At the table
Use a spoon to mix the syrup and scoop up the rice jelly. Chew the slippery pieces rather than swallowing a large spoonful whole.
Check toppings for peanuts or sesame if allergic. The dish’s name alone is not an allergen guarantee.
Rice mixtures, setting agents and toppings vary. Peanuts, sesame or hawthorn sweets may be added; vegetable-colored versions also exist.
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
Rice mixtures, setting agents and toppings vary. Peanuts, sesame or hawthorn sweets may be added; vegetable-colored versions also exist.
Typical ingredients
Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Sweet brown sugar with a mild rice flavor; not chili-hot.
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Smooth, slippery, soft rice-jelly pieces.
- How it’s made
- Rice batter is cooked into a thick paste, pressed through holes into cool water, then served chilled with brown-sugar syrup.
Rice mixtures, setting agents and toppings vary. Peanuts, sesame or hawthorn sweets may be added; vegetable-colored versions also exist.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Chongqing.
About this regional connection
Chongqing: Sweet rice-jelly snack documented in Dazu, Chongqing. No exclusive origin claim or automatic merge with separately held Yunnan candidate.
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有凉虾吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
Liangxia looks like shrimp, but it is made from rice
The “shrimp” in liangxia’s name refers to its shape: this Chongqing sweet is traditionally made from rice. It is made by cooking rice batter, then passing it through a perforated ladle into cool water, where the drops set with rounded heads and thin tails. That little shape gives the snack its name. Served chilled in brown-sugar water, liangxia is a summer refresher that can be sipped or eaten; the soft rice pieces are small, smooth and slightly chewy. In Chongqing, it often appears alongside bingfen, another cold sweet, but the two have different textures.