Make sweet, sugary 'bing tanghulu' treats for the Chinese Lunar New Year

Walking down a street in Beijing you might see store windows filled with skewers packed with shiny, glazed fruits. These treats are called bing tanghulu, and they're a perfect treat to celebrate Chinese New Year or Valentine's Day.

'Bingtang' means crystallized sugar, and 'hulu' refers to the gourd-like shape of Hawthorns, the sour fruit traditionally used to make this snack. So 'bing tanghulu' roughly means fruit covered in a hard, sugary shell.

Hawthorns aren't commonly available in the United States, so we used strawberries in this recipe, adapted from The Kwendy Home.

What you'll need:

• strawberries or another fruit

• skewers

• sugar

1. Wash the strawberries then, with an adult's supervision, cut off the tops.

2. Poke the skewers through the strawberries. Traditionally, there would be several fruits on one skewer, but just one can be a bit easier to handle.

3. Mix 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a bowl over medium heat. You want the mixture to bubble and turn a golden brown color, which could take 15 minutes or so.

4. Dip skewered strawberries into the sugary syrup, which should harden around the fruit in a few seconds. Enjoy!

Comments: molly.duffy@thegazette.com