With its crisp and sweet freshness, tanghulu is the dessert of the summer. Pihu Jain / Daily Nexus
My friends and I often love to whip up some cool and cute desserts we’ve seen on the internet. We’ve tried the viral frozen Sprite gummies, frozen sour grapes and many more I can’t recall but they are taking up at least 1 GB of footage in my camera roll. So, it comes as no surprise to me that we eventually made our way to tanghulu. I’ve been seeing recipes for tanghulu on social media for years, tried it in both Los Angeles and New York City and now, somehow, I’ve finally made it. The perfectly sweet, crystallized layer outside the fruit, the fresh tanginess of the fruit itself, the soft and crunchy textures coming together to make the most eye-opening dessert you’ll ever have … this dessert is definitely one to beat.
Tanghulu has, over the years, morphed into the many-fruited social media sensation it is today, and will likely continue to tantalize the public, but it’s important to remember that it is more than just a TikTok sensation. Despite its colorful and modern visage, tanghulu is an ancient, traditional Chinese dessert originating in the Song Dynasty, first made solely with red hawthorn berries for their health and nutritional benefits. Recipes for Tanghulu have spread as Chinese immigrants moved all across the world, and though the dish skyrocketed into fame in its modern form in Korea, that is solely because of the Chinese immigrants that brought it there in the first place. This dish reminds us of how important immigrant stories and cultures are, because they help inform our modern popular culture and allow us to become citizens of the world through this exchange. It is important to care about and honor the origins of all dishes, not to just follow the trends we see online, especially when it comes to such strongly rooted dishes as tanghulu.
Since you’re here, I know you want to get in on the action, so, without further ado, here’s a bare-bones recipe for tanghulu you can’t go wrong with:
Tanghulu
Servings: 2
Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup fine white sugar
- ½ cup water
- A pack of toothpicks
- Fruits of choice (recommended: strawberries and grapes, of any kind)
- 1 large bowl of water filled with cubed ice
Instructions:
- Place sugar in pot with water on medium heat, allow to cook WITHOUT STIRRING (do not stir throughout the process) for about 10 minutes
- While the sugar heats, wash your fruits and skewer them with toothpicks (however you’d like, I do a strawberry and grape on each)
- Once skewered, use paper towels to dry the fruits and place aside
- Prepare bowl of water with cubed ice
- Once sugar is amber brown, take the skewered fruit and evenly coat in sugar, then immediately place into ice water for about two minutes before removing & plating
- Repeat Step 5 for all skewers, then enjoy!
I had just as much fun making this as I did eating it! Even though I left the kitchen with sticky hands and hair(?), it was nice to let loose with this simple recipe. My loved ones and my tastebuds certainly thanked me later. Grab your friends, fruits, sugar and go nuts! Cheers!
