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Tang gua (malt sugar candy)
Pulled maltose sweets shaped like little melons and rolled in sesame for Xiaonian
On Xiaonian, the 'little New Year' a week before the Spring Festival, families across northern China offer tang gua to the Kitchen God before he flies up to report on the household: the sticky sweets are meant to glue his mouth shut, or at least sweeten his words. The name means 'sugar melons', after their round, ribbed shape. Pulling the hot maltose over and over turns it from amber glass to a pale, airy candy that shatters and then turns chewy, with a toasty malt flavour and plenty of sesame. Serve them with tea on Xiaonian and keep the rest in a tin for New Year guests. Chef's tip: wear clean rubber or silicone gloves and work on an oiled tray; hot sugar sticks to skin and burns.
- Total time
- 180 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb maltose (malt sugar syrup)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp neutral oilfor the tray and gloves
- 2 ⅞ oz white sesame seedstoasted until pale gold
- 2 tbsp cornflourfor dusting
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Oil a large heatproof tray with 1 tbsp neutral oil and set a sugar thermometer beside the hob. Put on clean heat-resistant gloves and oil them lightly too.
5 minStep 2: Warm 1 ⅛ lb maltose (malt sugar syrup) and ¼ cup water in a heavy saucepan over a medium-low heat, stirring until loose and evenly runny, about 5 minutes.
5 minStep 3: Stop stirring and boil gently over a medium heat until the syrup reaches 300°F and a drop in cold water snaps cleanly, 15–20 minutes. Common mistake: taking it off too early; under-cooked maltose never sets and turns into a sticky puddle.
18 minStep 4: Pour the syrup onto the oiled tray and leave for 8–10 minutes, folding the edges into the middle with an oiled spatula, until it is cool enough to lift as one soft lump but still very warm.
10 minStep 5: Pull the candy into a long rope, fold it back on itself and pull again, over and over for 10–15 minutes, until it turns from amber to opaque cream and feels firm and satiny.
15 minStep 6: Dust the worktop with 2 tbsp cornflour, roll the candy into a rope about 3 cm thick and snip it into 3 cm pieces with oiled scissors.
10 minStep 7: Working quickly while the pieces are still pliable, press each into a round melon shape, mark ribs down the sides with the back of a knife and roll in 2 ⅞ oz white sesame seeds.
20 minStep 8: Leave to set at cool room temperature for 1 hour, until hard and crisp. Store in an airtight tin with a little cornflour between layers, somewhere cool, for up to 3 weeks.
60 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 190 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tang gua (malt sugar candy) take?
- About 180 minutes in total: 150 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of white sesame seeds?
- Poppy seeds or finely chopped pumpkin seeds, same amount.
- What can I use instead of cornflour?
- Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.
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