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Tusun Jelly (Sea Worm Jelly)
The famous Xiamen cold jelly: sea worms simmered until their broth sets, studded with octopus and pickled radish, cut into squares and eaten with garlic vinegar and sweet chilli. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 土笋冻, report 49.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 土笋冻_49.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 2 hours 30 minutesCook: 40 minutesTotal: 3 hours 10 minutesServings: 2Difficulty: MediumRegion: Fujian (Southern Fujian)Flavour: Salty-savoury, lightly sour-spicy with dips
Why this works
Tusun jelly asks a home cook to accept one unfamiliar ingredient — the sea worm, a small marine worm whose body contains the gelatin that sets the jelly — and then rewards that leap with a dish that is almost entirely technique. The worms are soaked for thirty minutes and washed in several changes of water, because grit is the flaw that ruins the jelly, and then simmered with water at one part worms to three parts water for forty minutes, stirred every ten minutes so they do not catch. The broth is seasoned, filtered through a fine two-hundred-mesh sieve, and poured into moulds with blanched octopus and pickled radish already in them, then chilled at zero to four degrees for two hours until it is properly jelly-like. The dips are part of the dish, not an afterthought: garlic vinegar at one part garlic to three parts vinegar, and sweet chilli sauce in its own dish, because the jelly itself is deliberately mild. Buy the worms from a reputable seller and keep everything cold.
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Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea worms (tusun / hai chongcao), dried weight | 2.8 oz dry | 80 g dry | Soak in cold water 30 minutes, washing in 3 changes of water. Availability outside Fujian is limited — order frozen or dried from a specialist seller (adaptation). |
| Octopus pieces (frozen, pre-cooked) | 1.1 oz | 30 g | Blanch in boiling water for 10 seconds, then ice-shock. |
| Pickled radish, in 0.5 cm dice | 0.5 oz | 15 g | Blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds, then drain and cool. |
| Water, for simmering | About 1 cup | About 240 ml | At 1:3 worms to water, per the report. |
| Salt | ¼ tsp | 2 g | — |
| MSG | Pinch | 1 g | Optional; omit if you prefer (adaptation). |
| Garlic paste, for the dip | To taste | To taste | Mixed with vinegar at 1:3 garlic to vinegar. |
| White vinegar, for the dip | To taste | To taste | At 1:3 with the garlic paste. |
| Sweet chilli sauce, to serve | 0.5 oz | 15 g | In a separate small dish. |
| Soy sauce | 1 tsp | 5 ml | — |
Equipment
- Fine sieve (200 mesh, or the finest you have — adaptation)
- Square silicone moulds, 100 ml each, or a small loaf pan
- Pot for simmering
- Refrigerator (0–4 °C)
Steps
- Prepare the worms and garnishes. Soak the sea worms in cold water for 30 minutes, washing them in 3 changes of water to remove all sand. Blanch the frozen pre-cooked octopus pieces in boiling water for 10 seconds and ice-shock them. Blanch the pickled radish dice in boiling water for 30 seconds, drain and cool.
- Simmer the worms. Put the soaked worms and water at 1:3 into a pot, bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes so they do not stick.
- Season and filter. Season with the salt and MSG, then filter the broth through a 200-mesh sieve to remove impurities.
- Set the jelly. Let the broth cool naturally to 60 °C, pour into silicone moulds, scatter the blanched octopus and radish evenly through it, stir lightly, and chill at 0–4 °C for 2 hours until completely set and jelly-like.
- Serve. Unmould and cut into 4 cm × 4 cm squares. Serve with garlic vinegar (garlic to vinegar 1:3) and sweet chilli sauce in separate small dishes.
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Technique: wash three times, filter fine, chill cold
Grit is the fatal flaw, so the worms get three washes and the broth gets a fine filter — a coarse sieve leaves a rough, sandy jelly. The simmer is forty minutes, plus or minus five: too short and the broth is thin and will not set, too long and it turns bitter. And the chill must be a proper fridge chill, or the jelly never firms.
Variations
- No moulds: set in a loaf pan and cut squares from it; the shape is not the point (adaptation).
- No sea worms: there is no substitute that sets the same way — this dish is defined by its main ingredient, so do not rename another jelly as tusun (adaptation).
Frequently asked questions
What are sea worms?
Small marine worms from the Fujian coast, traditionally simmered into a jelly. They are the source of the jelly's gelatin.
Where can I buy them?
From Fujian seafood specialists, frozen or dried, online or in large Asian groceries. Availability outside Fujian is limited — this is the dish's honest sourcing difficulty.
Why is my jelly not setting?
Usually too short a simmer, too much water, or too warm a chill. Keep to 1:3, 40 minutes, and 0–4 °C for 2 hours.
Storage and freezing
Keep refrigerated at 0–4 °C and eat within 2 days. Serve cold. Do not freeze — the jelly weeps and breaks on thawing.
Tusun Jelly (Sea Worm Jelly) — Recipe Card
Sea worm jelly with octopus and pickled radish, served cold with garlic vinegar and sweet chilli.
Prep: 2 hours 30 minutesCook: 40 minutesTotal: 3 hours 10 minutesServings: 2
Ingredients: 80 g sea worms (dry); 30 g octopus; 15 g pickled radish; about 240 ml water (1:3); 2 g salt; 1 g MSG (optional); garlic paste and white vinegar at 1:3 for the dip; 15 g sweet chilli sauce; 5 ml soy sauce.
Steps: 1) Soak and wash worms; blanch garnishes. 2) Simmer 40 minutes. 3) Season and filter. 4) Mould, chill 2 hours, cut and serve with dips.
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Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 土笋冻 (data/reports/49.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. Home servings (2, from one 200 g restaurant portion) and the sourcing note for sea worms are adaptations and are labelled as such. Original poster image: clouchef.com (土笋冻_49.jpeg).