Grass Jelly

Grass Jelly

　　Grass jelly, also known as Xianren Fan (Immortal Rice), is one of the Hakka delicacies from the Meizhou region and is a special summer treat.

　　"Grass jelly" is made by boiling the Chinese mesona herb. Eating "grass jelly" (also called xianren dong, or immortal jelly) during the hottest period of summer (lunar dog days) is a Hakka custom. It is said that those who eat it during this time won’t get heat rashes all summer long. Grass jelly helps to cool the body and relieve summer heat, without the risk of catching a chill. When mixed with honey, it becomes sweet, refreshing, and delightful. Even today, grass jelly products still hold a large market share.

　　Legend: In ancient times, ten suns blazed fiercely in the sky, drying up rivers, cracking the earth, and scorching crops and plants. The brave and skilled archer Houyi shot down nine of the suns with unerring aim. To reward the heroic Houyi, the Queen Mother of the West granted him an elixir of immortality. Unfortunately, his wife Chang’e stole the divine medicine and fled to the moon. Houyi, left behind on Earth, sighed deeply to the heavens. Tormented and disheartened, he ordered his soldiers to gather a thousand boys and girls to venture to the Immortal Island to pick the herb. His people were terrified, his soldiers became disloyal, and Houyi, exhausted and broken-hearted, fell into despair and eventually died in depression.

　　Soon after, a type of grass sprouted on Houyi’s grave and quickly spread everywhere. This grass had the ability to cool the body and clear internal heat, and people began calling it “immortal grass.” It turned out that during his life, Houyi had suffered greatly from inner turmoil and burning anguish. After his death, his spirit came to a realization and understood that life must rely on a kind of cool, calming nourishment that rises above harsh conditions. Thus, his wish to find the immortal grass became reality. Through his sacrifice, he appeased the resentment of the people, and through his spiritual insight, he guided humanity away from the fires of suffering.