Learn how to Make Tanghulu, the Attractive, Glassy Chinese language Road Deal with

As a child, recognizing tanghulu—skewered fruit glazed with sugar—on the night time markets in Taipei felt magical, like catching a glimpse of Santa Claus in actual life. Tanghulu is historically made with hawthorn, a berry that tastes like a cross between an apple and a cranberry—tangy with a touch of astringency—whereas the laborious sugar shell provides a satisfying crunch and sweetness. Once I was a baby, the intense purple treats, stacked excessive on towering skewers, appeared larger-than-life, like tiny, glistening apples encased in glass. In Mandarin, “tang” means sugar and “hulu” refers to a gourd as a result of the stacked spherical is meant to resemble a gourd’s form whenever you have a look at it from a sure angle. 

Tanghulu reportedly originates from Beijing; the story goes that a physician first ready tanghulu in 1189, when the Chinese language emperor Guangzong’s favourite concubine, Huang Guifei, fell ailing after indulging in too many wealthy meals. The physician prescribed her hawthorn dipped in boiled rock sugar as a result of, in line with the philosophy behind conventional Chinese language medication, hawthorn aids digestion and boosts circulation, whereas rock sugar soothes the throat. Inside two weeks, she was again to her previous self. 

Over time, the observe of consuming candied hawthorn unfold, and folks started skewering the fruits in order that they had been extra handy to eat. In the present day, tanghulu is made with not simply hawthorn however an assortment of fruit, reminiscent of strawberries and grapes, and is extensively obtainable on the streets of China. The road variations are spectacular: Distributors thread 5, generally 10, items of fruit on lengthy picket sticks, then fan them out right into a forest-like show of jeweled lollipops.

A TikTok Darling

Whereas tanghulu has been making the social media rounds for a number of years, it catapulted to TikTok stardom in early 2024, with influencers claiming that making tanghulu was a simple affair, requiring simply sugar, water, and fruit. As an alternative of the harder-to-find hawthorn, although, most individuals opted for garden-variety fruit like strawberries and grapes. The craze grew so shortly that docs started issuing warnings about the dangers of constructing it at dwelling, as children had been being despatched to the hospital with extreme burns from making an attempt the recipe. Whereas tanghulu is essentially simply these three components, making it does require some warning and ability, as boiling scorching sugar may be harmful and difficult to deal with.

Sugar Science

When sugar syrup is heated to 300°F (149°C), the combination reaches what’s generally known as the “laborious crack” stage—a vital level in candy-making the place the syrup turns into glass-like when cooled. It’s what provides the sugary shell of tanghulu its signature crystalline crunch, however it’s additionally the place issues can go incorrect. In case you don’t warmth it to the correct temperature, the sweet shell shall be chewy–not brittle. Agitating or stirring the combination because it bubbles may additionally trigger it to crystalize, leading to a grainy texture as a substitute of a clean, shiny end.

Learn how to Forestall Crystallization

The primary time I made my sugar syrup to dip a batch of strawberries, I used solely sugar and water and it seized up. As an alternative of trying like resin-dipped strawberries, my strawberries regarded like that they had been dipped in opaque white sand. 

Skilled pastry cooks have a trick: They use inverted sugars like corn syrup or add a little bit of acid, reminiscent of lemon juice, to stop crystallization. Sucrose (the primary part of sugar) tends to crystallize when it cools. However inverted sugars—just like the glucose and fructose in corn syrup—intervene with that course of by maintaining the sucrose molecules from bonding. Equally, acids like lemon juice break down sucrose into glucose and fructose, which additionally helps to maintain crystallization at bay. Although I don’t name for invert sugar in my recipe beneath, I do make the most of lemon juice, which helps the sugar soften evenly with out crystallizing.

Making tanghulu isn’t tough, however it’s additionally not as foolproof as TikTok would possibly make you suppose. In accordance with Emily Kellogg, a pastry chef and proprietor at EJ Bonbons and Confections in Woodstock, NY, it’s about discovering the correct steadiness of acid or corn syrup. “If there’s an overconcentration of acid, that sweet will begin breaking down and turning into gentle over time,” she stated. You can also make a superb tanghulu with out utilizing inverted sugar or acid, however as I discovered the laborious means, the sugar turns into a bit extra finicky to deal with. 

I like to recommend a superb sweet or instant-read thermometer to make sure your syrup hits 302ºF (150ºC), which is safely inside that golden laborious crack vary of 300º to 310ºF (148º to 154ºF). In case your syrup is even a couple of levels cooler, the end result shall be a sticky, chewy shell as a substitute of a shell with an ideal crystalline chew. Additionally, prioritize tart, agency fruits like grapes and high quality strawberries, which pair higher with the sugary shell. Keep away from overripe fruits; they’ll shortly change into mushy and disintegrate.  

When you get the grasp of it, making tanghulu is a enjoyable expertise—and consuming it’s a magical one.  Because the glaze hardens, it kinds a shiny crystalline shell, encasing the fruit into an decoration that’s nearly too fairly to eat. 

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