Skewers of fresh fruit are dipped in a hard sugar coating in this easy Tanghulu recipe. The only ingredients needed are water, sugar, and any fresh fruit of your choosing. It’s an easy and fun way to turn fresh fruit into a fun candied treat!

What Is Tanghulu?

Tanghulu is a popular Asian candied fruit street food featuring skewers of fresh fruit dipped in a crunchy sugar coating. It’s originally from China but is also popular in South Korea, Japan, and, thanks to TikTok, the United States.

This is a fun way to turn fresh fruit into a dessert with a bit of a novelty factor. Plus, it’s super simple to make! The process is sort of similar to how to make caramel sauce, except no cream, vanilla, or salt is added, since we want it to harden, not be chewy.

Helpful Tips & Tricks

• Do not stir. Stirring introduces more air bubbles, causing the sugar to crystallize.
• Reheat if it crystallizes. If the sugar mixture crystallizes, add a little water, then bring it back up to the right temperature and dip your fruits in it again. Be careful not to heat it up too much, or you’ll end up with caramel, and that is not what we are going for here.
• Swirl and drip. The quick swirl and drip is important because you don’t want the sugar coating to be too thick and end up chipping a tooth while trying to eat it!
• Keep the ratio consistent. It’s easy to make more or less of the sugar coating as needed. Just keep the amounts consistent. The sugar and water for a sugar coating is always a 2:1 ratio.
• How do I know when it’s ready? The mixture will be cloudy and chunky at first, but will become clear and smooth. An amber color (like honey) will develop with a temperature of about 300°F, which indicates the sugar is hot enough to harden. If you don’t wait long enough, the coating will be chewy and not crunchy.
• Work quickly. Be sure to prepare the fruit on the skewers BEFORE starting the recipe. Once the sugar mixture is ready, it’s important to work quickly before the sugar cools too much.

How to Make Tanghulu Step by Step

• Wash and dry your fruit fully. Add the fruits to a wooden skewer (you can do as few as 1 or several. Just make sure you can easily dip them in the sugar syrup.)

• Combine sugar and water. In a medium pot add 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water. Do not stir.

• Make the sugar coating. Warm up over medium-low to medium heat until boiling and it reaches about 300F. Be patient, this can take between 10-20 minutes (If you don’t have a thermometer you can check if it is ready by dipping a spoon or wooden skewer and immediately dipping it in ice water. If it hardens within seconds and cracks when you bend it, it is ready. If it dissolves in the water or is soft and bendy, then let the syrup simmer longer and test again.)

• Coat the fruit. When the sugar syrup is ready, turn the temperature all the way down, then work very quickly and carefully dipping the fruits in the sugar syrup, tilting the pot and rotating the skewer around to fully coat the fruit on all sides.

• Let the liquid drip off. Allow the sugar to drip off the fruit so you have a very thin coating.

• Plunge into ice water. Then immediately dip in the ice water for 3 seconds to allow the sugar mixture to harden.

• Serve immediately.

What Fruits Can I Use?

Tanghulu can be made with any fruits that can be placed on a skewer. I typically use a combination of strawberries, pineapple, grapes, kiwi, and oranges. I’d say grapes, strawberries, and orange slices are probably the most common. They’re easy to place on skewers, and the tart flavor works nicely with the sugar coating.

Proper Storage

I recommend enjoying tanghulu immediately. However, leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a day.

More Fruit Recipes To Try

• Fruit Salad
• Dessert Fruit Pizza
• Fruit Dip
• Grape Salad
• Fruit Salsa

I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!