Tanghulu

Tanghulu, or Chinese candied fruit skewers, has gained popularity on Tiktok in the past year or so with good reason. While it is traditionally made with hawthorn berries, it is now popularly made with fruits such as grapes, strawberries, or tangerines. Most of the appeal comes from the sugary crunch you get when the sugar is properly cooked and coated on the fruit, but for fruit enthusiasts like myself, the juicy burst of the fresh fruit is another added plus. The process of making Tanghulu is surprisingly simple: combine equal parts of water and sugar in a pot, dissolve and cook sugar without stirring the mixture, wash and dry the fruit, then add them to the skewers. After you coat the fruit in the sugar, dunk them into an ice bath to help the sugar set quickly, and you end up with a thin layer of crunchy sugar on top of your (hopefully) fresh and juicy fruit.

While this method does work, it isn’t totally foolproof, and you can end up with a sticky, soggy mess. Personally, I like my fruit to stay cold even after coating them in the hot sugar, so I froze my fruit for about an hour beforehand. While this was a good experience and the sugar was fun to eat and satisfying to bite into, Tanghulu isn’t a food Iwould make again and the novelty and excitement wears off after your first skewer.

3.5/5

Cookie Dough Oreo Brownies

Often known by their less-than-savory name, Cookie Dough Oreo Brownies are essentially triple-layered brownies with a cookie dough base, oreo center, and brownie top. While the storebought premade cookie dough and brownie mix is completely fine and delicious, making my own cookie dough and brownies from scratch allowed me to control the sweetness and sugar level to my liking. The bake time for these is notably higher than the 3o minute bake time for normal brownies. Like brownies, however, these should also be cooled before cutting to reduce the risk of a crumbly mess in your pan and them sticking to your knife. The cookie dough base gives the bar a brown sugar-y, not too chocolate-y taste, which contrasts with the richness of the brownie and the Oreo center adds a crunch to the otherwise chewy brownies.

I used a full brownie recipe, but I recommend cutting your brownie recipe in 2/3rds or half to keep your brownies from being too thick. These Cookie Dough Oreo Brownies were perfectly satisfying but admittedly a little too rich, which will make you want to eat the whole pan in one sitting.

4.5/5

Sushi Wrap 

What became the sushi wrap started off as a tortilla wrap hack making it easier to wrap multiple ingredients into their tortilla without spilling anything out. TikTok creators took this trend and ran with it, making it into a sushi-inspired wrap. Instead of a tortilla, you use a large square of seaweed called “nori” and cut a slit from one side of the nori to thecenter. The fillings are entirely customizable but usually contain fish and vegetables, so I used salmon sashimi, rice, cucumber, and avocado. When folded up, the wrap was essentially an easy-to-make sushi roll and tasted exactly like sushi. The nori gave the wrap a nice crunch and the cucumber and avocado brought a nice freshness. While you can cook your protein, I chose to use raw salmon. However you must use sushi-grade fish to make sure that it is safe to eat raw. Honestly, you can put anything into the wrap, so you can take leftovers and make a quick snack or actually take the time to prepare it to resemble and taste like sushi!

4/5

Butter Board

After the charcuterie board went viral and people started making them for parties or gatherings, the butter board became a spin on this classic recipe. It’s essentially just a board with seasoned butter that is paired with a sliced baguette or any other bread of your liking. The butter can be seasoned with herbs, salt, and pepper for flavor. I prefer to use salted butter over unsalted butter because it’s more convenient than mixing in salt yourself, and seasoning with oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Many TikToks also use a drizzle of olive oil on top of the butter, but that isn’t always necessary. 

While this recipe does serve as a good appetizer or starter for a party like butter and bread at a restaurant, it’s really not meant for you to snack on. If you want to snack on it, I would recommend just getting some butter on bread and calling it a day. In my opinion, the hassle of cleaning up the butter on your mixing bowl and board isn’t worth it for your own pleasure or gorging on carbs. However, it is satisfying to dip the bread into the softened butter and to feel all your gains at the gym vanish. 

3/5