Have you ever tried this melt-in-mouth, cold jelly noodle made from mung bean starch or fresh mung beans? It has several names including Liangfen and Chinese jelly noodles. The Chinese name 凉粉 means cold noodles. It is one type of Jelly noodle that is quite popular in the western part of China.
Liangfen can be made with starch, pea starch, sweet potato starch, or mung bean starch. In today’s recipe, I amusing mung bean to make mung bean jelly noodles. They are crystal, smooth, and cool.
Heartbreaking Jelly Noodles
There is a famous dish in Sichuan province named Beichuan Liangfen (heartbreaking jelly noodles). It is featured by the spicy taste. If you feel sad or heartbreaking, go and taste it, then your sadness will go with the wind since it is too spicy so that all the feeling you have is a spicy taste. In addition to an easy Sichuan-style dressing jelly noodle salad, those jelly noodles can be also stir-fried. Fried jelly noodle is a famous street food.
Two ways of making mung bean jelly noodles
We provide two ways of making mung bean jelly noodles, either from mung bean starch or from mung bean directly.
- If you have mung bean starch, it is super easy to make jelly noodles. It will be white, transparent in color.
- In any case that mung bean starch is hard to find, you can use fresh mung beans to make the jelly. Soak the beans and then blended them with water to get the colored starch water. The jelly noodle made with mung bean has a lovely green color that can be super appealing in summer.
Water and starch ratio
My favorite ratio of jelly noodles is 1:9 (starch vs water, weight ratio). But it can succeed with small adjustments. But you need to add at least 8 portions of water or 10 portions of water at most for each portion of starch. The more water you add, the more tender the jelly noodle can be.
You can also use roasted chili pepper sauce (烧椒汁) in the bok choy soup.
Instructions
Make the starch and water mixture from fresh mung beans
Soak the mung beans in cold water for at least 4 hours. On summer days, place it in the fridge.
Then add water and blend until very smooth. Use a very fine cloth to remove the pulps and get the start water only. You can add more water to further wash the pulp to get more starch. Let the mixture stand for around 2 hours until the starch is settled (in the fridge on summer days).
Then carefully pour the water above off because we need to measure for the next step.
Next, measure 800ml water from the previous step, and add salt, and baking soda. Mix well.
Make the mixture with mung bean starch
In a large bowl, mung bean starch with water.
Heat
Then pour the mixture into a large sauce pot or wok, and heat until it gets a consistency jelly-like texture. Don’t let the mixture boil because it may bring small bubbles inside the jelly. The process of using mung bean starch is the same, but you will get a white transparent texture.
Transfer out to a round or rectangular container, and cool down completely.
Then cut into small strips. Mix well with the salad dressing.
What to serve with
- Mung bean noodles can be served with any type of main course dishes like Hong Shao Rou, and Mapo tofu.
- Another popular way is to serve with congee as a quick meal.
- You can also enjoy it as a street snack.
Storage Tips
If possible, eat them within 1 day. Those jelly noodles go bad very quickly in summer.
Mung bean jelly noodles
Ingredients
Mixture with mung bean starch
- 1 cup Mung bean starch ,around 120g
- 4.5 cup water ,divided
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. baking soda , help to hold the color. Optional.
Mixture with mung beans
- 1 and 1/4 cup mung beans
- 800 ml water
- Water for blending and washing
Sauce
- 2 tbsp. Szechuan style chili oil
- 2 tbsp. black vinegar
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- ½ tsp. sugar
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. Sichuan peppercorn powder or oil ,optional
- 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 2 garlic cloves ,minced
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp. minced green onion
Instructions
Version with fresh mung beans
- Soak the mung beans in cold water for at least 4 hours. On summer days, place it in the fridge.
- Then add water and blend until very smooth. Use a very fine cloth to remove the pulps and get the start water only. In order to make more starch, wash the pulp with some extra water. Let the mixture stay for around 2 hours until the starch is settled (in the fridge on summer days).
- Then carefully pour the water above off because we need to measure for the next step.
- Next, measure 800ml water from the previous step, and add salt, and baking soda. Mix well.
Version with mung bean starch
- In a large bowl, mung bean starch with water.
Heat the mixture
- Then pour the mixture into a large sauce pot or wok, and heat until it gets a consistency jelly-like texture. Don't let the mixture boil because it may bring small bubbles inside the jelly. The process of using mung bean starch is the same, but you will get a white transparent texture.
