By now we all know about Dalgona coffee. But what about the Korean candy that it was named after?
Dalgona (달고나) is a traditional Korean candy made with melted sugar and baking soda. It’s a sponge toffee-like candy Korean kids grew up having from street vendors in the neighbourhoods, especially around local schools.
The word ‘dalgona’ was derived from the casual Korean word ‘dalguna’ (달구나) which means ‘it’s sweet’. It’s also called Ppopgi (뽑기), which means to pick or select, which refers to the game and reward aspect of this candy offered by the vendors.
What’s the game you might ask? A cute pattern is usually stamped onto the candy and while eating it, kids and adults alike will try to eat around the outline of the patterns without breaking it. If you successfully do so without the candy falling apart, the street vendor will give you another for free!
This fun candy is made by melting sugar and then mixing in a little bit of baking soda. The sugar mixture will then foam up, turning into something that resembles a light caramel whipped cream. This is where it looks like the Dalgona whipped coffee!
The sugar mixture is then poured out, and flattened to a thin round disk and imprinted with a pattern before it hardens and becomes brittle.
Making this Korean candy at home is a fun activity that the kids can get in on. Not to mention, it’ll bring out the kid in you too! Read on if you’re interested in learning how to make this at home.
Tools required:
- Stainless steel ladle
- A chopstick
- Non-stick baking sheet or parchment paper
- Hotteok/dalgona press (or use a small bowl with a flat bottom, around 10-12 cm in diameter)
- Cookie cutters
- Lollipop sticks (option)
Ingredients (makes one serving):
- 1.5 tbsp sugar (white or brown)
- Small pinches of baking soda
Directions:
Add the sugar to the ladle and put over low to medium heat. Use a chopstick to stir it once the sugar starts to melt around the edges.
Continue to stir constantly, making sure to control the heat. If the sugar starts to smoke, raise the ladle a few inches above the heat, then lower it back once it cools off a little. Repeat as necessary until the sugar melts completely without any lumps.
Hold the ladle away from the heat and let the sugar mixture cool off a little before stirring in the baking soda.
Stir quickly until the baking soda is completely dissolved and the mixture turns frothy and into a light caramel color. While stirring, you can bring the ladle closer to the heat for a second or two to keep it warm, but don’t let it go for too long or the sugar will burn at the bottom.
Remove the mixture from the heat and pour onto a non-stick baking sheet or parchment paper. If you have a lollipop stick, now’s the time to put attach it to the sugar mixture.
Let the sugar cool for 10 to 15 seconds before lightly pressing it down with the dalgona press or bowl. Lift and press a couple of times, before pressing it all the way to your desired thickness. This is to prevent the dalgona from sticking to the press/bowl.
Proceed to stamp the sugar with a cookie cutter, firmly but not all the way through and remove the cutter.
Let the sugar continue to cool until it hardens, and then enjoy!