Tanghulu (탕후루) is somehow very popular in Korea this summer. You've probably seen it around Korea before; it's not a new street food treat, but it's become very trendy this year.
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| #탕후루 on Instagram |
They're kind of like fruit shish-kebabs. Just poke a stick through some pieces of fruits (watermelon pieces, tomatoes, orange slices, strawberries), and coat them in a sticky sugar syrup. Apparently they can sit out in the hot humid heat all day on a food stall, the fruit protected from rotting by their solidified coating that crackles when you bite into it.
And
Note that 호리병 because I'll look at pictures of it now.
So maybe instead of this being bottle shaped, our bottles are gourd shaped. Whoa. The slim waist does make for an easy grip.
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| Tanghulu - Wikipedia |
Why am I making a post about this? Just because I was curious about the origin of the name and was pretty surprised by what seems to be the answer.
Supposed meaning of 탕후루
The reason I was surprised is because I have heard from at least 3 actual, native Koreans I know that the name must be:
- 탕 = "tang", Korean word for sugar, plus
- 후루 = "hu-ru", supposedly just transliterating the English word "fruit".
So, sugared/candied fruits. Makes sense, especially since the items are known to be foreign imports so it's natural they don't have a native Korean name.
It sounds right too, since 후르츠 ("hu-ru-ch") is how Koreans transliterate "fruits" in most cases, such as in this can of fruit cocktail transliterated as 후르츠칵테일
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| Fruit Cocktail can on Coupang |
Seems reasonable that 후루 is just a variation of 후르. Right?
Three native Koreans I asked about this believed so. One more thought it's the Chinese way of pronouncing the English word "fruits." And one thought it is some other kind of Hanja meaning, but he didn't know what it is.
Real meaning of 탕후루
The last guy was right.
The (English) Wikipedia article for Tanghulu shows that the Hanja is 糖葫蘆 and states that "it is named for its calabash-like shape."
Let's look those up.
A "calabash" in English is better known as a bottle-shaped gourd, and that's exactly what the Hanja is referring to.
탕 (糖)
Unsurprisingly, "tang" is exactly the common "tang" for sugar, such as in 설탕 and even 탕수육 (糖水肉, literally "sugar syrup meat" i.e. that delicious semi-crispy coated pork you get in Chinese restaurants here with your 짜장면)
糖엿 당, 엿 탕어휘등급 고등용 읽기3급II 쓰기2급 대법원인명용부수 米(쌀미) 총 획수 16획 획순보기1. (엿 당) 2. 엿(곡식으로 밥을 지어 엿기름으로 삭힌 뒤 고아 만든 달고 끈적끈적한 음식) 3. 사탕
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| Naver Hanja dictionary search for 糖 |
And
후루 (葫蘆)
The first definition puts them together as "bottle shaped gourd."
Coincidentally, I just realized that the 박 of a 호박 and a 박 of a 수박 are not the same; 珀 vs 朴.
葫蘆 ( 壺蘆 ) 호로1.호리병박.
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| Naver Hanja dictionary search for 葫蘆 |
Note that 호리병 because I'll look at pictures of it now.
So the "huru" part of Tanghuru is a gourd. Why? We're not eating gourds. But I suppose as Wikipedia said, the treat is named more for the shape rather than the contents.
탕후루는 갖가지 과일에 설탕, 물엿 등으로 만든 시럽을 얇게 바르고 그대로 굳혀서 먹는 길거리 음식인데요, 엿 당(糖)자에 과일을 꼬치에 끼운 모양이 마치 호리병(호로, 葫芦)과 같다 하여 붙여진 이름입니다.
You might not think they look especially similar, but consider that in old times, the Coke bottle -like shape of this gourd was probably the closest naturally occurring thing that had a shape similar to the undulating shape of fruits on a stick. I mean some of these gourds do look like a ball sitting on top of another ball.
And of course, it's a little funny to call this a "bottle shaped" gourd since the gourd itself appeared way before glass bottles ever did. In the fact these gourds were apparently popular to hollow out and fill with liquids and used as bottles themselves before bottles existed.
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| Google screenshot, 曳叱 葫芦 甁 |
So maybe instead of this being bottle shaped, our bottles are gourd shaped. Whoa. The slim waist does make for an easy grip.
Anyway I just thought this was interesting. I'm not saying every Korean is misinformed about the origin of this name so please don't send me angry tweets and comments. It just seemed like, among my personal social group, this wasn't common knowledge. But now you know so you can be a smarty pants.
Of course I'm no Hanja expert either so if there are any errors, let me know.
Update: The always interesting Language Log has a detailed post up looking at the difference between using 호로 (which no Korean in the office had ever even heard before) and 박 (which absolutely everyone would know):
Koreans do have the word 葫蘆, read 호로 (horo), at least in written sources. But the colloquial modern word for 'gourd, calabash' is, as you say, 박, which, as best I know, is a native Korean word. In Middle Korean, the word had a high tone (marked by Sejong (1397-1450) as a "去聲" ["falling tone"]). Now, that short native word is also the source of 바가지, the common word for the everyday utensil used as a dipper (made originally by splitting and hollowing out a gourd but now usually made out of plastic!)
Is it healthy?
By the way, before I go, just how many calories are these things? They're mostly fruit, OK. But that sugary syrup? What are we looking at, here?
Let's do some sleuthing.
This site says that 100g of Tanghulu is 240 calories. Coupang sells 60g sticks of them and each stick has 3 of the fruits. Most sticks in people's Instagram photos have 5-6 fruits per stick, let's call that 100g. Checks out. 240 calories.
A strawberry has 6 calories. 6x6= 36 calories of strawberries in 1 stick. 240 - 36 = 204.
So congratulations. You're eating 35 calories of strawberries and 200 calories of sugar syrup in each stick you ram down your gullet. Feeling healthy and light this summer? Think twice.
Take your Insta shot, and walk away. Don't even think of popping into a convenience store for more after hours.
Also, since this summer is really making the pretty photogenic Tanghulu a trend, can I say that we are basically in Korean decorative gourd season, mofos?
Just be sure to dispose of the stick properly when you're done. Don't make a sticky smelly garbage flower that attracts bugs:
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