Tanghulu (candied hawthorn and fruit skewers)
糖葫芦 · Beijing's glass-coated fruit skewers that crack when you bite them
Tanghulu sellers carrying poles bristling with red skewers are a winter sight in Beijing's hutongs and at the Spring Festival temple fairs at Ditan and Changdian. The classic is hawthorn, tart and mealy under a shell of hard sugar; strawberries, mandarin segments and grapes are the modern favourites. Everything depends on the syrup reaching the hard-crack stage, about 150 °C; the common mistake is stopping too early, which gives a sticky coating that never sets. The syrup is far hotter than boiling water and sticks to skin, so keep children well back while you cook and dip, and let them help only with threading the fruit. Chef's tip: the fruit must be bone dry; any water on the skin makes the sugar slide off and bubble.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 9 oz strawberrieshulled, washed and dried very well
- 5 ½ oz seedless grapesdried very well
- 2 mandarinspeeled, in segments, pith left on
- 5 ½ oz fresh hawthorn berries (optional)if you can find them; stoned
- 8 bamboo skewersabout 20 cm
For the sugar coating
- 10 ½ oz white sugar
- ¾ cup water
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Thread the fruit onto 8 bamboo skewers, 3–5 pieces each, mixing 9 oz strawberries, 5 ½ oz seedless grapes, 2 mandarins and 5 ½ oz fresh hawthorn berries as you like. Pat everything dry again with kitchen paper and set out a sheet of baking paper.
Step 2: Put 10 ½ oz white sugar and ¾ cup water in a small, deep, heavy pan over a medium heat. Stir only until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring completely, or the syrup can turn grainy.
3 minStep 3: Boil without stirring until the syrup reaches 300°F on a sugar thermometer, about 10–12 minutes. Without a thermometer, drip a little into cold water: it should set instantly into a brittle thread that snaps. The syrup should still be clear or only the palest gold.
11 minStep 4: Take the pan off the heat and tilt it so the syrup pools on one side. Working quickly and keeping your hands clear, roll each skewer through the syrup in one turn for a thin coat, lift, let the excess drip back and lay it on the baking paper.
Step 5: Leave the skewers for 2–3 minutes until the shell is hard and glassy and cracks when tapped. Eat within an hour or two; in a humid kitchen the shell turns sticky.
3 minStep 6: To clean the pan, fill it with water and bring it to the boil; the hardened sugar dissolves away.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 180 kcal
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tanghulu (candied hawthorn and fruit skewers) take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of strawberries?
- Raspberries, blueberries or chopped peaches, same amount.
- What can I use instead of white sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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