Santa Tanghulu: Super Easy Christmas Candied Fruits
Tanghulu: Easy Fruity Christmas Treat
It’s officially HOLIDAY SEASON, so let’s make the CUTEST Santa Tanghulu . Tanghulu 糖葫蘆 is a Chinese dessert of fruit skewers dipped into hot sugar syrup, which crystallizes into a crunchy clear candy shell. All you need is a few simple ingredients to make this super fun, fail-proof Tanghulu dessert that your kids will love.
Tanghulu isn’t usually a holiday treat. But, to make it more festive today, these skewers are shaped just like Santa Claus! I also like to make this for Chinese New Year desserts, because Santa’s outfit actually looks just like the Chinese god of wealth!
Prepping Your Fruit For Tanghulu
For the Santa Tanghulu, you will need strawberries, bananas, black sesame seeds, sugar, and water.
The number one tip I have for fruit is to make sure they are AS DRY AS POSSIBLE. After you wash the strawberries, use a paper towel to fully pat-fry the strawberries. When the fruit is dried, it will help the sugar coat the fruit better, ensuring it is extra crunchy!
For the strawberries, keep the leaf on, as when you remove it, the juices from the strawberries may come out, which may cause the sugar coating not to stick.
Sugar Water Syrup Ratio For Tanghulu
When making the sugar coating, all you have to remember is that sugar and water are 2:1 ratio: 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water, making around ¾ cup of sugar mixture. This may seem like A LOT of sugar, but if this is your first time making Tanghulu, I recommend trusting the process. Remember, the more sugar syrup you have, the easier it will be to dip your fruits in.
Mix only at the start to make sure the sugar and water are dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved, DO NOT STIR.; let it simmer for 10-15 minutes or until it becomes golden. Your sugar syrup should reach about 300F or 150C.
Tips on How To Dip Tanghulu
To test whether or not the syrup is ready, dip a wooden chopstick in the sugar mixture and then into ice water for 3 seconds. If you bite the sugar shell and it’s crunchy, you are ready! Make sure every part of the fruit is dipped into the mixture. The sugar will seal any openings and prevent any juices from coming out.
Then, dip your skewers in iced water and let it rest on a plate. Within 3 minutes, the sugar should have hardened and shouldn’t stick to the plate.
Do you want more DESSERT recipes? Here are some of my go-to recipes!
- Air Fryer Bread Pudding (15 Minutes ONLY!)
- Taiwanese Milk Mochi (4 Ingredients ONLY!)
- Instant Pot Creme Brulee (3 Minutes, 5 Ingredients)
- Mango Pudding (5 Ingredients ONLY!)
Santa Tanghulu Ingredients
- 12 Strawberries
- 2 Banana, sliced
- 2 cups Sugar
- 1 cup Water
- 24 Black Sesame Seeds
How To Make Santa Tanghulu
- Cut off ⅓ of the strawberry; the pointy end will be the hat of Santa.
- Assemble by adding the strawberry base, then a slice of banana, and top off with the ⅓ of the strawberry. Using black sesame seeds, add on the eyes of the Santa Tanghulu.
- In a small pot, add sugar and water. Turn the heat to medium, and mix until the sugar is dissolved.
- Once dissolved, do not stir; let it sit and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye out to prevent it from burning, and you are looking for a golden brown color.
- To test whether or not the syrup is ready, dip a wooden chopstick in the sugar mixture and dip it into ice water for 3 seconds; if you bite it and it’s crunchy, you are ready!
- Once ready, TURN OFF THE HEAT, and dip the fruit in the sugar mixture. Let it rest on a plate; within 3 minutes, the sugar should have hardened and shouldn’t stick to the plate.
Santa Tanghulu: Super Easy Christmas Candied Fruits
By Tiffy Cooks
Equipment
- 12 Wooden Skewers
Ingredients
- 12 Strawberries
- 2 Banana sliced
- 2 cups Sugar
- 1 cup Water
- 24 Black Sesame Seeds
Instructions
- Cut off ⅓ of the strawberry; the pointy end will be the hat of Santa.
- Assemble by adding the strawberry base, then a slice of banana, and top off with the ⅓ of the strawberry. Using black sesame seeds, add on the eyes of the Santa Tanghulu.
- In a small pot, add sugar and water. Turn the heat to medium, and mix until the sugar is dissolved.
- Once dissolved, STOP STIRRING. Let it sit and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye out to prevent it from burning, and you are looking for a golden brown color.
- To test whether or not the syrup is ready, dip a wooden chopstick in the sugar mixture and dip it into ice water for 3 seconds; if you bite it and it’s crunchy, you are ready!
- Once ready, TURN OFF THE HEAT, and dip the fruit in the sugar mixture. Let it rest on a plate; within 3 minutes, the sugar should have hardened and shouldn’t stick to the plate.
Thanks for the recipe – how long will they last after making them?