Learn how to make naturally gluten-free mung bean starch jelly noodles (liang fen) with only 2 ingredients. The noodles are tossed in spicy, savory, slightly sweet, and tangy Chinese black bean sauce and then served cold. It is so refreshing and super yummy.
Put the mung bean starch in a medium-size pot. Add 2 cups of water and whisk to mix until the thin batter is really smooth without any lumps. Then pour in the rest of the of the water
Turn the heat on and cook over medium-low heat and keep stirring using a spatula, scraping the side and the bottom of the pot to prevent anything catching and getting burnt. Don't be tempted to crank up the heat. Keep stirring. It may seem like nothing is going to happen but trust me, once it starts to thicken, it happens almost instantly. It took about 7 minutes to start to thicken on my stove
You will start feeling something curdle and thicken, keep stirring, it may seem very lumpy at first but yes...keep stirring and eventually you will get yourself a pot of almost translucent and gooey like mixture
Pour this into a heat-proof pan, such loaf pan or glass container. I used a 7 x 5 inch container. You can use 6 x 6 or 7 x 7 container or any similar size to get at least about 1 inch thick jelly. Let it cools down for 10-15 minutes and then transfer to a fridge to let it set and firm up into a solid mass, about 1-2 hours
Prepare the sauce:
In a small saucepan, add fermented black beans, minced garlic, sugar, soy sauce, black vinegar, and sesame oil. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped peanuts. Have a taste and adjust to your preference. It should be savory, spicy, tangy, and with just a hint of sweetness. Let the sauce cools down
To serve:
Unmould the jelly noodles by turning the mold upside down. It should plop right out. Cut into strips like noodles (it's up to you how thick or thin you want to cut, but not too thin or it break easily). Pour the sauce on top and then gently toss to mix. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve
Notes
Depending on your preference with the texture, if you prefer it to be softer, you can add an additional 1/4-1/2 cup of liquid. I won't use less than 3 cups of water though, that will make the liang fen too firm.