Tanghulu is a vibrant street snack that transforms fresh fruit into a delightful treat on a stick. With its shiny, crunchy candy coating, it’s the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth while enjoying a burst of fruity goodness. I’ll give you all the guidance needed to coat your grapes and strawberries in a sugar shell with the most satisfying crunch.
What Is Tanghulu?
Tanghulu is a traditional Chinese street food snack that features fresh fruit skewered on long bamboo sticks and covered in a clear sugar shell. The fruit skewers are then dipped in hot sugar syrup, which hardens into a crunchy outer shell surrounding the juicy fruit.
Traditionally, Tanghulu is made from hawthorn berries and sold by street vendors in wintertime and during festivals, especially in northern China. Since hawthorn berries are hard to source in the United States, strawberries and grapes are most commonly used as substitutes. Street vendors in China sell this sweet treat in wintertime.
In recent years, Tanghulu has gained viral popularity, thanks in large part to social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
Tanghulu (Candied Fruit)
I’ve tested and tweaked this Tanghulu recipe to come up with just the right ratio of sugar, water, and corn syrup; one that provides the perfect candy coating to encase the skewered fruit. The combination of a sweet, crisp exterior and succulent interior makes Tanghulu a beloved treat.
Take a bite, shatter the sugar shell, and discover why this Chinese snack of candied fruits is quickly becoming the trendiest dessert on TikTok.
Tanghulu Ingredients
- Green grapes: You can use red grapes, green grapes, or a combination of both. Any type of sour or tart fruit balances out the candy coating very nicely.
- Strawberries: Instead of strawberries, feel free to use pitted fresh cherries or any fruit that is not moist on the outside. These will hold the sugar coating the best when dipping.
- Granulated sugar: Sugar creates a hard candy coating and adds sweetness to the fruits. I recommend using a high quality sugar for this recipe.
- Water: Water helps turn the sugar into a clear, amber-colored syrup.
- Light corn syrup: You can omit the clear corn syrup in the recipe. However, I find that the corn syrup helps prevent the granulated sugar from crystallizing when cooked.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Tanghulu
- Prepare The Produce: Wash and pat dry both the grapes and strawberries. Remove the stems and leaves from each strawberry.
- Thread the Fruit: Thread 2-3 pieces of fruit onto the tips of each skewer. Place the fruit on a plate and set aside while you prepare the sugar mixture.
- Cook The Candy Coating: Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan and heat the sugar, water, and light corn syrup over medium to low heat. Without stirring, allow the mixture to come to a boil. Cook until it becomes light golden brown (amber) in color and the candy thermometer reads 300°F (hard crack stage).
PRO-TIP: If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can test the mixture using a spoon. Just dip the spoon in the candy mixture and then drizzle the syrup in a cup of ice-cold water. If the candy hardens, it’s ready. - Submerge in Sugar Syrup: Turn off the heat and dip each fruit skewer into the hot sugar syrup. Let the excess syrup drip back into the saucepan, then place on the lined baking sheet.
- Serve: Cool completely to a hard candy coating. Serve your snack on a stick, and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
These Tanghulu (candied fruit on a stick) treats are best served the same day they are prepared. The longer they sit at room temperature, the more the moisture from the fruit will start to soften the candy coating.
Serve With Dipping Sauces: Serve your Tanghulu with dipping sauces on the side. Melted chocolate or caramel sauce can add an extra layer of decadence.
Dress Up Desserts: Use Tanghulu as a topping for ice cream or yogurt or as a decoration for cakes and pies.
Create Cocktail Garnishes: Add a Tanghulu skewer as a garnish to cocktails or mocktails for a fun and fruity twist.
Give A Gift: Arrange Tanghulu skewers in decorative boxes or glass jars and give them as gifts during the holidays.
Tips & Variations
- Skewer Size: You do not want more than 3 pieces of fruit per skewer, as the fruit needs to be fully immersed by the hot sugar coating inside the saucepan.
- Coat In Candy: If you are very careful, you can tilt your saucepan slightly while dipping the fruit skewers to allow more of the sugar syrup to coat the fruit a little higher up on the skewer.
- Too Hot For Helpers: Please be mindful that you are working with extremely hot sugar for this recipe. If the hot sugar touches your skin, it can cause severe burns. This is not a recipe for the kids to help make. It is best that they watch from a safe distance and enjoy the finished product.
- Dry Before Dipping: For best results, you want to make sure that your fruit is very dry before dipping into the hot sugar syrup. If the fruit is wet, the sugar coating will not stick to the fruit.
