Sương sâm (green grass jelly) is incredibly simple to make and only requires the addition of water to bring this dish to life. No gelatin or agar is necessary. This traditional recipe is as natural as jello can be.
I am all about natural grass jelly but when summer is over I make grass jelly from the powdered grass jelly packets! It gives you more bang for your buck than the canned grass jelly. Here are some tips and tricks to get you the Perfect Grass Jelly from Powder!
Suong sam/ green grass jelly is a delightful treat made from the leaves of climbing vines. Making green grass jelly from scratch is a breeze and so refreshing! You'll love how quickly it comes together with just the addition of water. Cheers to delicious homemade grass jelly!
In Vietnam, there are three different names for three different types of grass jelly. They are known as "sương sáo den" (black grass jelly), "sương sáo trắng" (white grass jelly), and "sương sâm" (green grass jelly). You can find all three of these as prepackaged powders on Amazon or at an Asian supermarket. However, the black and green grass jellies are the only two that come from plants. I have only been able to find green grass jelly plants sold in America, but the method for making all types of grass jellies is the same.
Jump to:
- Green Grass Jelly
- ❤️Why this Recipe works
- 🥄Equipment and tools
- 🛒Recipe Ingredients
- ↔Substitutions & Variations
- 👩🏫 How to Make Sương Sâm (Green Grass Jelly) by Hand
- 👩🏫How to Make Sương Sâm (Green Grass Jelly) with a Blender
- Expert Tips
- 🙋♀️Recipes FAQ
- ❄️Storage and reheating instructions
- 💕More Recipes You'll Love
- 📖Recipe
- Easy Homemade Sương Sâm (Green Grass Jelly) From Scratch
Green Grass Jelly
In the summer when the heat is up the sun loving grass jelly plants are happy and abundant. When the leaves are big and green they're ready to harvest. Harvest them and give them a few more weeks and new leaves will grow back in. In Vietnam, sương sâm/green grass jelly comes is in distinct forms:
- Sương sâm lông (Hairy green grass jelly): This refers to the "hairy" or "fuzzy" grass jelly. The leaves are fuzzy, and when processed, the jelly may have a slightly more textured or fibrous feel.
- Sương sâm trơn (smooth green grass jelly): This refers to the "smooth" grass jelly, which is usually made from the leaves. The resulting jelly is smoother in texture compared to the fuzzy variety.
Both types of grass jelly leaves are sold in Vietnam and you can combine both types to make a combination grass jelly. However, you won't find these leaves sold in America. You'll only get this dish by planting and harvesting the leaves yourself. In my search of gardening many varieties of grass jelly, I've only been successful at finding the smooth grass jelly leaves to plant. I bought my plant from Hong Kong Market in Houston on Bellaire. It was about $20 for a gallon plant pot. I've also seen this sold on Etsy and check your local Facebook Marketplace listings.
Once you have you have your plant and harvested the leaves it's time to make the jelly! There are 2 methods to make grass jelly. The first and oldest method is crumpling and crushing the leaves by hand the second one is using a blender. The manual hand method requires more time and laborious than using the blender. Using a blender blends the grass jelly in seconds but the jelly might leave some bubbles and produce a slightly different texture.
❤️Why this Recipe works
- This recipe is very traditional and passed down from grass jelly lovers to other grass jelly lovers.
- It is simple and requires only water.
🥄Equipment and tools
- Mesh sieve or nut bag to filter out the grass jelly pulp
- Blender (optional) any blender will do but I use Blendtec
🛒Recipe Ingredients
Ingredient Notes:
- Smooth grass jelly leaves - Harvest as many leaves as you can. It takes a lot of leaves to make 1 dish. Wash it thoroughly.
- Baking soda - Baking soda is only used to clean the leaves. Mix 1 teaspoonful for every 2 cups of water and let the leaves soak for 15 minutes. If you don't have baking soda or don't want to use it you can rinse with salt or your preferred method of cleaning the leaves. Do not skip this step! Because there is no cooking required for this recipe to come together you want to make sure the leaves are clean and free of dirt, insects, and pesticides.
