as it’s not only quicker to make, but it also contains a sugar syrup as well that goes well with the grass jelly. Any brand of canned longan is fine. However, if you prefer, you can use fresh longan.

Substitutions
- Grass Jelly: If you prefer to not make your own grass jelly then you can also buy prepared grass jelly pre-made in a can. You can also make your grass jelly from scratch from the plant as well but I don’t recommend it as it will take quite a while. Why make your life more difficult than it needs to be right? 😉
- Fruits: Since grass jelly has a very mild taste, it goes well with a number of different tropical fruits such as lychee, mango, jackfruit, durian, and dragon fruit.
- Milk: If you’re allergic to cow’s milk then you can substitute it with a plant-based milk such as almond, cashew, oat milk, and soy milk.
- Rock sugar: You can substitute it with white sugar or brown sugar, although keep in mind brown sugar has molasses in it and it will affect the flavor.
How to Make Grass Jelly From Scratch
Making the Grass Jelly:
- Start by adding in your grass jelly powder to a pot along with the water.


- Whisk everything well together and then let it sit and bloom for about 10 minutes.

- Next, heat up the pot over medium heat while constantly stirring the mixture.

- After a few minutes, you will notice that the grass jelly has become very lumpy. Continue whisking it, making sure to also scrape the bottom of the pot to prevent it from sticking to the pot.
- After a few more minutes, the grass jelly will return back into a thick liquid form.

- Once the pot starts to boil, turn off the stove, and pour out the grass jelly into a container. I recommend also using a strainer to pour out the grass jelly to remove any lumps, impurities, and bubbles from the grass jelly.

- If you see any bubbles then use either a spoon or toothpick to pop or scoop out the bubbles, but make sure to work fast as the grass jelly will start to solidify quickly after being poured out.


- Let the grass jelly rest at room temperature until it has solidified and cooled down for a bit and then cover the container and place the grass jelly in the fridge to fully solidify and cool down. Allow the grass jelly to cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours but ideally overnight before serving for the best results. When ready to serve, cut the grass jelly into small cubes.

Making the Sugar Syrup:
- In a small pot, add in your rock sugar and water and heat up the pot over medium heat. Occasionally stir the pot.

- Continue boiling the water until the rock sugar has fully melted.

- Once the rock sugar has fully melted, allow it to simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes before removing it from the stove. Likewise, if you want your syrup to be a little thicker, you can let it simmer for an additional 1-2 minutes before removing it from the stove.

Four Different Grass Jelly Dessert Recipes
Here you’ll find 4 different variations of grass jelly dessert recipes including Chinese grass jelly recipes and grass jelly drink recipes.
1. Grass Jelly With Sugar Syrup
- Scoop out some grass jelly cubes into a bowl or glass and then add some of the sugar syrup to the grass jelly. Mix well and serve.


2. Grass Jelly with Basil Seeds and Longan
- Add your basil seeds to a bowl and enough filtered water to submerge the basil seeds (approximately 1-1.5 cups of water) and then let the basil seeds soak in the water until the outsides of the basil seeds become translucent (approximately 15 minutes).

- Once the basil seeds have become translucent, strain out the water.


- Now in a large bowl, add in your grass jelly, along with the basil seeds, and all of the canned longan, along with the syrup from the canned longan.



- Mix everything well together.
- Scoop out the grass jelly dessert into either a small bowl or glass.
- Add a few teaspoons of the sugar syrup to the bowl or glass, along with some ice cubes.
- Mix well and serve while cold.
- Optional: add some more filtered water to make it more runny

3. Grass Jelly Recipe With Condensed Milk and Evaporated Milk
- Scoop out some grass jelly into a small bowl or glass.
- Add some condensed milk and evaporated milk to the grass jelly. Optionally you can add in some ice cubes or shaved ice as well.



4. Grass Jelly Drink With Coconut Milk/Milk Recipe
- Add some grass jelly into a glass.
- Add either some cold milk or chilled coconut milk to the glass.

- Add in some of the sugar syrup to sweeten the drink to your preference.
- Add in some ice cubes (optional) and serve the drink while cold.

Tips
- If you would like your grass jelly to be on the softer side then add about 100ml more water to the recipe. Do not add too much extra water to the grass jelly or it will become overly soft and runny! Likewise, if you want your grass jelly to be firmer then reduce the amount of water by a little bit.
- When cooking the grass jelly over the stovetop, do not remove the grass jelly from the stovetop once you notice that it has thickened up and started to clump up at the beginning thinking that it’s ready to be poured out. It’s not! You will still need to continue cooking it and stirring the pot constantly and after a little while, you will notice that it has turned back into liquid form again. It is at this stage that you can pour out the grass jelly.
- Don’t mix sugar directly with the grass jelly unless you plan on eating it as is. This allows you to adjust the grass jelly sweetness to your liking and also use it for making other grass jelly desserts.
- Use a whisk when mixing the grass jelly in the pot, this will help break up any lumps when the grass jelly is forming in the pot while cooking.
- Use a strainer when pouring out the grass jelly into a container. This will make the surface of the grass jelly smoother and remove any lumps that may have been present in the grass jelly mixture.
- Use a spoon or toothpick to remove any bubbles that are present in the grass jelly to make the surface look nice and smooth.
- To easily remove the grass jelly from your pots and pans when washing the dishes, let it sit and solidify first, then just scrape it off easily.
- When cooking the sugar syrup, you can make it slightly thicker by increasing the cooking time on the stove, however, do keep in mind that the syrup will get thicker once it has cooled down. I don’t recommend cooking it for too long otherwise it will become too thick and also stick to the pot.
- For the best taste, serve the grass jelly cold.
Common Mistakes Beginners Make
- Pouring out the grass jelly too early because you noticed that it has started to clump up when cooking over the stovetop and panicking thinking that you have overcooked the grass jelly. The grass jelly will revert back into liquid form if you continue stirring it and cooking it over the stovetop. Do not make the same mistake I made when first learning how to make grass jelly 🤦♂️.
- Not straining out and popping any bubbles that you see on the surface of the grass jelly leading to one ugly-looking grass jelly when it has solidified.

