Dalgona Candy (Squid Game Sugar Candy)

Dalgona is Korean sugar candy made with sugar and baking soda, and became an overnight sensation from the popular Netflix show, Squid Game. Make squid game candy with this easy recipe and have fun playing dalgona challenge at home

The popular Netflix show “Squid Game” featured this dalgona candy, and it became an overnight sensation via social media. I can see why this squid game sugar candy became so intriguing to non-Koreans. Dalgona candy recipe is a fun to make if you know the story behind it.

FYI, this recipe is for Dalgona candy, not the Dalgona whipped coffee.

History of Dalgona

In 1970s Korea, there weren’t many sweet baked goods available for children. Home baking was virtually unheard of and even having an oven was a rare luxury. Only the wealthiest of families then could have an oven.

Dalgona was a popular sugar candy for young children in those days, and the candy came with a game. There were many dalgona vendors on the street, each with a portable charcoal stove that provided an opportunity for children to make their own dalgona candy. As far as I can remember, I only paid a few pennies.

The vendor would give you a cheap metal ladle filled with a small amount of sugar. You squat down and hold the ladle directly on the briquet, stirring the sugar with a disposable wooden chopstick until the sugar caramelizes. When the sugar turns to a deep amber color, you add a tiny amount of baking soda. Suddenly the contents of the ladle turn into a golden bubbly mass. You quickly turn it over onto a flat surface. The vender will press the mass down with a hotteok press to flatten it, then gently make an indentation with a shaped cutter.

The fun dalgona game begins after that. You want to try to cut the candy around the shape with your hand. The goal is to pick out the indented shape without breaking it. The name Ppopgi (뽑기) comes from that–it means “picking out.” It’s not that easy to do because the candy breaks easily.

Some kids used a needle or a toothpick to poke around the pattern to pick out the shape. Some even used their own saliva to moisten the edge. Only a few with very good fine motor skills could succeed.

If you succeed, you get a second ladle of sugar for free! It’s like a game. I took the Ppopgi game challenge numerous times and hardly ever succeeded. The game can’t be too easy, otherwise the vendor won’t make any profit, right?

By the early 1980s, as Korea developed economically and more families began to have ovens in their own homes, dalgona and ppopgi candy started to disappear, and dalgona street vendors exist now only in our memories.

Dalgona challenge

This humble Korean sugar candy that are so nostalgic to most Korean people has received a global attention around the world.

Thanks to the recent Netflix hit series Squid Game, the dalgona challenge has gone viral over social media with a hashtag #dalgonachallenge.

Picking out the indented pattern from the pressed Korean sugar candy without breaking it is a challenge. It’s not as easy as you think. fun to have the dalgona game at home.

Here I present tools you need to have making dalgona, dalgona recipe, and important cooking tips to succeed. Now you can have some fun playing a dalgona game at home.

Dalgona candy making tools

You can buy a Dalgona tools set from online stores. You can also use any small cookie cutter that you have, along with a Korean Hotteok Press. If you don’t have a hotteok press, use the bottom of small sauce pan to press down.

I would recommend investing in a hotteok press tool, because you can use it to make the amazing Hotteok (Korean sweet pancakes filled with brown sugar syrup). Try my Hotteok recipe and you will love it.

• Ladle – Use a cheap one. Look for one at dollar stores or cheap kitchen supply stores. Don’t use your mother’s nice kitchen ladle. You might possibly get your backside smacked.
• Wooden chopsticks – or popsicle sticks.
• Hotteok Press – It’s a tool to press down the dalgona mass.
• Sugar – use granulated sugar.
• Baking soda – do not substitute with baking powder. It has to be baking soda.
• Cookie cutters – any size and pattern you desire. A simpler pattern will be easier.
• Silicon mat – It helps release the dalgona candy easily. You can also use parchment paper.

Watch how to make dalgona (full version)

Cooking dalgona candy at home

Step 1: Put 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar in a ladle over med-low to low heat. When the sugar starts to melt around the edge, stir with a wooden chopstick.

Step 2: Keep stirring until the sugar melts and caramelizes. Reduce the heat if the sugar burns too quickly. All the sugar has melted and it should have a light caramel color.

Step 3: Remove the ladle from heat, and add a pinch of baking soda. Keep stirring until well mixed.

Step 4: Pour the mixture on a Silicon mat and press gently with a Hotteok Press to flatten.

Step 5: Quickly press down with a cookie cutter to leave an indentation on the surface. Let the candy cool and lift it up with a spatula.

How to enjoy Korean Sugar Candy

• When the candy is cooled, lift up the candy and try to break the edges around the indented shape pattern. Have fun playing around.
• You can enjoy the candy as is, but try enjoying it as a topping for ice cream. Yummy!

How to store

• Once cooled, store them in an airtight zip bag and keep them on the counter.
• How long does dalgona candy last? If you keep it in an airtight container, it will last up to 3 days. If the climate is humid, your dalgona might become sticky.

Try Other Korean Sweet Treats

• Sweet Potato Rice Donuts
• Sweet Rice Corn Hotteok
• LA Style Sweet Rice Cake Bars