Tanghulu: Crispy Candied Fruit Skewers Recipe
Tanghulu is a traditional Chinese snack featuring fresh fruit skewers coated in a hard, glossy sugar candy shell. This recipe uses green grapes and strawberries, skewered and dipped in a hot sugar syrup that hardens into a delightful sweet crunch, making for a fun and visually appealing treat perfect for parties or a sweet snack.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 5-6 skewers 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
Fruit
- 1 cup green grapes, rinsed and patted dry very well
- 10 to 12 small strawberries (approximately 1 ½ inch in size), rinsed, hulled, and patted dry very well
Sugar Syrup
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons light clear corn syrup
Instructions
- Prepare baking sheet: Line a medium-sized baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside to place the coated skewers later.
- Prepare fruit: Rinse the green grapes and strawberries thoroughly under cool running water. Pat dry very well using paper towels. For strawberries, hull gently by removing the stem and leaves with a small sharp paring knife without making the hole too large. Set fruit aside on plates.
- Skewer fruit: Using the sharp end of a 7-8 inch wooden skewer, thread 2-3 pieces of fruit onto each skewer. You can choose to keep grapes and strawberries separate or mix them. Place the prepared skewers on a plate and set aside.
- Make sugar syrup: In a 3-quart heavy-duty saucepan, combine granulated sugar, water, and light corn syrup. Avoid stirring the mixture to prevent sugar crystallization.
- Heat syrup: Attach a candy thermometer to the saucepan. Heat on medium-low, leaving the mixture undisturbed. Allow it to come to a boil and cook until the syrup reaches 300°F (hard crack stage) and displays a light golden brown (amber) color. This process takes approximately 20-30 minutes depending on your stove and pan.
- Dip skewers: Once the sugar syrup is ready, turn off the heat. Quickly dip each fruit skewer into the hot syrup, allowing excess syrup to drip back into the saucepan. Place the coated skewers on the prepared baking sheet.
- Coat all skewers: Repeat the dipping process for all the prepared fruit skewers. Work swiftly as the syrup will harden as it cools.
- Cool and serve: Allow the candy-coated skewers to cool completely on the baking sheet until the hard candy shell sets. Serve once fully hardened.
Notes
- Ensure fruit is completely dry before skewering and dipping; moisture can prevent the sugar coating from hardening properly.
- Do not stir the sugar mixture while heating to avoid crystallization and granularity in the candy shell.
- Monitor the temperature carefully with a candy thermometer to reach the hard crack stage (300°F) for proper candy texture.
- If the sugar syrup burns, discard it and restart to avoid bitter taste and unpleasant texture.
- Work quickly when dipping the fruit to prevent premature hardening of the syrup on the skewers.
- Use wooden skewers or bamboo sticks approximately 7-8 inches in length for ease of handling.
Keywords: Tanghulu, Chinese candy, fruit skewers, hard candy coating, sugar syrup, grape skewers, strawberry tanghulu, traditional Chinese snack, candy-coated fruit
