Ersatz Calamansi Lime Shaved Ice with Grass Jelly Recipe

Updated March 23, 2025

You can find canned calamansi lime juice drinks online and in well-stocked Southeast Asian groceries. If you do, feel free to use them straight for the shaved ice (a granita, really) instead of this recipe, with no added sugar.

Black grass jelly, a gel made with the extract of a Chinese variety of mint, can be found in cans in Asian groceries, and is best served chilled. Leftover jelly can be stored in the refrigerator, covered.

The more shallow the ice base is in the container, the quicker it will freeze, so use a wide tupperware or baking pan, or several smaller ones.

Recipe Details

Ersatz Calamansi Lime Shaved Ice with Grass Jelly Recipe

Prep 15 mins

Active 4 to 6 hrs

Freezing Time 4 hrs

Total 4 hrs 15 mins

Serves 4 servings

Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice from about 4 oranges
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice from about 9 limes
2 1/2 cups water
3 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
1 tablespoon orange zest from 1 orange
1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest from 1 lime

For serving:

1 (19-ounce) can chilled black grass jelly
Sweetened condensed milk

Directions

Combine orange and lime juices with water, stir in sugar to taste until sugar dissolves. Base should not be especially sweet, but should have enough sugar to tone down the tartness of the citrus. Pour through a strainer into a wide, shallow container (preferably one with a lid) and stir in orange and lime zest. Cover, and place level in freezer on coldest setting.
After 1 hour, remove from freezer and scrape up ice crystals that form around edges; stir crystals back into base. Return to freezer.
Every 20 to 30 minutes, quickly remove container from freezer and stir up large ice crystals. Do so until ice is completely dry with no pockets of syrup, 4 to 6 hours.
To serve, spoon ice into a small bowl or martini glass and top with spoonfuls of grass jelly and 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of condensed milk.

Special equipment

Wide, shallow container, preferably with a lid

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
163	Calories
1g	Fat
34g	Carbs
6g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories	163
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g	1%
Saturated Fat 1g	3%
Cholesterol 4mg	1%
Sodium 35mg	2%
Total Carbohydrate 34g	12%
Dietary Fiber 1g	3%
Total Sugars 29g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 48mg	239%
Calcium 82mg	6%
Iron 0mg	2%
Potassium 250mg	5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.