Liang fen are semi-translucent, savory jelly noodles made from mung bean starch and enjoyed as a popular street food and snack in many parts of China, especially Sichuan.
The first time I ate liang fen was in Chengdu. It was a humid, lazy afternoon, and the street vendor selling the noodles filled a paper bowl with freshly cut jelly noodles and topped it with a spicy, red-oil laced dressing and a crunchy topping of fried peanuts. My mouth watered even before I tasted that first bite.
This dish is all about texture. Cool, slick noodles that glide pleasingly in the mouth, juicy crunchy julienned cucumber, snappy fried peanuts and toasty bits of chili oil. Each mouthful you slurp up is tingling on the tongue, spicy with heat and brightened with vinegar. It’s a joy to eat in the summer.
Ingredients
The “jelly” noodles are made with mung bean starch and water. As you cook this mixture, it thickens, and after several hours in the refrigerator, it sets into a bouncy, slightly translucent solid. Mung bean jelly is naturally gluten-free. It’s also low in calories and said to be cooling in nature. In many provinces, potato starch or pea starch is used in place of mung bean starch.
You can find mung bean starch (lü dou fen 绿豆粉）in small bags in the dry goods aisle of Chinese or Korean supermarkets.
How to Serve
There are two options for serving. Many times, you’ll see jelly noodles cut into thick fingers or batons.
You can also cut the jelly into noodles: the extra surface area gives each bite more flavor. You can even buy a specialized liang fen cutting tool (a round, grater-like surface with preforated holes), although a sharp knife will work just as well.
To make green noodles, I blended spinach leaves with water and used the strained juice to make the mung bean slurry.
You can prep the sauce separately and make the jelly in advance (it takes on a firmer, bouncier texture after chilling overnight) and dress the noodles right before serving.
📖 Recipe
Sichuan jelly noodles (liang fen 凉粉) with chili oil sauce
Jade-colored liang fen (mung bean jelly noodles) anointed in a spicy, vinegary dressing and topped with crushed peanuts and julienned cucumber. Serve chilled as a snack or an elegant appetizer. Vegan and gluten-free.
Ingredients
For the jelly noodles:
- ⅓ cup (50 grams) mung bean starch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large handful (3.5 ounces, 100 grams) fresh spinach
- 1 ⅔ cup (400 mL) water
For the chili oil sauce:
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce (sub tamari if gluten-free)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon mushroom bouillon seasoning or MSG (optional)
- 1 tablespoon Chinkiang black vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons homemade chili oil, or lao gan ma chili crisp condiment
For serving:
- 1 small Persian cucumber or ½ hothouse cucumber, julienned
- 2 bird’s eye chiles, seeded and thinly sliced
- ¼ cup (35 grams) roasted or fried peanuts, coarsely chopped
- 1 scallion, green part only, thinly sliced (optional)
Instructions
- Blend the spinach with 1 ⅔ cup (400 mL) cold water, then strain and discard pulp. Prepare an 8 inch square baking pan or 8 x 4 inch glass container. In a small bowl, whisk together the mung bean starch, salt, and ⅔ cup cold water. Add the remaining 1 ⅓ cups water to a medium saucepan, and heat over medium heat for 2 minutes, until you can see small bubbles rising from the bottom of the pot. Add the slurry and stir continuously for about 2 minutes; it will begin to thicken rapidly.
- Reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula, gently scraping the spatula across the bottom and sides of the pot. The clouded mixture will become translucent and glossy as you stir, about 1 minute. Do not bring the mixture to a full boil. Remove from heat.
- Use the spatula to scrape the jelly mixture into a rectangular pan or a medium bowl and tap a few times to eliminate any air bubbles. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until the jelly is completely opaque in color and has separated from the sides of the container (there will be a thin layer of water at the bottom).
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the soy sauce, sugar, stock, Chinkiang vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, and chili oil. Set aside.
- Slide the spatula around the sides of the pan to loosen the cooled jelly and invert onto a cutting board. Dip a sharp knife into water and cut the jelly into rectangular batons ½-inch by 4inch long, or thin noodles/ribbons. Stack or heap the jelly pieces in a serving dish and pour the sauce on top. Top with the cucumber, crushed peanuts, scallion, and chopped chilies, and mix together before eating. Serve chilled.
Molly Ngo says
Delicious. I only set the jelly for 1 hour and it was still great.
★★★★★