This tanghulu recipe is made with juicy strawberries and coated in shiny crunchy candy coating. This recipe also shows how to make a chocolate strawberry tanghulu version. You only need three ingredients - sugar, water, and strawberries. It's so easy to make and you can use hawthorn fruit, grapes, berries, or experiment with your favorite kind of fruit. This is a more traditional, corn syrup free tanghulu recipe.
Jump to:
- 🍓 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- 🍡 What is tanghulu?
- 📝 Key ingredients
- ✔️ Ingredient substitutions
- 👩🍳 How to make strawberry tanghulu
- 👩🍳 How to make chocolate strawberry tanghulu
- 🥄 Make ahead and storage
- ❔ Can you make chocolate tanghulu?
- ❔ Can I make tanghulu without a candy thermometer?
- 📖 Recipe FAQs
- 🍓 More related recipes
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
🍓 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- Easy: So easy to make and you only need 3-4 ingredients (water is one of them)!
- Crunchy & juicy: A crunchy coating around a sweet juicy strawberry is the best texture combo ever.
- Chocolate strawberry tanghulu: This includes a more traditional tanghulu recipe as well as a chocolate twist.
🍡 What is tanghulu?
Tanghulu refers to a traditional Northern Chinese snack that consists of hawthorn fruit covered in hard rock sugar. Its origins date back to the Song Dynasty. Nowadays, all kinds of fruit are used like strawberries, grapes, kiwi, mandarins...
📝 Key ingredients
Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.
- Strawberries: Make sure you're using unbruised fresh strawberries. Don't use overripe strawberries because they will start to liquify. To use up your strawberries make these strawberry cream cheese rolls or these strawberry cheesecake cookies.
- Granulated sugar: Use granulated or white sugar. This will give you the smallest chance of the sugar syrup crystallizing. I don't recommend using cane sugar or unprocessed sugar because it has always crystallized and turned gritty for me.
- Cocoa powder (optional): This is optional if you want to make chocolate strawberry tanghulu. Natural or dutch processed cocoa powder will work great! I used dutch processed cocoa powder for more chocolate flavor.
✔️ Ingredient substitutions
You can experiment with different kinds of fruit and berries. Here are some options other than strawberries that I've seen around:
- grapes
- mandarins
- blueberries
- blackberries
- raspberries
- kiwi slices
👩🍳 How to make strawberry tanghulu
Caution: You will be working with extremely hot sugar that can cause severe burns. Be very careful and use heat safe gloves or mitts if needed. Avoid using short toothpicks for the fruit - use longer skewers instead.
Step 1: Wash and dry strawberries or fruit of choice. Poke the skewers halfway through the base of the strawberries.
Prepare a bowl of ice water (just water and ice). Set aside.
Step 2: Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer to dissolve the sugar. Attach a candy thermometer and place back on the stove on medium-low heat. Do NOT stir.
Step 3: Let the sugar syrup simmer until it reaches 285°F (140°C). If you don't have a candy thermometer, drop the sugar syrup into the ice water. If it hardens up and becomes crunchy, it's ready. It will be barely golden brown.
Step 4: Carefully and briefly roll the skewered strawberries in the hot sugar syrup to get them fully coated.
Step 5: Dip the coated strawberries into ice cold water to harden the sugar. This will help cool them down and set.
Step 6: Stand the tanghulu up in a glass filled with uncooked rice or any other grain. This will help hold them up. Enjoy immediately!
Tip: If you don't want to do the ice water method, place coated tanghulu on a greased and parchment lined baking sheet to set. I find the ice water helps helps it set and keeps the strawberry cold so that it's refreshingly crunchy.
👩🍳 How to make chocolate strawberry tanghulu
Step 1: Complete steps 1-3 of strawberry tanghulu. Once the sugar syrup reaches 285°F (140°C), add sifted cocoa powder and whisk briefly to combine. Be careful because it will foam up.
Step 2: Carefully and briefly roll the skewered strawberries in the hot foaming chocolate sugar syrup to fully coat.
Work very quickly because the sugar will start to harden and crystallize in the saucepan due to the cocoa powder. Dip a few strawberries at a time.
Step 3: Dip the coated strawberries into ice cold water to harden the sugar.
Step 4: Stand the tanghulu up in a glass filled with uncooked rice or any other grain. This will help hold them up. Enjoy immediately!
