New Beijing Tanghulu
Beijing candied hawthorn skewers are a beloved winter street snack of Beijing, featuring bright red hawthorn berries coated in a crisp, glassy sugar shell.
Ingredients
- Hawthorn 500 g
- White sugar 200 g
- Water 100 ml
- Bamboo skewers to taste
Instructions
- 1. Wash and core the hawthorns and skewer them with bamboo skewers.
- 2. Put sugar and water into a pot at a ratio of 2:1 and simmer over low heat until amber color
- 3. Dip the hawthorn skewers into the syrup and roll them evenly.
- 4. Place on a greased flat plate and cool until the sugar shell becomes hard.
Cultural Notes
Tanghulu has been a Beijing street food staple since the Song dynasty. The best tanghulu is found in Beijing winters, when the cold air helps the sugar coating harden quickly and the hawthorn berries are at their tart, bright best. The perfect tanghulu has a thin, glass-like sugar shell that shatters when bitten, revealing the tangy-sweet hawthorn inside. It is one of the most photogenic Chinese street foods and a symbol of old Beijing culture.