- Water - This recipe uses only water and the leaves. The amount of water added is very important. If too much water is added you'll get a watery jelly. Too little and you'll get a very thick jelly that will taste super earthy and you won't get enough jelly.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
↔Substitutions & Variations
Grass jelly is a dessert dish and is best enjoyed in combination with other toppings. Popular topping ideas are:
- Chia seeds
- Coconut milk
- Coconut squares
- Sugar
👩🏫 How to Make Sương Sâm (Green Grass Jelly) by Hand
Step 1: In a bowl add the grass jelly leaves, water, and baking soda. I used a ratio of 1 teaspoon baking soda per 2 cups of water. Mix the baking soda in until dissolved. Alternatively, you can soak the leaves in salt water.
Step 2: Soak the leaves for 15 minutes. Then thoroughly rinse with water.
Step 3: Add water and leaves to a bowl and begin twisting and rubbing the leaves together. The water ratio I use is 100 grams to 1L of water. If you have a scale this is the easiest to convert to ounces and cups. But this is about 3.38 ounces to 0.42 cups.
Step 4: Rub the leaves against each other, and crumple as much as you can to extract the juices from the leaves. When you are satisfied stop.
Step 5: Strain juices and leaves using a mesh strainer into your desired molds. Let it set in the refrigerator. *If there is still leftover pulp and extract, add more water to the pulp and strain again into new molds.
👩🏫How to Make Sương Sâm (Green Grass Jelly) with a Blender
Step 1: Wash and clean the leaves thoroughly. Then add leaves, and water to the blender.
Step 2: Blend well.
Step 3: Use a nut bag to filter out the pulp from the juice.
Step 4: Squeeze out the green jelly juice.
Step 5: Add to desired molds, and set in refrigerator.
Step 6: Cut, add your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Clean the leaves as much as you can
- Set in refrigerator for faster gelling
- Consume as soon as possible. If left in the refrigerator overnight the gel will coalesce and water will come out of it. It is still edible but will shrink.
🙋♀️Recipes FAQ
Sương Sâm (green grass jelly) has a grassy, earthy taste.
❄️Storage and reheating instructions
- Refrigerator - store in refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Best consumed as soon as possible.
Did you try this guide?
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📖Recipe
Equipment
- 1 mesh sieve best for hand method
- 1 nut bag best for blending method
- 1 blender optional
Ingredients
- 100 grams smooth green grass jelly leaves
- 1000 ml water
- 2 teaspoonful baking soda
- 4 cups water (used for washing leaves)
Instructions
Washing Grass Jelly Leaves
- Use 2 tablespoonfuls of baking soda to wash grass jelly leaves in 4 cups of water.
- Let it soak for 15 minutes. Then rinse and clean thoroughly.
Making Grass Jelly by Hand
- Add grass jelly to water. Using your hands tear leaves apart, rub them together, and crumble the leaves to break the leaves down and extract the juices. Repeat the method until the water is dark green.
- When the leaves are completely shredded strain juice into a separate bowl with mesh sieve or use nut bag to squeeze out the juice. Then pour into desired molds.
- Set the juices to gel at room temperature, best if refrigerated.
- Once refrigerated and turned to jello cut and enjoy with desired toppings.
Making Grass Jelly with a Blender
- Add grass jelly and water to a blender. Blend on high setting until all leaves are well blended into a juice.
- In a separate bowl strain juice into a mesh sieve or nut bag. Strain liquid to sieve or squeeze and milk out all the juice if using a nut bag.
- Pour the grass jelly juice into desired molds and let it set at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
- When it turned to jelly, it had a jello consistency enjoy with desired toppings.
Notes
100 grams is about ½ cup 1000 ml is little more than 4 cups.
Grass jelly is best eaten as soon as it solidifies and gels. Store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Beware that when storing your jelly overnight in the refrigerator water leaks out of the jelly. This is normal, the jelly is still good. Drain out the excess water.
Top your grass jelly off with sugar, chia seeds, coconut milk, coconut jelly cubes, or any of your favorite toppings.
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
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