''Liangfen'' (), also spelled ''liang fen'', is a
Chinese 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 die ...
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 ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
,
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 Tibe ...
,
[''Lanzhou Restaurants''](_blank)
China Connection Tours and
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
, 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 t ...
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 ma ...
it is called
laping 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 ea ...
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 Fabaceae, legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata ...
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 ...
or
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. ...
. 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, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai), and three autonomou ...
, the jelly-like seeds of ''
Plantago major
''Plantago major'', the broadleaf plantain, white man's footprint, waybread, or greater plantain, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. The plant is native to Eurasia.
The young, tender leaves can be eaten raw, ...
'' 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 '' As ...
,
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 eth ...
,
sesame paste, 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, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...
,
julienned
Julienne, , or french cut, is a culinary knife cut in which the food item is cut into long thin strips, similar to matchsticks. Common items to be julienned are carrots for , celery for , potatoes for julienne fries, or cucumbers for .
Trimmi ...
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'', na ...
, 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 cuis ...
. 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.
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 t ...
, 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 ...
.
''
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 Ch ...
'', a similar dish from the
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in 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 Kunming. The province borders the ...
province of
southwest China
Southwest China () is a region in the south of the People's Republic of China.
Geography
Southwest China is a rugged and mountainous region, transitioning between the Tibetan Plateau to the west and the Chinese coastal hills (东南丘陵) and ...
, 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 hig ...
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 simil ...
salad.
In Northeast China, it is called ''lapi'' (拉皮) and is served mixed with julienned vegetables.
See also
*
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 simil ...
*
Laping
*
Liang pi
Liangpi () is a Chinese dish composed of cold skin noodles made from wheat or rice flour. It is a specialty dish originating from the cuisine of Shaanxi Province, but has now spread throghout all of China. In northwestern areas of China, it is of ...
*
Muk (food)
''Muk'' is a Korean food made from grains, beans, or nut starch such as buckwheat, sesame, and acorns and has a jelly-like consistency. Muk has little flavor on its own, so muk dishes are seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, chopped scallions, cr ...
*
Mung bean sheets
Mung bean sheets are a type of Chinese noodle. It is transparent, flat, and sheet-like. They can be found, in dried form, in China and occasionally in some Chinatowns overseas.
Description
Similar to cellophane noodles, mung bean sheets are ma ...
References
External links
''Liangfen'' page
{{Portal bar, Food, China
Beijing cuisine
Legume dishes