Expert Tanghulu Recipe Tips:
- Use strawberries/fruit that aren't bruised and aren't overripe. This will prevent the strawberries from leaking moisture after coating.
- Make sure the strawberries/fruit are washed and dried with a towel. A wet strawberry won't allow the sugar to stick.
- Don't mix the sugar syrup after it comes to a simmer or it will crystallize.
- Use a candy thermometer or the ice water trick to ensure the sugar syrup is cooked enough for it to become crunchy.
- Dip in ice water to help set the sugar and prevent the strawberries from getting too hot and cooking through.
🥄 Make ahead and storage
These strawberries are best eaten as soon as they are made. Fresh fruit won't last long before strawberry juice starts seeping out from underneath. That's because the sugar draws out moisture from the strawberries.
This tanghulu recipe is so easy and quick to make that you really don't need to make it ahead of time! These chocolate covered pickles and heart shaped chocolate chip cookies are just as quick and easy to make.
This strawberry crunch cheesecake is a great option if you want a dessert that can be made ahead of time.
❔ Can you make chocolate tanghulu?
Yes you can! Add cocoa powder to the hot sugar syrup - be careful because it will foam up. Dip and roll the strawberries into the hot sugar, working as quickly as possible because it will start to crystallize and harden due to the cocoa powder particles.
The coating of this chocolate tanghulu tastes like chocolate and has a dark brown tint to it. Here's a photo of what it looks like:
❔ Can I make tanghulu without a candy thermometer?
Yes you can. If you don't have a candy thermometer, drop the sugar syrup into ice water. If it hardens up and becomes crunchy, it's ready. It will be barely golden brown.
A candy thermometer just takes the guesswork out, so you don't have to constantly test and worry!
These salted caramel apple pie bars also don't require a candy thermometer to make.
📖 Recipe FAQs
The sugar will crystallize if you stir it while you cook it. Make sure you don't stir the sugar after it comes to a simmer. If it does crystallize, add another half cup of water and start the process again.
If making chocolate tanghulu, once the cocoa powder is added, it will begin to crystallize. Work quickly to coat the strawberries before it happens.
Pour water into the pot with hardened sugar and set it on the stove to simmer. As the water simmers, it will dissolve the sugar back into the water and you won't need to scrub it.
You can add ¼ cup of light corn syrup into the sugar. This will help prevent crystallization, but it isn't as traditional as a typical two ingredient sugar and water coating.
Fruit needs to be dried well so that the sugar coating sticks. Otherwise the moisture creates a barrier and the sugar will slide off.
Yes you can if you're making the regular version. I don't recommend doubling the chocolate tanghulu because it will crystallize before you can dip all the strawberries in.
🍓 More related recipes
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📖 Recipe
Tanghulu Recipe
Equipment
- candy thermometer optional but recommended
Ingredients
- 10 large strawberries
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (optional)
Instructions
- Wash and dry strawberries or fruit of choice. Poke the skewers halfway through the base of the strawberries. Prepare a bowl of ice water (just water and ice). Set aside.10 large strawberries
- Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer to dissolve the sugar. Attach a candy thermometer and place back on the stove on medium-low heat. Do NOT stir.1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup water
- Let the sugar syrup simmer until it reaches 285°F (140°C). If you don't have a candy thermometer, drop the sugar syrup into the ice water. If it hardens up and becomes crunchy, it's ready. It will be barely golden brown.
- Carefully and briefly roll the skewered strawberries in the hot sugar syrup to get them fully coated.
- For chocolate strawberry tanghulu, add sifted cocoa powder into the syrup and whisk briefly to combine. Quickly dip and roll the strawberries into the hot sugar syrup. Work very quickly because the sugar will start to crystallize due to the cocoa powder.1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- Dip the coated strawberries into ice cold water to harden the sugar and cool down the strawberries.
- Stand the strawberries up in a glass filled with uncooked rice or any other grain. This will help hold them up. Enjoy immediately.
Notes
- Use strawberries/fruits that aren't bruised and aren't overripe. This will prevent the strawberries from leaking juice after being coated.
- Make sure the strawberries/fruit are washed and dried with a towel. A wet strawberry won't allow the sugar to stick.
- Don't mix the sugar syrup after it comes to a simmer or it will crystallize.
- Use a candy thermometer or the ice water trick to ensure the sugar syrup is cooked enough for it to become crunchy.
- Dip in ice water to help set the sugar and prevent the strawberries from getting too hot and cooking through.
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