- Cooking the grass jelly for too long over the stove. The grass jelly is ready to be poured out once it has turned into a thick liquid that is not lumpy.
Storage Tips
The grass jelly can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.S)
Why Is My Grass Jelly Lumpy?
You didn’t stir and whisk the grass jelly well enough and also did not cook it long enough over the stove. When you notice that the grass jelly has become lumpy, you will need to continue whisking it and cooking it over the stovetop until it returns back into a thick liquid form. Also, make sure that you’re whisking and scraping the bottom of the pot while cooking it over the stovetop as the grass jelly can get stuck at the bottom of the pot.
Can I Freeze the Grass Jelly for Later Consumption?
Not recommended! It’s gonna taste weird after being frozen, not to mention all of the ice crystals that will form inside of the grass jelly, eww!!! 🤮
Where Can I Buy Grass Jelly Powder?
Grass jelly powder is readily available at most Asian grocery stores, usually located in the gelatin section.
Does Grass Jelly Have Gelatin?
No, it’s plant-based.
Is Grass Jelly Vegetarian and Vegan-Friendly?
Yes, grass jelly by itself is plant-based, however, if you choose to add milk products to it then it may not be. However, you can substitute the milk products with their plant-based counterparts such as coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk, and oat milk to make it vegetarian and vegan-friendly.
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The Ultimate Grass Jelly Dessert Recipe Guide
Equipment
- 1 Pot
Ingredients
Grass Jelly
- 50 g Black Grass Jelly Powder (1 box)
- 1 L Water
Sugar Syrup
- 90 g Yellow Rock Sugar
- 200 ml Water
Basil Seeds & Longan Grass Jelly Dessert
- 1-2 Tablespoons Basil seeds
- 1 Cup Filtered Water Enough filtered room temperature water to soak the basil seeds
- Grass Jelly
- Ice cubes
- Sugar syrup Add as much or little as you like to suit your preference
- 1 Can Longan
- Filtered water Optional
Condensed milk and Evaporated milk Grass Jelly Dessert
- 1-2 Teaspoons Condensed milk You can add more or less to suit your taste
- 1-2 Teaspoons Evaporated milk You can add more or less to suit your taste
- Grass Jelly
- Ice or Shaved Ice Optional
Milk/Coconut Milk Grass Jelly Drink
- 1 Cup Milk or Coconut milk
- Grass Jelly
- Ice
- Sugar syrup Add as much or little as you like to suit your preference
Instructions
Making the Grass Jelly
- Start by adding in your grass jelly powder to a pot along with the water.
- Whisk everything well together and then let it sit and bloom for about 10 minutes.
- Next, heat up the pot over medium heat while constantly stirring the mixture.
- After a few minutes, you will notice that the grass jelly has become very lumpy. Continue whisking it, making sure to also scrape the bottom of the pot to prevent it from sticking to the pot.
- After a few more minutes, the grass jelly will return back into a thick liquid form.
- Once the pot starts to boil, turn off the stove, and pour out the grass jelly into a container. I recommend also using a strainer to pour out the grass jelly to remove any lumps, impurities, and bubbles from the grass jelly.
- If you see any bubbles then use either a spoon or toothpick to pop or scoop out the bubbles, but make sure to work fast as the grass jelly will start to solidify quickly after being poured out.
- Let the grass jelly rest at room temperature until it has solidified and cooled down for a bit and then cover the container and place the grass jelly in the fridge to fully solidify and cool down. Allow the grass jelly to cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours but ideally overnight before serving for the best results. When ready to serve, cut the grass jelly into small cubes.
Making the Sugar Syrup
- In a small pot, add in your rock sugar and water and heat up the pot over medium heat. Occasionally stir the pot.
- Continue boiling the water until the rock sugar has fully melted.
- Once the rock sugar has fully melted, allow it to simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes before removing it from the stove. Likewise, if you want your syrup to be a little thicker, you can let it simmer for an additional 1-2 minutes before removing it from the stove.
Grass Jelly With Sugar Syrup
- Scoop out some grass jelly cubes into a bowl or glass and then add some of the sugar syrup to the grass jelly. Mix well and serve
Grass Jelly with Basil Seeds and Longan
- Add your basil seeds to a bowl and enough filtered water to submerge the basil seeds (approximately 1-1.5 cups of water) and then let the basil seeds soak in the water until the outsides of the basil seeds become translucent (approximately 15 minutes).
- Once the basil seeds have become translucent, strain out the water.
- Now in a large bowl, add in your grass jelly, along with the basil seeds, and all of the canned longan, along with the syrup from the canned longan.
- Mix everything well together.
- Scoop out the grass jelly dessert into either a small bowl or glass.
- Add a few teaspoons of the sugar syrup to the bowl or glass, along with some ice cubes.
- Mix well and serve while cold.
- Optional: add some more filtered water to make it more runny
Grass Jelly Recipe With Condensed Milk and Evaporated Milk
- Scoop out some grass jelly into a small bowl or glass.
- Add some condensed milk and evaporated milk to the grass jelly. Optionally you can add in some ice cubes or shaved ice as well.
Grass Jelly Drink With Coconut Milk/Milk Recipe
- Add some grass jelly into a glass.
- Add either some cold milk or chilled coconut milk to the glass.
- Add in some of the sugar syrup to sweeten the drink to your preference.
- Add in some ice cubes (optional) and serve the drink while cold.
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