Chinese Candied Fruit – Tanghulu

Are you looking for a recipe to try with your kids or for your kids to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Then you should try this Candied Fruits or Tanghulu recipe. It will need a little supervision because of the candy with younger kids but your tweens and teens will be able to make these themselves. So why not give making these Tanghulu treats with your kids for the Lunar New Year.

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is a celebrated around the world by people from China and is a time for parties, feasts, parades and more. As with most celebrations food is an important part of the celebrations. Fruit is especially important and oranges as we have used in this recipe are often exchanged or eaten as they are thought to be lucky due to their colour which is similar to gold and the word orange is close to the word for luck.

If you and your kids would like to learn more about the Chinese New Year then why not check out some of our Chinese New Year picture books.

Segments of orange coated in a hard candy on plates with oranges and red ribbons around the oustide.

Candied Fruit

Candied fruit is commonly eaten in China and comes in 2 forms soft coated or hard coated. These oranges are a hard-coated fruit and resemble the street food Tanghulu. They are served on bamboo skewers and often include oranges, kumquats, strawberries and grapes.

I’ve been teaching international students this last year and most are from Asia they have been telling me about Tanghulu strawberries which are one of their favourite treats to enjoy when they go into the city or even to the Theme Parks.

Inspired by their love of these and our celebrations of the Chinese New Year I thought it would ideal to create our own version to cook with my teens and for younger kids to enjoy.

Pinterest image of 2 views of homemade Tanghulu, a Chinese candied fruit made for Chinese New Year with the kids.

Chinese New Year Printable Games

Love printables then check out our selection of Fun Chinese New Year Printable Games for Kids.

Ingredients for making your own Tanghulu

  • 3 mandarin oranges, peeled and separated
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • 12 wooden kebab sticks

You will also need a candy thermometer to measure the temperature of your candy to a hard candy setting.

Candied orange segments on a skewer.

How to Make your Chinese New Year Candied Fruits with Kids

1. Place two segments of orange on the end of each kebab stick.

Orange segments placed on bamboo skewers on a wooden chopping board.

2. Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Sugar and water solution inside a pan ready to heat to form hard candy.

3. Using a candy thermometer, cook the sugar until it reaches hard crack stage at around 150? or 300F.

4. Immediately remove the pan from the stove and place it on a heat proof surface.

Dipping orange segments on skewers into the hard candy solution coating them thoroughly.

5. Dip each skewer into the sugar, rotating it to coat all sides.

Orange segments coated in homemade hard candy drying on parchment paper.

6. Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet to cool.

7. Continue dipping until all the oranges have been coated.

Tanghulu - candied orange on a skewer with red ribbon above.

8. Enjoy immediately after the candy has hardened.

More Chinese New Year Activities for Kids

Why not try some of these other ideas to celebrate the Chinese New Year too

Pinterest image of Chinese New Year Tanghulu to cook with kids.
Orange segments coated in a homemade hard candy on a white plate. Text overlay reads Chinese Candied Fruit Cooking with Kids.

Chinese Candied Oranges

Cerys Parker
A simple recipe for you to cook with older kids or for your younger kids to make some Tanghulu or Chinese style candied oranges. Ideal for celebrating Chinese New Year with kids.
No ratings yet
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Snack
Cuisine Chinese, Cooking with Kids
Servings 12
Calories 80 kcal

Equipment

  • Candy Thermometer
  • Baking Tray
  • Parchment Paper
  • Small Saucepan

Ingredients
  

  • 3 Mandarin Oranges peeled and separated
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • 12 wooden kabob skewers

Instructions
 

  • Place two slices of orange on the end of each kabob stick.
  • Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat.
  • Using a candy thermometer, cook the sugar until it reaches the hard crack stage at 300 degrees 150 celsius.
  • Immediately remove the pan from the oven and place it on a heat-safe surface.
  • Dip each orange skewer into the sugar, rotating it to coat all sides.
  • Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet to cool.
  • Continue dipping until all the oranges have been coated.
  • Enjoy immediately after the candy has hardened.

Nutrition

Serving: 12gCalories: 80kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 0.3gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.01gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.01gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.01gSodium: 1mgPotassium: 60mgFiber: 1gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 74IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 0.04mg
Keyword Candied Fruits, Chinese Candied Fruits, Chinese New Year Recipe for Kids, Tanghulu
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