Caramelized Fruits On Skewers
Introducing Bingtang Hulu, The Traditional Beijing Street Snack
Read about the origins and medicinal properties of this traditional snack, which still remains popular today with children and adults alike.
In the pale whiteness of the bleak Beijing winters, sticks of 20-centimetre long bingtang hulus stand out prominently with their bright colors. A traditional street snack, it remains popular today with adults and children alike despite competition from modern snacks and sweets.
Its Origins:
Traditionally, bingtang hulus are made by piercing 15 – 20 hawthorns (shan zha) on a bamboo skewer and coating the fruits with melted sugar which caramelizes naturally in the cold. The low temperatures in winter keep the sugar crystallized without melting.
Legend has it that this snack was introduced during the reign of Emperor Guangzong (1147 – 1200) of the Song Dynasty. One day, his favorite imperial consort Huang Guifei lost her appetite for no apparent reason and started to waste away. The expensive herb concoctions prescribed by the imperial physician could not cure her. In the end, a street physician came up with the remedy of consuming a few hawthorns simmered with rock sugar before each meal. The fruits whet Huang Guifei’s appetite and she recovered within a fortnight. This remedy then got passed on to the commoners, who put the hawthorns on skewers for sale. That was the first form of bingtang hulu as we know it today.
Hawthorns:
Sour with a slight tinge of sweetness, this fruit has been known to have the following medicinal properties:
- Treats indigestion;
- Stimulates digestion;
- Lowers cholesterol levels;
- Lowers blood pressure;
- Increases the strength of heart muscle contraction;
- Reduces masses for fibroids and tumors.
These properties were already defined centuries ago by the great Chinese physician and pharmacologist Li Shizhen (1518 – 1593), who penned Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), the epic treatise on Chinese medicine and prescriptions.
Another herb that is commonly skewered with hawthorns is the wild Chinese yam (shan yao). Sections of the white tuber are alternated with the red fruit, with the neutral to slightly sweet taste of the former offsetting the sourness of the latter.
The tuber is said to have the following medicinal properties:
- Promotes urination;
- Lowers blood sugar;
- Lowers blood pressure;
- Is an antibiotic;
- Is anti-aging;
- Improves the functioning of the digestive system;
- Invigorates the lung and alleviates chronic cough;
- Stimulates endocrine secretions to strengthen immunity;
- Strengthens kidney functions.
Given the health benefits of the hawthorn and yam, eating bingtang hulu certainly has more benefits than merely eating any other snacks.
Modern Versions:
To keep up with the times, innovative variations have been made to the ancient snack. To cater to those who do not take to the sour taste of the hawthorns, the fruit is cut in the middle and stuffed with sweet red bean paste. Roasted sesame seeds or crushed walnuts are sometimes sprinkled over the paste for even more flavor.
These other fruits have also been used to prepare bingtang hulus, either combined with hawthorns or without: Mandarin orange, strawberries, pineapple, honeydew, kiwi fruit, dried persimmons and even bananas. No matter what fruit(s) are used, the common denominator remains the sugar coating.
Where To Buy:
There are many street vendors who sell the snack propped up at the back of their bicycles. One cannot be sure when these were made, or whether these are clean and hygienic. A better option is to buy from the little eateries and roadside shops that make them fresh. There are also dedicated bingtang hulu stalls set up inside the supermarkets. You can buy the freshly-made snack from these stalls too.
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