Shrimp-Shaped Rice Jelly Dessert 凉虾
Shrimp-Shaped Rice Jelly Dessert is featured among the local specialties of Hubei.
Shrimp-Shaped Rice Jelly Dessert (凉虾) is a sweet, cool snack of Yichang (宜昌). Its little rice shapes have plump bodies and tapering ends that suggest shrimp. Served in liquid, they slip smoothly into the mouth.
How it is made
In a June 2013 Xinmin Evening News (新民晚报) piece excerpted by Wenzhai Bao (文摘报), Zhong Zhenghe (钟正和) describes soaking rice overnight, grinding it and slowly pouring the slurry into boiling water while stirring. A little clarified limewater is added, and the mixture is cooked over very low heat into a paste.
After cooling slightly, the paste is poured into a wooden ladle pierced with small holes. Droplets fall into a basin of cool water and set into the little shrimp shapes, which are left in water to cool completely.
How it is eaten
Zhong describes eating a bowl in summer with local honey, flavouring essence and mint. The sweetness is light and the rice pieces cool and slippery.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-27. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.
Image credits & notes (1)
- Liangxia: chilled rice-flour jelly strands shaped like tiny shrimp, served in sweet water · 凉虾：米浆制成的虾形凉粉，浸于糖水中Photo: 錬金術師 at Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · taken 2011-10-18Resized for the web; the photo itself has not been edited. Thumbnails may show a cropped view.
