What is Lychee Jelly?
Lychee jelly is a popular Asian treat that can be served as a dessert by itself or used as a topping on Asian bubble and fruit tea drinks and shaved ice style desserts like Bao Bing.
It has a sweet subtle taste, kind of like a combination of watermelon, plum and pear with a hint of a rose flavor. It has a slightly chewy texture and is a bit jiggly or wobbly to touch, similar in consistency to jello or custard pudding.
The ingredients of lychee jelly usually consists of lychees (fresh or tinned), coconut water or coconut milk, agar agar powder (or gelatin for a non-vegan version) and sugar.
Commercial ready to consume lychee jelly may use nata de coco (natural coconut gel), lychee flavor and other additives and preservatives.
Lychee Jelly Cups
A convenient way to eat lychee jelly is to buy it from the supermarket in the form of lychee jelly cups.
These are a popular sweet treat in Asian countries like Taiwan. You can pop them in your lunchbox for a convenient, no-fuss refreshing treat, or enjoy them anytime really.
You can also store them in the fridge for a cool treat or stick a popsicle stick into the jelly pod and then pop them into the freezer if you want to eat it more like a popsicle.
Or you can use a knife to chop the lychee jelly up into smaller pieces to add to your lychee bubble tea drink or shaved ice dessert.
To consume as is, you simply peel off the top covering and then you squeeze the sides of the pod together so that the lychee jelly starts to pop out. Then just pop it into your mouth for a refreshing sweet snack.
BuzzFeedVideo have a fun video showing people’s reactions to the taste of lychee jelly cups if you’re curious to ‘crowdsource’ their reactions before trying it for yourself.
Where to Buy Lychee Jelly
Lychee jelly cups can usually be found in the Asian foods aisle at your local supermarket and definitely at your local Asian supermarket. They usually come in small plastic pods and then packaged in a larger plastic container jar or bag.
Lychee jelly pieces and lychee popping pearls which are commonly used as a topping in lychee boba and bubble tea drinks can often be found in your local Asian supermarket shop and online at sites like Bossen, Fanale or Amazon.
How to Make Lychee Jelly at Home
You can enjoy lychee jelly as more of a dessert by itself or make up a tray of it and then cut it up and add it to your favourite bubble tea drink or shaved ice dessert.
There’s an easy to follow video on ‘Making Lychee Jelly at Home’ by Nicole Lemberg on the BobaddictedTV YouTube channel. The recipe only requires 2 ingredients: 2 cans of lychee and 4 tablespoons of gelatin.
Once the jelly has set, it is ready to cut into small cubes. Then simply add it to your boba tea drink to create your own lychee jelly boba or bubble tea drink.
Christie At Home and Izzy Cooking also have simple to make Lychee coconut jelly recipes you can make at home. The Food52 site also has a recipe to make cute little Lychee Jelly Hearts.
How to Make Lychee Boba
There’s also a great lychee boba recipe and detailed explanation of the various components of a lychee boba/bubble tea drink at the Honest Food Talks website.
Lychee jelly is a fun sweet Asian treat that can be enjoyed on its own or used as a topping for Asian bubble tea and shaved ice dessert drinks. You can also pop a pod or two in your lunchbox and it’s ready to enjoy on the go!
