Red Pomelo Peel Candy — Beautiful, Great Texture, a Crowd-Pleaser for Holiday Guests

Steps

1. 1

   Step 1

   

   Peel off and discard the yellow outer skin of the red pomelo, keeping the white pith.

   ✅ Done when: All of the yellow outer skin has been removed, leaving only the white pith.

2. 2

   Step 2

   

   Cut the pomelo peel into any shapes you like — triangles or irregular squares both work.

   ✅ Done when: The peel is cut into evenly sized pieces in the shape you chose.

3. 3

   Step 32 min

   

   Massage the peel with salt for 2 minutes, until it shrinks in volume and softens.

   ✅ Done when: The peel has visibly reduced in volume and feels soft when squeezed.

4. 4

   Step 4

   

   Rinse the peel in water to wash off the salt and the peel's natural bitterness.

   ✅ Done when: The salt is rinsed away and the peel no longer tastes sharply bitter.

5. 5

   Step 5

   

   Squeeze the peel dry, then rinse with fresh water again; repeat 2-3 times.

   ✅ Done when: The peel has been squeezed dry and rinsed with fresh water 2-3 times.

6. 6

   Step 61 min

   High heatBlanching (chao shui) ↗
   

   Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the peel, and cook for 1 minute. Remove, rinse under cold water, and squeeze dry — the drier the better. Do not blanch longer than 2 minutes. Treated this way, the peel has virtually no bitterness, just a light pomelo fragrance.

   ✅ Done when: The peel has been blanched for 1 minute (no more than 2), rinsed cold, and squeezed as dry as possible.

7. 7

   Step 7

   Medium-high heatSugar caramelizing (chao tang se) ↗
   

   Add the rock sugar and water to a pan with a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat until the sugar melts, then reduce to low and simmer until the syrup has dense, thick small bubbles.

   ✅ Done when: The rock sugar has fully melted and the syrup shows dense, thick small bubbles.

8. 8

   Step 8

   Low heat
   

   Add the squeezed-dry peel, keep the heat on low, and toss to coat the peel evenly with the syrup.

   ✅ Done when: Every piece of peel is evenly coated with syrup.

9. 9

   Step 9

   Low heat
   

   As the peel absorbs the syrup, the pieces plump up again. Keep the heat on low the whole time and stir occasionally — this takes some patience to keep the syrup from scorching on the bottom.

   ✅ Done when: The peel has absorbed the syrup and plumped up, with no syrup scorching on the pan bottom.

10. 10

    Step 103 min

    Low heatStir-frying ↗
    

    When a thin layer of crystallized syrup forms in the pan, turn to the lowest heat and stir-fry for about 3 minutes, then turn off the heat.

    ✅ Done when: A thin layer of crystallized sugar has formed in the pan.

11. 11

    Step 112 min

    Off heatStir-frying ↗
    

    Off the heat, keep stir-frying for about 2 minutes until the candied peel dries out and hardens. The throat-soothing pomelo peel candy is done — the drier it is, the longer it keeps.

    ✅ Done when: The candied peel pieces feel dry and firm to the touch.

12. 12

    Step 12

    

    Store the finished candy in a sealed jar; it keeps for about 1 month, longer if refrigerated. (The author's family finishes a jar in about two weeks.)

    ✅ Done when: The candy is fully cooled and stored in an airtight jar.