Tanghulu is a traditional Chinese street food candy snack usually made with hawthorn berries and olives and coated in melted sugar coating. This version is made with strawberries, grapes, and oranges, fruits that are much more accessible and super delicious candied! Our recipe will walk you step by step through the process of making your own tanghulu at home and include is our tips on making the ULTIMATE tanghulu with thin, soft threads of sugar (almost like cotton candy)!
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Ingredients needed to make tanghulu
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredient quantities!
- Sugar and water - We like to use a 2 parts sugar to 1 part water ratio to make our sugar syrup. But you can use less water, as long the sugar is completely saturated.
- Fruits - Feel free to use strawberries, grapes, and/or tangerines/oranges. Strawberries and grapes are our favorite to use. For grapes, we recommend getting seedless ones. If you wish to use other fruits, make sure it's a firm fruit that's not too high in water content.
How to make tanghulu
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe and instructions!
1. Prepare the fruits. Wash and dry the fruits thoroughly. If you have time, we recommend air drying the fruits for a couple of hours. This will also bring the fruits to room temperature, which prevents them from sweating. The sugar syrup doesn't stick well to fruits when there's moisture.
- For strawberries, trim off the ends with the leaves. If you're only putting one strawberry per skewer, you can leave the strawberries as is.
- Grapes should be kept whole, just pluck them off the stems.
- Oranges should be peeled and sectioned into segments.
2. Make the skewers. Place one, two, or three pieces of fruits on each skewer. The less fruits the easier. It can be all the same fruits or a mix of fruits on each. Set the fruit skewers aside on parchment paper until needed.
3. Make the syrup. Add the sugar and water to a saute pan and heat on medium high heat until the sugar has mostly dissolved. Then reduce the heat to medium and let the sugar syrup cook until it reaches 300°F (hard crack stage). Take the pan off the heat immediately because the syrup will continue to cook.
🌟 Pro tip: It is very important to have everything prepared before you start the syrup making process. There's about 10 minutes before the syrup reaches hard crack stage and you'll need to start dipping and coating the fruits immediately. As the syrup cools, it'll harden and most likely crystalize from the agitation, so time is of the essence!
4. Coat the fruits. Once the syrup reaches 300°F, starting coating the fruit skewers immediately. Tilt the pan if needed and dip and turn the skewers to coat the fruits. Give it a couple of seconds to let the excess syrup drip off. Give it a gently shake if needed. Place the finished tanghulu back onto the parchment paper as you work on the rest.
The ultimate tanghulu!
This tanghulu is on a totally different level than the classic tanghulu and it was inspired by a Korean tanghulu street vendor. Unlike regular tanghulu, which only coats the fruits in a layer of crunchy, hardened sugar, this tanghulu has all that you love about the classic and a layer of cotton candy-like thin sugar thread.
To make it, prepare the fruits as you would the classic. Then, freeze then fruit skewers for at least 2 to 4 hours or overnight. The fruits have to be completely frozen. You can take them out of the freezer when you're ready to coat them.
For the sugar syrup, make it as you would the classic, to hard crack stage.
Now, for the most important part. Coat the the fruit skewers as you would normally and let the excess drip off for a second. Then hold the tanghulu by the skewer but upside down, flat between your palms. Rub the skewer between your palms in a swift motion to spin the fruit skewer. This should produce thin threads of sugar. If not, you need to spin it faster.
How to enjoy
Tanghulu should be enjoyed immediately or within a couple hours of making because the fruits get kind of cooked during the syrup coating process since it's so hot. so the fruit will soften and get watery.
Also, tanghulu can't be stored in the fridge because the high humidity will cause the sugar coating to melt. So eat it as soon as possible! Plus, this treat is perfect for sharing with friends.
How to clean the sugar off the pan
After making tanghulu, the sugar in the pan will mostly have hardened and crystalized. But don't fret! It's actually quite easy to clean.
You can simply soak the pan in water, making sure all the areas that have sugar on it is covered, and let it soak for a few hours or overnight.
You can also, add water to the pan and let it simmer on the stovetop until the sugar has dissolved.
Recipe tips
- It is very important that the fruits are dry when you coat them in the syrup. If the fruits are wet, the syrup may not stick well.
- We recommend using firm fruits that are not high in water content because the hot sugar syrup will cook the fruit and make it mushy.
- While the sugar syrup is cooking, avoid stirring it. Stirring could cause the sugar to crystalize and you'll have to start over. If needed at the beginning of the process, you can shake the pan gently to help flatten the sugar.
- Once the sugar syrup reaches the hard crack stage, work quickly so that you can coat as many skewers as you can in it's most optimal stage. The syrup will harden as it cools and the agitation from coating the fruits will cause it to crystalize.
- If making the ultimate tanghulu, make sure to do it in an open area where you can clean up easily because the sugar may fly as you spin the skewer. If you have a large size kitchen sink, you can line it with cling wrap, and it'll be much easier for clean up.
For more street food recipes, also check these out:
📖 Recipe
Tanghulu
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- Fruits like strawberries, grapes, and orange
Instructions
- Prepare the fruits:Wash and dry the fruits thoroughly. If you have the time, let them air dry. Skewer your desired amount of fruits onto each skewer. It can be all the same fruits on a skewer or a mix of fruits. One, two, and three fruits on a skewer is the optimal number to work with. The less fruits the easier. This recipe is best for up to 8 skewers with 2-3 pieces of fruits each. Set the fruit skewers aside on parchment paper until needed. For strawberries, trim off the ends with the leaves. If you're only putting one strawberry per skewer, you can skip trimming the leaves. Grapes should be kept whole, just pluck them off the stems. Oranges should be peeled and sectioned into segments.
- Make the syrup:In a saute pan, add the sugar and water and heat on medium high heat. Shake the pan if needed to flatten the sugar. Once the sugar is mostly dissolved, reduce the heat to medium. Let the sugar syrup cook until it reaches 300°F (hard crack stage). Take the pan off the heat immediately because the syrup will continue to cook. Immediately start coating the fruits with the syrup.
- Coat the fruits:Working quickly, roll the fruit skewers in the syrup. Let the excess syrup drip off by gently shaking. If need to, tilt the pan to gather the syrup in one area. Place the coated skewered fruit back onto the parchment paper and repeat with the remaining skewers. Do note that as the syrup cools, it'll harden and most likely crystalize. So make sure to work quickly.
- Serve:Enjoy immediately or up to a couple of hours because the heat from the sugar syrup kind of cooks the fruits, making them soft. But don't refrigerate the tanghulu! The hardened sugar will melt from the humidity.
- The ultimate tanghulu:This tanghulu is on a total different level. We recommend making this in an open space or somewhere that will easy to clean up afterwards.To make it, prepare the fruits as you would for the normal version. Then place them onto a plate or sheet pan lined with parchment paper and freeze the fruits for at least 2-4 hours or overnight. The fruits need to be completely frozen.The sugar syrup is prepared the same way, heated to 300°F (hard crack stage).When ready to coat, take the fruit skewers out of the freezer. Work quickly as usual, making sure to coat the entire fruit. Let the excess syrup drip off for a moment then hold the tanghulu by the skewer upside down, flat between your palms. Then rub your palms back and forth to rotate the tanghulu in a swift motion. Candy threads should appear. If not, spin the tanghulu faster and do so before the syrup hardens.
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