Tanghulu Recipe

Tanghulu: Chinese candied fruit skewers with a glossy hard sugar shell. This recipe shows how to make crisp, shiny tanghulu at home using fresh fruit and a simple sugar syrup.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: tanghulu, candied fruit, Chinese dessert, candy-coated fruit, fruit skewers

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 25

Servings: –10 skewers

Calories: 120kcal

Ingredients

16 –20 small fruit pieces strawberries, grapes, small plums, kumquats or hawthorn
10 bamboo skewers
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
1 tsp white vinegar optional
1/4 tsp corn syrup or light honey optional
Sesame seeds or crushed nuts for garnish optional

Instructions

Wash and dry fruit thoroughly; remove stems and hull strawberries if large.
Thread fruit tightly onto bamboo skewers, leaving a short stick handle.
Line a tray with parchment paper or a lightly oiled silicone mat for cooling the coated skewers.
In a small heavy saucepan combine sugar and water; add vinegar and corn syrup or honey if using.
Heat over medium, stirring until sugar dissolves; then stop stirring and attach a candy thermometer.
Boil syrup until it reaches the hard-crack stage, about 150°C / 300°F; remove from heat immediately.
Hold a skewer by the handle and dip the fruit into the hot syrup, rotating to coat evenly.
Let excess syrup drip back into the pan, then place the skewer on the prepared tray to set.
Sprinkle sesame seeds or crushed nuts before the coating hardens, if desired.
Let the sugar shell cool completely until hard; serve within a few hours for best crunch.

Nutrition