Tanghulu, tang hulu, or bingtang hulu is a traditional China snack consisting of several malt sugar coated fruits of Chinese hawthorn ( Crataegus pinnatifida) on a bamboo skewer. It is typically made by skewering hawthorn fruits and coating them in heated sugar syrup, which hardens in the cold. It is named for its calabash-like shape. Tanghulu is called tangdun'er (糖墩儿) in Tianjin, tangqiu (糖球) in Fengyang County, Anhui, and tangzhan'er (糖蘸儿) in Shandong. Tanghulu is often mistaken for regular candied fruits; however, it is coated in a hardened sugar syrup. Tanghulu has been made since the Song dynasty and remains popular throughout northern China.
Chinese haw is the traditional fruit used,
Origin
Tanghulu is traditionally a Northern Chinese dessert which was prominently famous in
Beijing, according to numerous
Qing dynasty accounts. Folklore attributes its origin to the
Song dynasty, when the emperor Song Guangzong (宋光宗) had a beloved imperial concubine named Huang Guifei. One day, when Huang was sick, she refused to eat or drink all day long, and she seemed about to die at any moment. Palace doctors were puzzled as to how to cure her, resulting in Song Guangzong spending an exorbitant amount of money seeking medical help.
Later, a doctor came to the palace and treated Huang. He ordered cooks to prepare the hawthorn with rock sugar, advising Huang to take five to ten of them before each meal. Surprisingly, after a few days, Huang gradually recovered. Everyone thought this method was quite novel, so the prescription was passed down. Later, people began to string the fruit together and sell it on the street.
Modern tanghulu is still prepared in the same way, but is skewered on bamboo.
Nutrition
Depending on the fruit used, tanghulu can be rich in
vitamin C,
pectin and
chlorogenic acid,
caffeic acid,
maslinic acid,
oleanolic acid,
quercetin,
ursolic acid,
chrysin, epicatechin and other
and nutritional elements. Chinese Hawthorn may have medicinal effects, such as reducing the effects of constipation and
dysentery and lowering
blood lipids and
cholesterol, and its medicinal properties have been widely asserted in Chinese Medicine books. However, due to its high sugar content, long-term consumption may be unsuitable for people with diabetes or other health conditions.
Each skewer is reported to contain about 20 to 30 grams of sugar, which is close to the recommended daily sugar intake.
South Korea craze
In
Incheon and other areas with a high Chinese population, shops selling tanghulu have existed in the country since the early 2000s. In early 2023, tanghulu went
Viral video on YouTube Shorts and
TikTok in
South Korea. Although the origin of the trend is uncertain, some people on the Internet attribute it to Miniyu, a Korean
ASMR YouTuber.
Generation Z and
millennials were the primary audiences seen lining up for the dessert.
It garnered 210,000 tags on
Instagram. The number of stores in South Korea increased from 50 to 300 stores within the span of six months. Its popularity has been attributed to high population density in metropolitan areas of South Korea where tanghulu may be sold, and the ease at which it is able to be made by businesses or at home.
Problems
In 2023, a senator from the Democratic Party of Korea summoned the president of Wangga Tanghulu, one of the leading brands of tanghulu, during a national inspection over the issue of extreme sugar intake and diabetes among children and youth, which had increased 20% just within two years.
Tanghulu skewers and paper cups are often found Litter on the streets of South Korea. Even when disposed of properly, skewers pierce garbage bags. Businesses, such as internet cafes, , and restaurants, have been seen to display "No Tanghulu Zone"
Demand declined in 2024 due to changing trends. As the season changed to winter, people started to prefer warm desserts, such as bungeo-ppang. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety reported that 76 tanghulu stores closed in early May, higher than the number of stores closed at the same time last year.
Burn incidents
In 2023 to 2024, the Tanghulu recipe became so popular on platforms like
TikTok and
YouTube that it became a trend. The risk arose when a microwave-based preparation method for making the hard candy began to be promoted. Several cases of people suffering burns due to this method were reported, the main cause being a faulty container.
For hard candy to reach the crack hard stage, a temperature of 149 °C or 300 °F was required, with the container being a metal saucepan on the stove. However, it became popular to make the candy in plastic, borosilicate glass, soda-lime glass, or ceramic cups in the microwave, which led to several failures. The plastic cups, even though they were microwave-safe, would warp and melt to the point of forming holes, causing the hot sugar mixture to start spilling out, which would cause burns to feet. Meanwhile, borosilicate glass, soda-lime glass or ceramic cups could break or crack due to thermal shock, causing burns to anyone nearby.
Various media outlets in the United States reported several cases of children and teenagers who were burned by the microwave method of making Tanghulu. Some opted to put sugar and water in the containers and even used candies like Jolly Rancher to make the sugar mixture. The trend became so dangerous that several candy manufacturers warned against making Tanghulu or any hard candy recipe in the microwave due to the potential risk of burns.
See also
Notes
External links
