How one can 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 arduous 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 once you take 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 unwell 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 drugs, 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 have been extra handy to eat. As we speak, tanghulu is made with not simply hawthorn however an assortment of fruit, comparable to strawberries and grapes, and is broadly obtainable on the streets of China. The road variations are spectacular: Distributors thread 5, typically 10, items of fruit on lengthy wood 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 medical doctors started issuing warnings about the dangers of constructing it at dwelling, as youngsters have 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 talent, as boiling sizzling sugar may be harmful and difficult to deal with.

Sugar Science

When sugar is heated to 300°F (149°C), the combination reaches what’s referred to as the “arduous crack” stage—a essential 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, but it surely’s additionally the place issues can go fallacious. In case you don’t warmth it to the suitable temperature, the sweet shell will likely be chewy–not brittle. Agitating or stirring the combination because it bubbles might also trigger it to crystalize, leading to a grainy texture as an alternative of a clean, shiny end.

How one can Stop 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 wanting like resin-dipped strawberries, my strawberries regarded like they’d 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, comparable to lemon juice, to stop crystallization. Sucrose (the principle element 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 under, I do make the most of lemon juice, which helps the sugar soften evenly with out crystallizing.

Making tanghulu isn’t tough, but it surely’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 suitable steadiness of acid or corn syrup. “If there’s an overconcentration of acid, that sweet will begin breaking down and turning into comfortable over time,” she stated. You may make tanghulu with out utilizing inverted sugar or acid, however as I realized the arduous manner, the sugar turns into a bit extra finicky to deal with. 

I like to recommend sweet or instant-read thermometer to make sure your syrup hits 302ºF (150ºC), which is safely inside that golden arduous crack vary of 300º to 310ºF (148º to 154ºF). In case your syrup is even a number of levels cooler, the outcome will likely be a sticky, chewy shell as an alternative of a shell with an ideal crystalline chunk. 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 grow to be mushy and collapse.  

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 glittery crystalline shell, encasing the fruit into an decoration that’s nearly too fairly to eat. 

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