Banpu Mung Bean Jelly 板浦凉粉

How it is made

The Lianyungang city government describes the work of Li Yufei (李玉飞), a Banpu man who began making the jelly at 28 and sells it with his wife, Liu Guangxiu (柳广秀), at the town market. Their day starts at seven in the morning. Good northeastern mung beans are soaked in a vat and rinsed again and again, which cleans them and lets them take up water. The beans are then blended into a bean milk, strained to remove the pulp, and the liquid is left to settle for two hours.

The cooking is the key step. The strained liquid is simmered over a low flame and stirred without a break until the paste lifted on a spoon is thick enough to hang in a sheet. Too fierce a fire scorches it; too low a fire leaves it without flavour.

How it is eaten

Banpu Mung Bean Jelly is eaten hot or cold. For the hot version, the jelly is laid in a heated, oiled flat pan and fried briefly until a golden-brown skin forms underneath, then lifted out and cut into pieces.

Cold, it is eaten as it is: cut into blocks, shaved into noodle-like strands, or pushed through a slotted ladle beforehand into little baby-fish shapes (娃娃鱼) that wait in clear water until someone orders. The seller then dresses it to the customer's taste with soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and mashed garlic, and chilli sauce for those who like heat.

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