Seaweed Jelly (Shi Hua Dong) | Lienchiang Signature Dish

Making Seaweed Jelly begins when the tide pulls back from Beigan's Banli shore — women wade into tidal pools among the rocks, hand-picking deep-red shi hua cai seaweed, then sun-drying, slow-boiling, straining, and waiting overnight for it to set. This natural plant jelly, made without any additives, carries a faint briny freshness and is Matsu's most unassuming summer cooling dessert. The harvest season is short, and once you leave Matsu, it's nearly impossible to find.

What Is Seaweed Jelly

Shi hua cai (scientific name Gelidium amansii) is a red alga that grows on intertidal rocks. The Matsu archipelago has abundant rocky coastline, with Beigan's Banli shore as the main harvesting area. After collection, the seaweed is sun-dried repeatedly until fully dry, then slow-boiled for several hours, strained of impurities, poured into containers, and left to cool and set into a semi-transparent jelly. The texture is refreshing and silky, with a subtle, delicate oceanic flavor. It is served with brown sugar water or condensed milk, with sweetness adjustable to personal taste. The harvest season runs from late spring through summer (April–August).

Seaweed jelly has a culinary tradition throughout the Min-Dong coastal region (Fuzhou, Lianjiang, and Changle), and immigrants who crossed the sea continued this food custom on the Matsu islands. Compared to the factory-produced agar-based jelly (derived from Irish moss) widely sold on Taiwan proper, Matsu's shi hua dong is hand-boiled from wild-harvested seaweed, with a more complex flavor profile and a distinctive mineral quality from the rocky reef waters. The Lianjiang County Tourism Bureau lists shi hua dong as Beigan's signature summer food, and the Matsu Daily has published multiple articles documenting the Banli seaweed harvesting culture.

How to Eat It the Local Way

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Drizzled with Brown Sugar WaterPour slow-simmered brown sugar and ginger water over the jelly. The ginger fragrance and the oceanic freshness complement each other — this is the most traditional Min-Dong preparation, moderately sweet and never cloying.

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Condensed Milk VersionOne of the contemporary local preparations: squeeze condensed milk over the jelly and add a little shaved ice. The texture becomes smoother and milkier, making it a good option for visitors who aren't used to the seaweed flavor.

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PlainNo toppings at all — just the jelly's faint seaweed aroma on its own. This is the most direct way to judge whether you're eating the wild-harvested version or a factory substitute.

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Summer OnlyShi hua cai is harvested April–August. A trip to Matsu at this time coincides with blue tears season and tern nesting season, letting you bundle all of Beigan's summer exclusives into one visit.

Local Knowledge

Verified References

The Lianjiang County Tourism Bureau website records shi hua dong as a traditional Beigan summer dessert, and the Beigan Township Office's agriculture and fisheries documentation identifies Banli shore as the primary shi hua cai harvesting area.
Multiple Matsu Daily articles document the Banli seaweed harvesting culture, confirming this is a food tradition carried over by Min-Dong immigrants — not a recent tourist invention.

Visitor Notes

Shi hua dong is seasonal. Visiting Beigan before April or after September usually means no fresh handmade version is available; some souvenir shops carry vacuum-sealed dried versions.
When buying, confirm the product is made from wild-harvested shi hua cai, not agar powder. Authentic handmade shi hua dong sets softer and carries a faint seaweed scent.

Sources: Lianjiang County Tourism Bureau website; Matsu Daily shi hua cai harvesting culture coverage; Beigan Township Office agriculture and fisheries documentation. Photos pending Dio's own shots.

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