Tanghulu

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

Tanghulu is a traditional Chinese street food sweet treat, it was traditionally made with tart Chinese hawthorn berries, but has been changed up to include other fruits like strawberries, grapes, mandarin oranges and kiwi.

I've been wanting to try this snack for quite a while but never come across it when out and about in London's China town. It wasn't until I decided to have a look at recipes that I thought to make them myself.

Let's get making!

Ingredients:

1lb strawberries and grapes

2 cups white sugar

1 cup water

Start off by washing and patting dry your fruit with a paper towel.

Get your fruit ready, remove the green stems from your strawberries and remove grapes from the stems.

Next arrange the fruit onto skewers. I arranged it so there were 1 strawberry and 2 grapes per skewer.

Fill a bowl with cold water and add a few ice cubes to make an ice bath.

Add the sugar and water to a medium-sized pan and bring them to a boil over a medium heat. Do not stir.

The temperature of the sugar syrup has to reach around 300F/150C. This takes around 5-10 minutes. The syrup will start to reduce and become amber in colour.

If you don't have a sugar thermometer, drizzle some syrup into the bowl of water. It should set right away and form brittle crystal threads that break easily.

Once the sugar syrup is ready, remove from the heat. You can prop the pan at an angle, so it's easier to dip the skewers into the pan.

Prepare your workstation: skewered fruit, syrup, ice bath, and wire rack or tray with baking parchment.

Take one of the skewers and quickly dip it into the mixture, making sure all the fruit is coated. Immediately dip into the ice water and lay onto a wire rack. Repeat the steps until all the fruit skewers are done.

Let the skewers rest on the rack for a few minutes

You now have Tanghulu ready to snack on and enjoy.

This takes a little time to make, but it's definitely worth it. I did burn myself a couple of times, but that's to be expected with me, if it's not on the wire rack in the oven, it's pan and my cooking.

I love the hard sugar syrup against the softer fruit. It definitely is the perfect sweet treat.

My only issue was that if they're not eaten quick enough, the sugar syrup begins to dissolve, even in the fridge. That aside, I'd definitely make them again.

If you would like to follow the original recipe, then head over to Tanghulu recipe page on the Alpha Foodie recipe page.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye

Simply Cook

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안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

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Cook restaurant quality meals!

Each box comes with 4 recipe kits and 4 step-by-step recipe cards.

Following the recipes, you combine the kits with 4-6 items from your fridge or cupboard.

Then in just 20 minutes  you'll be enjoying a delicious meal for 2-4 people.

First from this box I cooked the Penne Alla Rustica. In this kit you get Garlic & Rosemary Mix, Rustica Paste and Red Pepper Sprinkle.

This is a dish I always enjoy. It's full of flavour and really filling, it definitely hits a spot. I love the tomato with the chorizo.

Next from this box I cooked the Indochinese Hakka Noodles. In this kit you get Indochinese Spice Rub, Indochinese Paste and Hakka Sauce.

This is another dish we love and always enjoy. The flavours are amazing and I love all the different textures. It all works together perfectly.

Next from this box I cooked the Soy & Honey Salmon. In this kit you get Soy & Honey, Miso Glaze and Yasai Sauce.

I absolutely love salmon and this dish is delicious. No matter how many times I get her to try it, Skye doesn't like salmon, so I always make hers with a chicken breast. she seems to enjoy it so it must work together.

Last from this box I cooked the Korean Beef Bulgogi Stir-Fry. In this kit you get Bulgogi Marinade, Honey Ginger Sauce and Gochujang.

I've been getting these boxes now for 5 years, and this dish was one of the reasons I started getting them. This is still a dish even after 5 years that we love to have in our boxes. It's full of flavour and I love all the textures. It's a delicious dish that we both love and enjoy.

Each box is £11.78 or £9.99 if you click ship now, with your first box being a trial price of £3.

If you are interested in making your own Simply Cook subscription, then head over to the Simply Cook website, to check out more details as well as their big catalogue of dishes to make.

Here is a code to help you on your way and to get you your first box free:

Free box invitation code.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye

Sweet & Sour Chicken Hong Kong Style

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

I've cooked sweet and sour chicken before, but never thought about cooking it Hong Kong style. I was surprised with how eas it was, even if a little messy to make, I came across this recipe on the BBC Good Food website.

Lets get cooking!

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:

Sunflower or vegetable oil, for frying

100ml soda water, chilled

140g self-raising flour

25g cornflour

2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

spring onions, thinly cut to serve

For the Sauce:

1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks

1 tsp gochujang paste

425g can pineapple chunks

4 star anise

50g tamarind paste

100g caster sugar

100ml rice wine vinegar

To make the sauce, put the red pepper, gochujang and pineapple juice in a pan. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Once cooked, puree in a food processor/blender.

Return to the pan with the pineapple chunks, star anise tamarind sugar and vinegar. Gently simmer for 20-30 minutes until reduced and sticky. Keep warm, or reheat later.

Fill a large pan 1 cm deep with oil and heat until simmering.

Whisk the soda water and 100ml cold water into the self-raising flour with a little salt. Stir the batter well.

Tip the cornflour onto a plate, line a tray with kitchen roll and turn the oven onto low. Dust the chicken pieces with the cornflour .

Dip in the batter.

One at a time, lower into the hot oil, about 5-6 pieces a batch. Turn up the heat to keep the chicken frying, if needed. Cook for about 5-6 minutes, turning once.

Once cooked, drain on the tray, and keep warm in the oven. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken.

Reheat the sauce, stack the chicken onto a plate, and scatter the spring onions.

I served mine with rice.

I served the sauce separately for Skye, but I covered my chicken with mine and it was delicious. I think in the future I'd place the chicken in the sauce while reheating it and serve it like it comes from the takeaway. It was full of flavour and tasted just liked I'd ordered a Chinese for us.

It was pretty easy an simple to make, even if it was slightly messy with the batter. I'll happily cook this again, and I'd definitely recommend this for other to cook and try.

If you would like to follow the original recipe, then head over to the BBC Good Food Sweet & Sour Chicken recipe page.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye