It’s amazing what you can do with just fruit, sugar, and water! This tasty tanghulu recipe is the proof. One of the best fruity treats to come out of Northern China, these candied fruit skewers are both easy to make and gorgeous to look at. Oh, and tanghulu is amazing to eat as well!
Jump to:
Tanghulu tastes a little like Jolly Rancher candy. Once you bite through the hard sugar syrup coating, your teeth will sink into the plump, juicy strawberry inside. Tanghulu is somewhat similar to candy apples, but the coating is much thinner.
To make this Northern Chinese delicacy, fresh strawberries are dipped in sugar syrup and then allowed to cool. You don’t have to use strawberries either. There are plenty of types of fruit that would suit this tanghulu recipe, either soft ones like peach slices or grapes or something firmer such as apple or pear.
And when I have lots of strawberries on hand, I also really enjoy making this sponge cake or some strawberry parfaits as well.
Main Ingredients
There are only 3 ingredients in this easy tanghulu recipe, including water, and it’s so easy anyone can make it. Here is what you need:
- Strawberries: The main part of the tanghulu recipe. This isn’t a recipe for frozen or canned fruit. You need beautiful fresh fruit to make it. In China, the traditional choice is the seasonal hawthorn fruit and street vendors sell this on every corner during the wintertime. You can also try grapes, tangerine segments, blueberries, pineapple, or kiwi.
- Sugar: For sweetness. White sugar boils with water to make a sugar syrup and this is what you dip the strawberries in. Sometimes corn syrup is used in the tanghulu recipe or even brown sugar. Some artificial sweeteners might work, such as monk fruit or granulated Swerve, but stevia and most others wouldn’t caramelize.
Instructions Overview
When working with sugar, you need to work fast, so prep all the ingredients before you begin making tanghulu. Rinse and dry the strawberries and put them on skewers. Add the sugar and water to a pan and bring it to a boil without stirring.
When a candy thermometer reaches 295°F, your sugar syrup is ready. No candy thermometer? No problem. Let the mixture boil for 6 minutes then see if it will coat the back of a spoon and harden. If so, it’s ready. If not, check again in 1-minute intervals.
Tip the pan to the side to pool the sugar syrup and then dip the strawberries in there, one at a time, letting the excess drip off. Then just let the tanghulu dry and harden on a parchment-covered baking sheet.
Common Questions
This sweet treat is often made with hawthorn (also known as hawberry, mountain hawthorn or shanzha) in China which offers a tart flavor and apple-like texture. The sugar coating on the outside adds a touch of sweetness to contrast with the hawthorn. Since we are using strawberries here, their natural sweetness complements the candy coating rather than contrasting with it. If you want more of a contrast, consider using a tart fruit instead of the strawberries.
The candy coating is supposed to be crisp rather than sticky, with a texture like very thin ice. If it's sticky or doesn't set properly that's probably because you didn't bring the temperature up enough or boil it for long enough. If the sugar mixture will harden on to a cold metal spoon right away, that means it's ready to coat the fruit. If not, make sure the temperature is 295°F and give it at least 6 minutes cooking time. Another reason for sticky tanghulu is not drying the strawberries before dipping them in the sugar mixture because the water would interfere with the candy coating.
Another name is crystallized fruit but candied fruit isn't exactly the same as tanghulu. To candy fruit, it's cooked in sugar syrup and then allowed to sit in the syrup, which results in the moisture from the fruit being replaced by sugar. With tanghulu, the fruit is left intact and the sugar syrup is on the outside instead, so the ingredients are more or less the same but they're not made the same. Also, tanghulu offers a crunch while candied fruit is soft.
This Chinese delicacy is best made shortly before serving. You can prepare it up 45 minutes ahead if you need to.
Tanghulu can be refrigerated in a sealed container, but the fruit juice starts to break down the sugar coating after 45 minutes or so, and then the fruit skewers start to get sticky.
Honestly, these strawberry skewers are better served as soon as you have made them. They will freeze, but the texture won’t be good when they thaw out, so I can’t recommend freezing them.
These candied strawberries are a great snack at any time. You could also serve them for dessert.
You can solve this issue in a couple of ways. If you’re not using the best quality of parchment paper, spritz some Pam or nonstick cooking spray over it first. Another solution is to use a silicone baking mat instead of a parchment paper-covered tray.
Chopnotch Tips
- The more water your fruit contains, the quicker these strawberry skewers will start to soften and get sticky. Strawberries have plenty of water in them, along with other fruits like peach, pineapple, and melon, while cherries and banana have less, so would last a bit longer before the candy coating softens.
- Make sure the strawberries are patted dry before dipping them in the sugar syrup, or else the excess water will stop the candy coating from hardening.
- If you need to make a batch you can double or triple the ingredients. You will need 2 parts of sugar for every 1 part of water.
Tanghulu, known as bingtanghulu in Northern China, is a yummy treat made with fruit. You simply need fruit, sugar, and water to make this delicious and easy sweet snack.
Related Recipes
Let us know what you think! Give this recipe a rating in the comments section below.
Recipe
How to Make
Tanghulu
Ingredients
- 10 strawberries
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Poke the end of a wooden skewer into the top of each strawberry where its leaves are. Pull the leaves back so they are not touching the berry and set them aside on a sheet of parchment paper.
- Add the sugar and water to a small pot, but do not mix. If needed, you can shake the pot in order to get all of the sugar completely wet.
- Bring the mixture to a boil until the temperature reaches 295°F using a candy thermometer. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, let the mixture boil for 6 minutes and then dip a cold spoon into it. The mixture is ready if it hardens onto the spoon immediately. If not, continue to boil it and test again at 1-minute intervals.
- Once the mixture is ready, turn the heat off. Tilt the pot to its side so the mixture gathers to one side and then dip each strawberry into it fully. Let any excess drip back into the pot, and then place it back onto the parchment paper.
- The sugar mixture should harden onto each strawberry almost immediately. If not hardened within one minute, the strawberries were too wet or the mixture wasn’t ready. Once hardened, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- The more water your fruit contains, the quicker these strawberry skewers will start to soften and get sticky. Strawberries have plenty of water in them, along with other fruits like peach, pineapple, and melon, while cherries and banana have less, so would last a bit longer before the candy coating softens.
- Make sure the strawberries are patted dry before dipping them in the sugar syrup, or else the excess water will stop the candy coating from hardening.
- If you need to make a batch you can double or triple the ingredients. You will need 2 parts of sugar to every 1 part of water.
