''Liangfen'' (), also spelled ''liang fen'', is a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

legume dish consisting of

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...

jelly that is usually served cold, with a savory sauce, often in the summer.Wilson, Ernest Henry; Sargent,Charles Sprague. (1914
''A naturalist in western China, with vasculum, camera, and gun''
Methuen & co., ltd. p. 63 It is most popular in northern China, including

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

,''Lanzhou Restaurants''
China Connection Tours and

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

, but may also be found in

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

and

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

. In

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

it is called

laping Laping is a spicy cold mung bean noodle dish in Tibetan cuisine. It is a street food and is popular in Nepal. It can be eaten with red pepper chili, coriander and green onion sauce. The noodles have a slippery texture and are served with a soy ...

and is a common street vendor food. In

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

it is an ingredient in a noodle dish called ashlan fu. ''Liangfen'' is generally white or off-white in color, translucent, and thick. It is usually made from

mung bean The mung bean (''Vigna radiata''), alternatively known as the green gram, maash ( fa, ماش٫ )٫ mūng (), monggo, or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract G ...

starch, but may also be made from

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

potato starch Potato starch is starch extracted from potatoes. The cells of the root tubers of the potato plant contain leucoplasts (starch grains). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed, and the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. Th ...

. In

western China Western China (, or rarely ) is the west of China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers one municipality (Chongqing), six provinces (Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively r ...

, the jelly-like seeds of '' Plantago major'' were formerly also used. The starch is boiled with water and the resulting sheets are then cut into thick strips. ''Liangfen'' is generally served cold. The ''liangfen'' strips are tossed with seasonings including

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...

sesame paste Tahini () or tahina (, ) is a Middle Eastern condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame. It is served by itself (as a dip) or as a major ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush, and halva. Tahini is used in the cuisines of the Levant and Eas ...

, crushed

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

, julienned

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...

, and

chili oil Chili oil is a condiment made from vegetable oil that has been infused with chili peppers. Different types of oil and hot peppers are used, and other components may also be included. It is commonly used in Chinese cuisine, Southeast Asian cuisi ...

. In

Lanzhou Lanzhou (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. H ...

it is often served

stir fried Stir frying () is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and th ...

. In

, a spicy dish called Chuanbei Liangfen is particularly popular (see photo above).Gan Tian, (2008-03-17
''Official word on local cuisine''
Chinadaily.com.cn Similar foods include the Korean '' muk'' made with buckwheat, mung bean, or chestnut starch and Japanese

tokoroten is a dish in Japanese cuisine made from agarophytes. Tokoroten has been eaten by the Japanese for over a thousand years. Tokoroten is thought to have been introduced to Japan from China during the Nara period. Tokoroten was traditionally made by b ...

. ''

Jidou liangfen ''Liangfen'' (), also spelled ''liang fen'', is a Chinese legume dish consisting of starch jelly that is usually served cold, with a savory sauce, often in the summer.Wilson, Ernest Henry; Sargent,Charles Sprague. (1914''A naturalist in western C ...

'', a similar dish from the

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

province of southwest China, is made from

chick peas The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high ...

rather than mung beans. It is similar to

Burmese tofu Burmese tofu ( my, တိုဖူး, ; or my, တိုဟူး, ) is a food of Shan origin, made from water and flour ground from yellow split peas and the Burmese version of chickpea flour, also known as ''besan'' flour, in a fashion sim ...

salad. In Northeast China, it is called ''lapi'' (拉皮) and is served mixed with julienned vegetables.

References

External links

''Liangfen'' page
{{Portal bar, Food, China Beijing cuisine Legume dishes

See also

References

External links