What is "liangfen"

Liangfen , also spelled liang fen, is a Chinese dish consisting of starch jelly that is usually served cold, with a savory sauce, often in the summer. It is most popular in northern China, including Beijing, Gansu, and Shaanxi, but may also be found in Sichuan and Qinghai. In Tibet it is called laping and is a common street vendor food.

Liangfen is generally white or off-white in color, translucent, and thick. It is usually made from mung bean starch, but may also be made from pea or potato starch. In western China, 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, vinegar, sesame paste, crushed garlic, julienned carrot, and chili oil. In Lanzhou it is often served stir fried. In Sichuan, a spicy dish called Chuanbei Liangfen is particularly popular (see photo above).

It is called muk in Korea and a similar item called konnyaku is made in Japan from a different type of starch

Jidou liangfen, a similar dish from the Yunnan province of southwest China, is made from chick peas rather than mung beans. It is similar to Burmese tofu salad.