- Refrain from Rushing: If you rush the process of cooking the sugar and water by turning up the burner heat, you run the risk of burning or crystalizing the sugar. You should heat it up using low to medium heat. This can take between 20 and 30 minutes, depending on how well your saucepan and stovetop burners heat up. If this happens, you will need to start over from scratch with a fresh batch of sugar, water, and corn syrup.
- Tweak The Tanghulu Taste: Try experimenting with some of your other favorite fruits to thread onto the skewers. I prefer using berries and grapes, but as long as the outer surface of the fruit is dry, many others will work. Oranges, peeled clementines, blueberries, and blackberries are some of my other favorites.
Cleaning the Pot
To clean the pot after making Tanghulu, start by filling it with warm water and letting it soak for 15-20 minutes to loosen any hardened sugar. (If it is really stuck you can warm the water on the stove on medium heat to help disolve the sugar) Gently scrape off the residue with a non-abrasive sponge or wooden spoon, then wash the pot with dish soap and a soft sponge to remove any remaining stickiness. Rinse thoroughly with warm water, and finally, dry it completely with a clean cloth or let it air dry to prevent rust.
Proper Storage
Do not refrigerate these Tanghulu. They are best served at room temperature and do not do well when frozen for longer storage.
More Homemade Candy Recipes
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Tanghulu (candied fruit on a stick)
Ingredients
- 1 cup green grapes rinsed and patted dry very well
- 10-12 small strawberries approximately 1 ½ inch in size
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons light, clear corn syrup
Instructions
- Line a medium sized baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Rinse the green grapes under cool running water and pat them dry really well with a paper towel and place them onto a plate. Set aside.1 cup green grapes
- Rinse the strawberries under cool running water and pat them dry really well. Using a small sharp paring knife hull the strawberries by removing the stem and leaves from each strawberry. Do not make too large of a hole when doing this. Place the hulled, and dried, strawberries onto a plate.10-12 small strawberries
- Using the sharp end of a 7-8 inch wooden skewer, thread 2-3 pieces of fruit onto the tips of each skewer. You can either keep your grapes and strawberries separate, or you can mix and match them. Place all the fruit threaded skewers onto a plate and set aside while you prepare the sugar mixture.
- In a 3-quart heavy-duty saucepan, add the granulated sugar, water, and light corn syrup. Do not stir to avoid crystallizing the sugar.2 cups granulated sugar, 1 cup water, 2 tablespoons light, clear corn syrup
- Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan and heat on medium-low.
- While leaving the saucepan undisturbed, allow the mixture to come to a boil and cook until a light golden brown (amber) color and the candy thermometer reads 300°F (hard crack stage). Turn off the heat to the saucepan. This can take between 20-30 minutes depending on how well your saucepan heats up and how your stove top burners heat up. Do not rush this step. by turning up the heat as you will run the risk of burning the sugar. If you burn the sugar mixture, you will have to start over again with a fresh saucepan of sugar, water and corn syrup.
- Working quickly, dip a fruit skewer into the hot sugar syrup, allowing as much excess syrup to drip back into the saucepan, then place the candy coated fruit skewer onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat until all the fruit skewers have been coated in the candy syrup and placed onto the prepared baking sheet. You will need to work quickly with this step as the sugar syrup will start to harden as it cools.
- Allow the candy coated fruit skewers to cool completely, to harden to a hard candy coating, before plating and serving.
Jenn’s Notes
- Do not refrigerate these Tanghulu. They are best served at room temperature and do not do well when frozen for longer storage.
- You do not want any more than 3 pieces of fruit per skewer as the fruit needs to be able to be fully emerged by the hot sugar coating inside the saucepan.
- If you are very careful, you can tilt your saucepan slightly while dipping the fruit skewers to allow more of the sugar syrup to coat the fruit a little higher up on the skewer.
- Please be mindful that you are working with extremely hot sugar for this recipe. This can cause severe burns if the hot sugar touches your skin. This is not a recipe for the kids to help make. It is best that they watch from a safe distance and enjoy the finished product.
- For best results, you want to make sure that your fruit is very dry before dipping into the hot sugar syrup. If the fruit is wet, the sugar coating will not stick to the fruit.
- If you rush the process of cooking the sugar and water by turning up the burner heat, you run the risk of burning or crystalizing the sugar. This can take between 20-30 minutes depending on how well your saucepan heats up and how your stove top burners heat up. If this happens, you will need to start over from scratch with a fresh batch of sugar, water and corn syrup.
- Try experimenting with some of your other favorite fruits to thread onto the skewers. I most prefer Tanghulu recipes made with berries and grapes, but as long as the outer surface of the fruit is dry, many others will work. Oranges, peeled clementines, blueberries, and blackberries are some of my other favorites.
