Easy Recipe For

Tanghulu

Tanghulu is often mistaken for candied fruit. But unlike traditional candied fruit (a la our candied oranges) tanghulu is not soft. In fact, this popular Chinese street food is known for its hard candy shell. It is often referred to as ice candy or glass candy.

Ingredients

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 pound berries or other fruit

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Total Time

20 minutes

Instructions

For tanghulu:

1. Wash and dry your fruit. Slice if needed. The fruit must be dry for the candy coat to adhere properly.

2. Skewer fruit, only add as many pieces as you can dip into the pot.

3. Add the sugar and water to your pot. Heat over medium heat until the candy thermometer reaches 275 F degrees. Do not stir the mixture. The hard crack stage is reached, 300° F so begin testing at 275 F to account for variance in your thermometer. (see next slide). This will take about 10 minutes. Over heating will burn the candy.

4. When sugar water mixture has reached the desired temperature turn the temperature down slightly to prevent burning. Dip your fruit skewer into the sugar mixture, gently turn to coat the fruit.

5. Work quickly and allow excess sugar to drip off before setting on your prepared wax paper or silpat. The sugar coating should harden almost immediately.

Notes

1. To double check the hard candy stage, dip a wooden skewer in the sugar and then dipping it immediately into the cold water. If it hardens the sugar is ready.

2. When making tanghulu strawberries vendors often add a few drops of red food coloring to the sugar for a deeper color.

3. I highly recommend a silpat or wax paper for cooling the candied fruit. Alternatively, you can use parchment paper but it might stick.