Osmanthus Rice Wine Jelly — This Is Good Enough to Sell
By Vivian
Why You'll Love It
Nothing suits hot weather like a bowl of something ice-cold and jiggly!!
I make this osmanthus rice wine jelly a few times every summer.
When it's blazing outside… one bowl of this straight from the fridge, and you cool down instantly!!
Springy, slippery cubes of osmanthus jelly, chewy little rice balls, and that sweet, mellow fermented rice — every mouthful smells of osmanthus.
A cube of jelly, a rice ball, a spoonful of that sweet wine… so many textures at once, and still refreshing.
If there's one summer dessert that keeps me going, this is it.
And the best part — it's ridiculously easy. If you have hands, you can make it.
Everyday ingredients, and it looks gorgeous: sparkly, jewel-like, absurdly pretty.
Every snapshot comes out looking styled. Pin this one and try it!
Ingredients
| For the Jelly | |
|---|---|
| about 5 tbsp (40 g) instant white jelly powder | 3⅓ cups (800 ml) water |
| 1 tbsp dried osmanthus flowers | sugar, to taste |
| To Serve | |
|---|---|
| mini glutinous rice balls, as needed | sweet fermented rice (jiuniang), as needed |
| honey or condensed milk, to taste | dried osmanthus flowers, for topping |
| Mini Rice Balls (if making your own) | |
|---|---|
| ¾ cup + 1 tbsp (100 g) glutinous rice flour | ⅓ cup (80 ml) warm water |
Ingredient Notes
- Use plain instant white jelly powder — gelatin is not a substitute, the texture is completely different.
- Simmer the dried osmanthus right into the jelly so the aroma spreads evenly.
- Add the fermented rice off the heat, or it can turn sour.
- Knead the flour with warm water so the balls don't crack.
- Drizzle the honey or condensed milk at the end so you control the sweetness.
Instructions
-
1
You can buy the mini rice balls ready-made or roll them yourself. To make them: combine ¾ cup + 1 tbsp (100 g) glutinous rice flour with ⅓ cup (80 ml) warm water.
-
2
Knead by hand into a smooth dough, divide it evenly, and roll each piece into a little ball.
-
3
Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop in the rice balls. Once they all float, they're done — lift them out and plunge them straight into cold water, which makes them springier and chewier. Set aside.
-
4
Pour 3⅓ cups (800 ml) water into a pan, add the jelly powder, sugar to taste and the dried osmanthus. Heat over low, stirring, until the powder and sugar have completely dissolved and the liquid comes to a boil, then turn off the heat.
-
5
Pour the hot jelly into a clean container, let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours until fully set.
-
6
Turn the set jelly out and cut it into even cubes, then spoon them into bowls.
Top with the rice balls and spoonfuls of sweet fermented rice, and finish with honey or condensed milk to taste.
-
7
I can't recommend this enough — it's genuinely so good. Ice-cold and slippery, it cuts richness and takes the heat off.
One bowl on a scorching day and the summer just lifts.
This one honestly wrecked me, it's so good!!!!!
Recipe Notes
Osmanthus Rice Wine Jelly
instant jelly powder simmered with dried osmanthus and chilled until firm, cut into cubes and served with chewy mini rice balls, spoonfuls of sweet fermented rice, and a drizzle of honey. Cold, floral and light.
Time Needed
Plus at least 2 hours of chilling.
Prep Ahead
- Pour the cooked jelly into a clean container, cool it, then refrigerate at least 2 hours until completely set.
- You can roll the rice balls ahead and freeze them — boil them straight from frozen.
- 【Yield】about 5 tbsp (40 g) jelly powder with 3⅓ cups (800 ml) water fills 3–4 bowls.
- 【Key ratios】jelly powder : water ≈ 1:20; for the rice balls, glutinous rice flour : warm water ≈ 100:80.
- 【Heat】simmer the jelly over low heat until fully dissolved and boiling; the rice balls are done the moment they float.
- 【Setting】chill at least 2 hours, until completely firm, before cutting.
- 【Storage】the jelly keeps 2 days refrigerated; rice balls are best freshly cooked — they harden if they sit.
- 【Common failures】jelly that won't set means too much water or it never came to a boil; cloudy rice-ball water means you added them before the water boiled.
Nutrition (per 100 g, estimated)
| Calories | about 86 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | about 0.8 g |
| Fat | about 0.3 g |
| Carbohydrates | about 20 g |
| of which sugars | about 12 g |
| Fiber | about 0.2 g |
| Sodium | about 15 mg |
Estimated from the recipe amounts, not lab tested. One serving is about 300 g, about 258 kcal. Energy converted at 4 kcal/g protein, 9 kcal/g fat, 4 kcal/g carbohydrate.