Suong Sao (Grass Jelly)

5 from 7 votes

Suong Sao is a dessert made with just 2 ingredients. It's then topped with ingredients from fresh fruit to sweetened red bean paste!

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Refrigeration Time3

Course: Appetizer, Dessert, Drinks, Snack

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Vietnamese

Servings:

Calories: 82kcal

Start by mixing the warm water with the packet powder in a pot. Stir using a whisk until well combined, then cut the tip off the tube of the flavoring and squeeze the liquid in.
Note: There are instructions on the back of the packet that you can follow, but we find that using these simpler steps still produces a great result.
Put the pot over a medium heat and stir for 10 minutes or until it begins to thicken. If it starts to boil, turn the heat down to low.
Note: Since we added extra water, it will barely thicken. The less water you use, the thicker it will become.
Pour the Suong Sao mixture into a serving bowl or dish.
Optional: You can use a sieve to strain the liquid through.
Let the mixture cool completely, then cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours.

Put the water and palm sugar in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Once the sugar has melted, let it simmer for another 3 minutes before removing from the heat.
Transfer it into a serving dish or container and let it cool.

When the jelly has set, dice it into smaller cubes or use a spoon to scoop layers into a serving bowl.
Pour the syrup over to the Suong Sao to taste and top with any toppings of your choice!

Keep it in the fridge for longer. This will help it firm up and settle into its intended consistency.
Stir using a whisk. Doing this will help break up any powder balls so it gets mixed in better.
A quick boil will do. Bringing the liquid to a gentle boil will start the gelling process, but there is no need to let it boil for long.
This Suong Sao recipe uses twice the recommended amount of water because we prefer ours on the softer side, but you can definitely stick to the packet's ratio for a firmer texture.
The packet will also instruct you to mix sugar in with the grass jelly mixture. We skipped this since we were making our own sugar syrup and using a variety of sweet toppings, so adding in extra sugar is entirely optional.
Palm sugar is our preferred choice for the syrup for a rich sweetness and golden color, but any sweetener will work.
We used a variety of toppings including coconut cream, red bean paste, jackfruit and mango. All of the ingredients (except for the mango) can be found in cans at Asian supermarkets.