This recipe for Cold Sesame Jelly Salad is a classic Chinese cold appetizer, featuring crisp and crunchy jellyfish marinated in a delicious savory and slightly spicy sauce.

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What is jellyfish?
Edible jellyfish (also known as sea jelly), is a gelatinous seafood, consumed in East Asia and Southeast Asia.
What does it taste like?
Jellyfish on its own has a neutral flavor, which makes it great at absorbing flavors from sauces.
It has a crisp, crunchy and chewy texture with a firm, gelatinous mouth-feel.
Why you'll love this recipe
This recipe for Cold Sesame Jelly Salad is a refreshing and delicious appetizer.
It's typically served at Chinese banquets as part of a cold platter, or lang poon (in Cantonese) along with assorted sliced marinated meats such as beef shank or pork hock, char siu BBQ roasted pork, roasted duck, soy sauce chicken or Hainanese chicken, and/or crispy pork belly (siu yuk).
The platter can also include assorted seafood and vegetables such as pickled cucumber and seaweed salad.
Easy to make: using pre-packaged jellyfish is convenient and saves time.
Simple: with a few pantry ingredients, you can make this restaurant-worthy jellyfish appetizer at home.
Delicious: the soy sauce and slight tang from rice vinegar adds depth of flavor and keeps you coming back for more.
Ingredients you'll need
- ready-to-eat jellyfish: rinsed in cold water and drained well
- sesame oil: toasted
- soy sauce: light soy sauce
- rice vinegar: adds a little tanginess; you can sub with white vinegar (which is a little stronger than rice vinegar)
- granulated sugar: balances out the flavor
- chili oil: optional, omit if you don't like it spicy
- white sesame seeds
- fresh cilantro: chopped
- green onion: thinly sliced
- Thai red chili: finely chopped (optional)
Where to find?
You can find these ingredients at your local Asian supermarket or grocery store.
Jellyfish can come pre-packaged in a brine solution, so it's important to rinse under cold water to remove excess saltiness. Most are unflavored. However, some can include a ready-made sauce for mixing. For this recipe, you can skip the pre-made sauce.

How to make cold jellyfish salad
Prepare jellyfish:
Place jellyfish into a strainer and rinse under cold water.
Drain well and set aside.
Make the sauce:
In a bowl, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, chili oil, sesame seeds, cilantro, green onion, and red chili (if using).
Mix well to combine.
Assemble:
Add the well-drained jellyfish into the sauce and combine thoroughly.
Place the jellyfish into the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
When ready to serve, garnish with additional chopped cilantro, sesame seeds, green onion and red chilies.
How to serve
Serve the cold jellyfish salad as an appetizer with marinated beef shank, crispy pork belly (siu yuk), Hainanese chicken, or BBQ pork (char siu).
It would be delicious paired with green onion pancake beef rolls or crispy spring rolls.
Pair the dish as a side dish along scallion oil noodles, lobster yee mein, or rice.
How to store
Store the cold sesame jellyfish salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Do not freeze the jellyfish salad, as the texture will change.
Notes
Prepared jellyfish can vary in thickness. It can be thinner or thicker, depending on the brand.
The longer the jellyfish sits in the marinade, the better the flavor.
Other delicious cold appetizer recipes you may like
Did you make this recipe?
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Cold Sesame Jellyfish Salad
For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.
Ingredients
Main:
- 1 pkg (250g) ready-to-eat jellyfish rinsed in cold water and drained well
Sauce:
- 1 ½ tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon white sugar or to taste
- ½ teaspoon chili oil or to taste (omit if you don't like spicy)
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds plus extra for garnish
- few sprigs fresh cilantro chopped, plus extra for garnish
- 1 green onion thinly sliced, plus extra for garnish
- ½ teaspoon Thai red chili finely chopped (optional), plus extra for garnish
Instructions
Prepare jellyfish:
- Place ready-to-eat jellyfish into a strainer and rinse under cold water.
- Drain well and set aside.
Make the sauce:
- In a bowl, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, chili oil, sesame seeds, cilantro, green onion, and red chili (if using).
- Mix well to combine.
Assemble:
- Add the well-drained jellyfish into the sauce and combine thoroughly.
- Place the jellyfish into the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
- When ready to serve, garnish with additional chopped cilantro, sesame seeds, green onion and red chilies.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
Wow! I've only seen jellyfish in the aquarium - certainly not on my plate haha. That's one of the most unique appetizers I've ever seen!
Michelle
Ahhha, it's actually a very traditional cold appetizer in Chinese cuisine! 🙂
David @ Spiced
I'll be honest - I had no idea jellyfish could be eaten. Now I'm intrigued! And I totally understand what you mean about how the jellyfish will absorb more flavor the longer it marinates. It seems like a bit of a blank canvas for other flavors!
Michelle
Yes, it's such a delicious seafood! And for sure, the jellyfish is such a great canvas for absorbing flavors! 🙂
Healthy World Cuisine
Love that addictive crunch! Did you find it in the frozen in the Asian food store? So simple but really satisfying.
Michelle
Hi Bobbi! We get ours in the refrigerator section of our Asian supermarket 🙂 It's one of those appetizers that is must have at any banquet!
Raymund | angsarap.net
Honestly these are one of the few dishes I havent tried yet, dunno why. Now you just reminded me to give this one a go!
Michelle
Ohhh yes, I'm so surprised -- you really have to give it a try Raymund! 🙂