Cool down
- Transfer out to a round or rectangular container, and cool down completely.
Assbmle
- In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients expect scallions.
- Then cut into small strips. Mix well with the salad dressing. Top with scallions or coriander.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Hi Elaine, I love this recipe and have made it many times for myself and for guests, who always love it. I rarely get to eat this dish unless I am visiting China which these days is not often, maybe every 2-3 years. There is an authentic Chinese restaurant near me that serves this, but the dressing it mostly oil. Yours is just the perfect balance of flavors. Well done.
I do seem to have an issue when adding the starch mixture to boiling water as in the recipe, it does not mix well for me and forms clumps, so maybe I am doing something wrong. Instead I mix all the water with the starch at once and bring it to a boil which works for me. Maybe I am not patient enough. 🙂
Anita,
When pouring the starch mixture, please control your speed and keep stirring. But it is completely ok to mix the ingredients directly before heating. You are a creative cook.
When I eat locally in my city, I found the same problems quite universal too. Restaurants are pursuing too much spices and oil and make the dishes universally the same. Home made Sichuan dishes are much healthier, lighter and more delicious.
Looks really delicious, one of my favorite appetizers to order when I am eating in a Szechuan restaurant. I’ll have to try this recipe at home one day, thanks so much for sharing!
It is actually super easy, Han. It is the best season to eat Liangfen now.
Hi. I came here searching for the ratio of starch to water. You mentioned that your favorite ratio is 1:9, but the recipe that follows is 4.5 water to 1 starch, which is actually 2:9.
I had the same confusion, but I think the author meant a 1:9 ratio by WEIGHT. 120g starch : 1080g water (4.5 cups, water is 240g per cup) is a 1:9 ratio. You are correct that the ratio by volume is different.
This was one of the first things my chopsticks reached for when dinning at a Chinese banquet. I’m so glad to get the recipe and will try very soon.
It is actually very humble and easy salad. Happy cooking.
Very easy recipe, I loved it. I used the whisk and was super surprised how nothing stuck!
Thanks for the feedback, Mint!
Hi, I wanted to know how to make stir fry with this mung bean jelly? What ingredients am I supposed to use? Actually I have made this jelly for the first time today, never tasted it before but I really wanted to try this so I made the mung bean starch from scratch coz I don’t have it available in my country
Aniqa,
If you want o use stir fry mung bean jelly, I suggest using garlic, ginger, scallion and then match with chili paste and soy sauce.
If you say your ratio is 1:9, shouldn’t the measurement be 0.5 cup starch to 4.5 cup water, not 1 cup starch as stated in your recipe?
Darren,
It is weight ration not volume.
I made 2 batches using different ratios I’ve seen in different recipes.
1st batch = 1 cup starch + 4.5 cup water
2nd batch = 0.5 cup starch + 3.5 cup water
Surprisingly, both batches turned out just fine. The firmness is different, but both held their form and tasted great.
Just made this today because I have a few bags of the mung bean starch and didn’t know how to use it before it expires. I found this recipe and decided to try it out. It’s so simple and the instructions here are well written. As written, it’s vegetarian . I think next time I make this, I’ll add some protein such as grilled chicken or shrimp. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for your great feedback!! Love the idea of adding chicken and shrimp. Happy cooking.
Absolutely delicious! Thank you Elaine!! I first made this to satisfy special request of my Chinese husband who wanted a this dish as a taste of home. I now make this several times per week! We like the sauce on cold noodle dishes, too. Easy, quick, and VERY tasty!
Thanks Will!! Your husband is so lucky because of you. Happy cooking!
Thank you Elaine, the noodles turned out great! I always get these at our local Sichuan restaurant. The serve a similar sauce, but they add some kind of dark crumbly salty stuff that I really like. Any idea what it might be? When I asked they winked and said that’s why you come to the restaurant!
Rich,
Next time you can drop me a photo. Local restaurant may have some own creations. I can’t get it base on current information.
I’m confused. I’ve made this recipe for many years since seeing it on the Chengdu, China episode of Bizarre Foods. Some, well actually many of your steps are incorrect, incomplete, and confusing for even me and I can make this in my sleep. What really disturbs me is the spelling and grammar. It’s hard enough trying to read on such a small screen, but when I printed the recipe out, I spent more time trying to figure out what you were trying to say, rather than correcting the “recipe”. Thanks for the recipe, maybe proofread before posting otherwise it loses its merit to a real chef.