Crunchy, sweet, and packed with delicious candied strawberries, my version of the Northern Chinese tanghulu is low-effort, high-impact cooking at its finest. Enjoy a strawberry tanghulu or make other candied fruit.
1lbstrawberriesAND/OR blueberries, grapes, or other fruit of choice (see Notes below)
Instructions
Prep the Fruit
Wash and pat dry the strawberries (or fruit of choice). Make sure to dry them well as we don't want any extra moisture.If wanted, remove the green stems from the strawberries.
Arrange the fruit on a skewer - you can add just one or several if using smaller berries. Then set the skewers aside while preparing the sugar syrup.
Make the Tanghulu Sugar
In a medium-sized saucepan, add the sugar and water. Then bring them to a boil over medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
The temperature of the sugar water mixture has to reach about 300ºF/150ºC. This will take 5-10 minutes and the syrup will start to reduce. Check the temperature occasionally. At the right temperature, it will be amber/light-golden in color.See the Notes below if you don't have a thermometer.
Make the Tanghulu Fruit
After the sugar syrup has reached the required temperature, remove the pot from the heat. Take one of the skewers and quickly dip the fruit in the mixture. Make sure they are all coated. You can prop the pot at an angle & dip the skewer in the deep part of the syrup or use a spoon to help cover all the fruit.
Place the skewer on parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet - the sugar coating should harden quickly and create a hard candy shell. Repeat with the rest of the skewers.
How to Store Tanghulu
Tangulu sugar fruit is best enjoyed right away.If you need to store the candied fruit, cover lightly with plastic wrap and keep it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator (up to 2 weeks). Keep in mind that the sugar coating will become softer as time goes by.
Notes
What fruit to use for tanghulu? - Choose your favorite from strawberries, blueberries, kiwi (cut into thick slices or half/quarter moons), Hawthorn berries, kumquats, cherries, apples, tangerines, pineapple, or even cherry tomatoes. If you don't have a thermometer, here are two other methods for checking the syrup temperature. Dip a small spoon in icy water. Then dip it in the sugar mixture. If the syrup hardens onto the spoon immediately, it has reached the right temperature.Alternatively, drizzle some syrup into a bowl of ice water. It should set right away and form brittle crystal threads that break easily. If they bend, the syrup is not ready.Check the blog post for more tips and answers to top FAQs!