This tanghulu recipe highlights delicious crunchy candied strawberries or other fruit made popular as a favorite Chinese street food!
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Tanghulu
Tanghulu is a popular candied fruit snack popular throughout northern China. This Chinese street food is different from a traditional candied fruit. Instead of a soft candied fruit, the hardened sugar syrup creates a hard crunchy shell around the fruit. It is served on a long bamboo skewer. If you were wondering how to make tanghulu, you have come to the right place!
Why this recipe works
- This delicious candied fruit is easy and beautiful.
- If you have ever wondered how to make candied fruit, this is an excellent starter option. You can even make this tanghulu recipe without a thermometer!
- Tanghulu without corn syrup is even more delicious and easy to make!
Ingredients for this recipe
- Granulated Sugar
- Water
- Strawberries or other fruit of choice
Best fruit for this tanghulu recipe
Tanghulu is traditionally made with the hawthorn fruit which is prevalent in China. It is also known as mountain hawthorn, shanzha or hawberry and the flavor is tart, not overly sweet with a texture similar to an apple.
This candied fruit snack, also referred to as hawthorn candy or candied haw, works well with almost any fruit! I recommend candied strawberries, grapes, mandarins, blueberries, oranges, pineapple and kiwi. My favorite is the candied strawberries recipe!
How to make this recipe
- Wash and pat dry strawberries or fruit of choice.
- Arrange fruit on bamboo skewer. I recommend 1-3 pieces per skewer.
- Bring water and sugar mixture to a boil.
- Using candy thermometer, boil sugar water mixture until the temperature reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit. This will take approximately 5-10 minutes. If you do not have a candy thermometer, you can test the temperature by dipping a spoon into cold ice water and then dipping the spoon into the syrup. If it hardens immediately, then you have reached the proper temperature.
- When sugar water mixture has reached the desired temperature, dip your fruit skewer into the sugar mixture to coat the fruit.
- Place each fruit skewer on your sheet pan, silicone baking sheet or parchment paper. If you parchment paper is not good quality, your candy may stick to the paper. You can spray parchment paper with pan spray to help prevent sticking.
- Sugar coating should harden almost immediately. This recipe is best eaten right away. If you need to store, cover lightly with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator.
- Enjoy!
FAQ and expert tips
Tanghulu is best when it is first made so that you can enjoy the delicious crunchy shell. If you wish to store it, it is best to store in the refrigerator to maintain the candy shell
Bring a combination of sugar and water to a vigorous boil. Once the temperature reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit, your tanghulu sugar is ready to coat your fruit. The sugar coating should harden quickly.
If your tanghulu sugar reached the proper temperature of 300 F, it should harden almost immediately.
Your sugar and water combination will need to boil for about 10 minutes and start to reduce to a very thick syrup. You can test the temperature by dipping a spoon into cold ice water and then dipping the spoon into the syrup. If it hardens immediately, then you have reached the proper temperature.
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Tanghulu
Equipment
- Candy thermometer, sheet pan, parchment paper or silicone baking mat
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 lb strawberries or other fruit of choice
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry strawberries or fruit of choice.
- Arrange fruit on bamboo skewer. I recommend 1-3 pieces per skewer.
- Bring water and sugar mixture to a boil.
- Using candy thermometer, boil sugar water mixture until the temperature reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit. This will take approximately 5-10 minutes. See Note 1 if you do not have a candy thermometer.
- When sugar water mixture has reached the desired temperature, dip your fruit skewer into the sugar mixture to coat the fruit.
- Place each fruit skewer on your sheet pan, silicone baking sheet or parchment paper. See Note 2 about parchment paper.
- Sugar coating should harden almost immediately. See Note 3 regarding storage.
- Enjoy!
Tay
It was so easy and delicious! As a horrible chef, I’m proud of myself for making this. Unfortunately, now my keyboard is a little sticky. lol
Aubrey
So happy you enjoyed!!! 😁
Someone :)
Thank you! This helped me a lot 😀
Aubrey
So happy to hear!
Deborah
Delicious and beautiful I actually put the glossy fruits in a vase on my kitchen table and they looked gorgeous! Family ate my center piece and enjoyed watching them crunch! Thank you
Aubrey
I love that Deborah! I am so happy you all enjoyed!
AnneMarie
how long do these last after they are made, particularly strawberries?
Aubrey
Hello AnneMarie! I would recommend eating within 24 hours. You can keep then in the refrigerator overnight. Let me know how they turn out for you. 😁
John
I tried this and then made it for my family and they loved it thank you so much
Aubrey
Thanks John! So happy you enjoyed!
Erika
Me and my husband tried this for the first time tonight and it turned out great! Our favorite fruit was the strawberry but they all turned really good!
Aubrey
Thanks Erika! I am so happy you enjoyed!
Grace
It is soooo delicious! My kids loved it! It was really successful!
Aubrey
Thank you Grace!!! I am so happy you and the kiddos enjoyed! 😁
Ava
Not entirely sure what happened, the first few oranges turned out great, but after that when the sugar mixture started cooling it all crystallized at once, turning into this weird light brown sand that hardened almost instantly. No harm done to the pan, it boiled down all the same! The few oranges that turned out were amazing! My picky little brother even loved them!
Aubrey
Hello Ava!!! Thank you so much for your feedback and kind words and so happy you and your little brother enjoyed! Your feedback is excellent. When the sugar starts to cool it can definitely get tricky but it sounds like you did great! 🙂
Annabel
Hi! I hope to make this; I was wondering, once the sugar-water mixture reaches 300 degrees and is ready to dip, do I remove from the heat to dip the fruit, to dip the fruit in when it is still boiling.
Thank you I love your blog and recipes!
Aubrey
Hello Annabel! Thank you for your kind words. That means the world to me.
Great question! Once the sugar reaches temp, remove from heat and then dip the fruit. Having everything prepped ahead is very helpful so you can start dipping. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Laila
Love itttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt It tasted so good and I’m going to make these more often now
Aubrey
Thanks Laila!!! You totally made my day. So glad you enjoyed! 🙂
Lyzz Matzke
Great recipe and super easy to do with my 11 year old daughter. Turned out tasty.
Aubrey
Thanks Lyzz! 🙂
Lana
I kept trying different recipes from other sites until I reached this one. I got it right the first try! It was also so delicious. My kids loved it.
Aubrey
Thanks so much Lana! I am so happy to hear that! 🙂
Jennifer
Great recipe! The fruit was so crunchy and delicious!
Aubrey
Thanks Jennifer! 🙂
Sasha
I first tried tanghulu on a trip to China and fell in love with it. This recipe tastes just like what I ate there. Candied strawberry tanghulu is my favorite variation.
Aubrey
Thanks Sasha! I am so glad you enjoyed!