January 9 2025

Strawberry Tanghulu Recipe for Chinese New Year

Name: Strawberry Tanghulu
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients: 12 fresh strawberries; 1 cup granulated sugar; ½ cup water; Ice cubes

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Ready for a fun and tasty dessert adventure? Strawberry Tanghulu is calling your name!

This delightful treat takes fresh, juicy strawberries and coats them in a satisfyingly crunchy sugar shell.

Easy to make and perfect for sharing, it’s a sweet way to bring excitement to your table. Let’s dive into this mouthwatering Chinese street food classic together!

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Where is the Recipe Card?

The printable recipe card is towards the end of this page. For recipe tips and ingredient substitutions, we recommend reading the blog post.

Strawberry Tanghulu Recipe:
Number of Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

What Is Strawberry Tanghulu?

Traditionally made with hawthorn fruits, tanghulu has been a sweet snack from Northern China since the Song Dynasty (960 to 1279)! The pits and seed of the hawthorn were removed and replaced with a red bean paste. They were then placed on a bamboo skewer and dipped in rock sugar.

Modern tanghulu has evolved to include juicy fruits like strawberries, mandarines, and grapes. The hallmark of this treat is its hard candy shell, which is achieved by dipping the fruits into hot sugar syrup.

Tanghulu is often enjoyed as a sweet snack during festivals, especially Chinese New Year. Its glossy sugar coating adds a satisfying crunch to every bite.

In 2023, tanghulu went viral online thanks to an influencer from South Korea, and while it is Chinese in origin, it is a popular street food that can be found across Asia and, indeed, around the world!

Dinner Menu Suggestions

Dessert is covered, but what about the rest of the courses? Here are additional recipes to create a menu for a dinner party or special meal:

Appetizer: Crispy Deep Fried Chinese Five Spice Shrimp
Salad: Asian Cabbage Salad with Warm Spicy Peanut Dressing
Main Dish: Chinese Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe
Vegetable Dish: Stir-Fried Chinese Vegetables
Rice Dish: Quick & Easy Shrimp Fried Rice
Beverage: Jasmine Iced Tea
Another Dessert: Hong Kong Egg Tarts

Ingredients for Strawberry Tanghulu

The ingredients and tools for this recipe are conveniently linked to online retailers such as Amazon, Amazon Fresh, Instacart, and Walmart.

Fresh Strawberries—Juicy and sweet, the star of this tanghulu recipe.
Granulated Sugar—The base for the sugar coating that provides the iconic crunch.
Water—Helps dissolve the sugar to create a smooth, slightly amber syrup. Without water, it would be a darker syrup, more like caramel.
Ice Cubes—Used in a bowl of ice water to harden the candy coating quickly.
Wooden Skewers—These are for holding the fruits and making them easy to dip.

The complete list of ingredients with measurements is on the recipe card at the end of this post. The Purple Pumpkin Blog uses both cups and weighted measurements in its recipes, making American cups and kitchen food scales valuable tools for trying all the recipes. We provide US customary, imperial, and metric measurements. Still, it’s important to note that while you can combine cup measurements with weighted measures, never mix US customary/imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.) with metric (kilograms, grams, liters, etc.).

Preparation Tips

Prepare Everything Before You Begin: This recipe moves quickly, so it’s essential to have all your ingredients and tools ready.
Use Parchment Paper: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to place the tanghulu after dipping.
Ice-Bath: The skewered fruit is dipped into an ice bath to set the hot syrup quickly. Make one in a large glass bowl filled with ice cubes and water.
Dry Strawberries Completely: Use a paper towel to remove moisture before dipping. The sugar will not stick to the fruit if they are not dry.
Wooden Skewers: Place the dry fruit towards the top of the skewers for easy dipping.
Use a Stainless Steel Saucepan: Stainless steel pans distribute heat evenly, reducing the risk of sugar crystallization. When the sugar crystallizes, it creates a grainy, lumpy texture on the candied fruit, ruining the smooth, glossy appearance.

Recipe Tips

Do Not Stir: Refrain from stirring once the sugar and water mixture boils. Stirring can cause crystallization, leading to a grainy texture.
Candy Thermometer: Ensures the sugar mixture reaches the right temperature of 300°F/150°C. This is known as the “hard-crack” stage and is [usually] marked on a candy thermometer.
Quick Dip: After coating, immediately dip into ice-cold water to set the sugar shell. Spooning the syrup will create bubbles and a cloudy coating; we don’t want that!
Storage: Ideally, serve tanghulu immediately when it is at its crunchy, juicy best! As time goes by, the sugar coating gets harder. Store leftover tanghulu in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Troubleshooting

Can I make tanghulu without a candy thermometer?
YES! You can test the syrup’s readiness by dropping a small amount into cold water. If it forms stiff, brittle threads, it’s at the hard-crack stage and ready for fruit dipping.

Why isn’t my tanghulu not hardening?
You may not have reached the hard crack stage. Use a candy thermometer or test the syrup using the tip above before dipping for accurate results.

I think I burnt the sugar; what can I do?
Sadly, nothing can be done. You’ll have to toss it out and start again.

My tanghulu is sticky; what happened?
If the syrup only reaches the soft-crack stage (270–290°F/132–143°C), it will still stick to fruit but yield a chewy consistency that can stick to your teeth. Check the temperature of your syrup, which should reach 300°F/150°C, and the hard-crack (or hard-ball) stage.

What Other Fruit Can You Make Tanghulu

While traditional tanghulu is made with hawthorn berries, these are probably tricky to find at your local grocery store! Here are some great options to try:

Go Tropical: Pineapples, dragon fruit, or kiwi slices.
Small Fruits: Grapes, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, and blackberries. (Remember to pit the cherries!) Pop small fruit onto toothpicks and make cute treats to serve with cocktails.
Stone Fruits: Cherries, plums, peaches, and nectarines.
Citrus Fruits: Mandarins, grapefruit, pomelo, and clementine. You could try lemons or limes for a burst of sourness after the initial sweet crunch.
Experiment: You won’t know until you try, so experiment with any fruit you like. In China, they even use cherry tomatoes to make tanghulu!
Accoutrement: Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, crushed nuts, or chili flakes for a kick of heat. Tajin would be a delicious option, too.

If you have ever had a [British] toffee apple (the bright red treat found during the autumn, Halloween, and on Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Night), they are pretty much the same thing as tanghulu in texture, with the crunchy outer coating and juicy fruit inside.

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Printable Strawberry Tanghulu Recipe Card

The printable recipe card is below—please leave a star rating and quick review to share your experience with others!