Finished dish photo of Candied Hawthorn Skewers (Strawberry πŸ“)

Candied Hawthorn Skewers (Strawberry πŸ“)

Recently, I went to Beijing, and my kid fell in love with candied hawthorn skewers. After coming back, he still wanted to eat them, so...let's make some! 2021.1.23 Tried making them again, wanted to verify some minor issues mentioned in the comments. Answers can be found in the tips β†’

Time:30~60 minutes
Difficulty:No cooking skills required

Ingredients

Strawberries12 pieces
Sugar400g
Water200g
Additional bowl of waterAppropriate amount

Steps

1

Wash and de-stem the strawberries, then skewer onto bamboo sticks. I used 20cm bamboo sticks, just enough to skewer 3 strawberries.

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2

Find a large plate to place the finished candied skewers. Dab a bit of oil onto kitchen paper.

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3

Spread the oil evenly on the surface of the plate. This is to prevent the candied skewers from sticking.

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4

Pour sugar and water (2:1 ratio) into a pot. It's best to use a pot with a thick bottom to avoid burning the sugar.

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5

Heat on medium heat to dissolve the sugar. During the initial stage, you can stir lightly to ensure even heating and faster dissolving.

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6

After it bubbles and boils, reduce to low heat to caramelize. This process takes time; I spent about ten minutes. During this period, do not stir or shake the pan!

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7

Once the sugar slightly darkens in color and the syrup becomes thick, it's almost done. To test, dip an extra skewer into the syrup as shown, and quickly place it into cold water (see below).

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8

The sugar should crystallize and become brittle when in cold water. If it’s soft, it needs more cooking.

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9

The crystallization should look like this ↑

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10

Cook until it reaches this color, thick and syrupy, and it’s about ready.

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11

Dip the strawberries into the sugar surface and rotate them continuously to coat evenly. Do not submerge directly into the syrup, as this can lead to uneven coating. Pay special attention to the last strawberry; it’s the hardest πŸ˜‚.

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12

Final result ↑

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13

And there you go ↑ Place the finished strawberry skewers on a plate, wait about 10 minutes for the sugar to harden, and you’re done.

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14

Sugar threads, so delicious πŸ˜‹

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15

2021.1.23 Update Tried a mixed fruit version.

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16

Made a random tangled bunch of candied grapes πŸ˜‚

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17

Strawberries and blueberries.

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18

Red grapes.

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Cooking Tips

Sugar:Water = 2:1 When coating strawberries with sugar, keep rotating! Ps: 1. Many people mentioned strawberries releasing water. This might be because the coating process took too long, or the strawberries were dipped too deep into the syrup, causing them to overheat. β†’ 2021.1.23 Update For strawberries, eat them quickly as they tend to release water. Grapes, blueberries, cherries, and bananas last longer, but they won’t keep overnight πŸ˜‚. 2. About sticky sugar, some suggested rolling the coated skewers in ice water to solve this issue. You can give it a try. β†’ 2021.1.23 Update The main reason sugar turns sticky is insufficient cooking time. The sugar coating progresses as follows (dip a skewer into syrup, then cool in cold water): - Unable to coat - Slight coating, sugar melts on surface in cold water - Slight coating, sugar crystallizes in cold water but melts in mouth - Slight coating, sugar crystallizes in cold water but feels like soft candy in mouth - Proper coating, sugar clearly crystallizes in cold water, becomes chewy but sticky in mouth - Proper coating, sugar clearly crystallizes in cold water, brittle! - Overcooked, burnt taste - Stop cooking, it's burnt