Bingfen, Ice Jelly (糍粑冰粉/三鲜冰粉)
Bingfen! This jelly is one of our favorite Chinese desserts, and probably our all time favorite thing to eat on a hot day.
We'll be doing a description box recipe again for this one but first... a couple product links (not referrals I swear):
White Grass Jelly: https://www.amazon.com/Fortuna-Brand-...
Aiyu Jelly Seeds (can sub for both Bingfen and White Grass Jelly seeds, follow the instructions on the package for to make the jelly): https://www.amazon.com/unbleach-reusa...
Rice Balls (these sort are Japanese): https://www.amazon.com/Sekero-rice-ca...
The Laozao I seem to have trouble finding on Amazon, but a Chinese supermarket should carry it. Worst comes to worst, it's pretty easy to ferment your own, ala this Dianxi Xiaoge video: • 儿时那抹沁人心脾的甜：甜白酒【滇西小哥】
As always, your local Chinese supermarket will have a much better (and much cheaper!) selection of ingredients than Amazon. So yeah, support your local Chinese grocer.
INGREDIENTS FOR WHITE GRASS JELLY:
10g clear grass jelly powder (白凉粉)
750mL water, divided - 125mL mixed at first, 625mL boiled
PROCESS FOR WHITE GRASS JELLY:
Mix the jelly powder with 125mL of water
Mix the above jelly powder mixture into 625mL of boiling water
Heat off, mix well, transfer to something heat safe & cool down
Fridge for at least 4 hours
INGREDIENTS FOR BINGFEN:
50g Bingfen Seeds (冰粉籽)
1.25L Water
3g (3/4 tsp) pickling lime (石灰) mixed with 250 mL water
PROCESS FOR BINGFEN:
Mix the pickling lime with the 250mL water, let settle for ~1 hour
Tie the seeds up in a cloth, soak in the 1.25L of water for 10 minutes
Scrub the Bingfen, ~8-10 minutes til no longer slimy
Add the pickling lime/water mixture - pouring in ONLY the liquid and not the powder
Fridge for four hours
INGREDIENTS FOR RICE CAKES:
30g Rice cakes
3 tbsp toasted soybean powder (黄豆粉)
PROCESS FOR RICE CAKES:
Cut the rice cakes into 1cm pieces
Blanch for 30 seconds, transfer to ice water
Strain
Mix with the toasted soybean powder
If you cannot find toasted soybean powder, instructions on how to make it are here: • Syrup Rice Cakes, from scratch (红糖糍粑)
INGREDIENTS FOR SYRUP:
60g dark brown sugar (红糖)
30g rock sugar (冰糖) or light brown sugar or granulated sugar
180 mL water
PROCESS FOR SYRUP:
Add all the above ingredients to a saucepan.
Cook for ~10 minutes over a low flame, or until the sugar is melted and the syrup has thickened slightly
INGREDIENTS FOR STICKY RICE BALLS:
Get these at your local Asian supermarket if you can. If not:
80g sticky rice flour (糯米粉)
16g granulated sugar
60g water
PROCESS FOR MAKING STICKY RICE BALLS:
Mix the sugar and the sticky rice flour, slowly drizzle in the water
Knead for 1-2 minutes until even
Oil a plate
Grab a small chunk of the dough, roll into a ball ~1-1.5 cm in diameter, toss on the oiled plate
Freeze the plate
Once all the balls are frozen, toss in a bag
PROCESS FOR COOKING STICKY RICE BALLS:
Add the sticky rice balls to boiling water - no need to thaw.
Boil until floating, the swap the flame to low. Simmer for 2 minutes more
Transfer to cool water
FOR ONE PLATE OF HONGTANG BINGFEN:
250g of Bingfen Jelly
2 tbsp sticky rice cakes
1 tbsp of toasted pounded peanuts
1/2 tbsp toasted black sesame seeds
1/4 cup watermelon cubes
12 or so raisins
5 tbsp of the syrup
If you need, refer to our Laoguo video (among others) for how to toast peanuts • Guizhou Grill Pot (贵州烙锅) and our Tangyuan video for how to toast black sesame seeds: • Tangyuan, Chinese Glutinous Rice Balls wit...
FOR ONE PLATE OF LEMON BINGFEN
250g of Bingfen Jelly
1 tsp sugar mixed with 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp of laozao (醪糟/酒酿), sweet fermented rice
2-3 tbsp of sticky rice balls
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Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ
Found via My Analog Journal (great channel): • Live Stream: Favourite B-Side Tracks
ABOUT US
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We're Steph and Chris - a food-obsessed couple that lives in Shunde, China. Steph is from Guangzhou and loves cooking food from throughout China - you'll usually be watching her behind the wok. Chris is a long-term expat from America that's been living in China and loving it for the last eleven years - you'll be listening to his explanations, and doing some cooking at times as well.
This channel is all about learning how to cook the same taste that you'd get here. Our goal for each video is to give you a recipe that would at least get you close to some of our favorite restaurants here. Because of that, our recipes are no-holds-barred Chinese when it comes to style and ingredients - but feel free to ask for tips about adaptations and sourcing too!