Sitemap

Something on Dalgona

3 min readJun 4, 2022

--

Dalgona is a traditional Korean candy made from melted sugar and baking soda. It was a popular street snack in the 1970s and 1980s and is still eaten as a nostalgic food today. When a pinch of baking soda is mixed into melted sugar, the thermal decomposition of the baking soda releases carbon dioxide, causing the liquidized sugar to puff up and harden into a light and crunchy candy. The creamy beige liquid is typically poured onto a flat surface, pressed flat, and stamped with a patterned mold. Eaters attempt to trim their way around the snack’s outline or picture without breaking it. Traditionally, the consumer receives another free dalgona if this trimming is completed without breaking the candy.

Modern cafes in Korea serve novel Dalgona coffee beverages, such as iced tea or coffee with dalgona-flavored coffee cream, as well as pastries such as scones. Dalgona was also used by some cafes to launch desserts such as bingsu and souffle.

Dalgona appeared in an episode of the Netflix series Squid Game, with the second game being a deadly version of the Dalgona challenge. The success of the series led to a revival of the candy’s popularity in South Korea, and street vendors’ sales more than doubled. As a challenge, people have taken to social media to make their own candy at home.

Press enter or click to view image in full size

What Exactly Is Dalgona Coffee?

Dalgona coffee is a whipped coffee beverage made from instant coffee (Korean instant coffee is delicious), sugar, water, and milk. I thought it made perfect sense for Koreans when I first heard about it. Instant coffee is available everywhere, and it’s not great, but it’s also not terrible. It’s just extremely common. There are instant coffee machines in restaurants so that when you leave after a meal, you can get a little Dixie cup of instant coffee to go, and there are instant coffee machines in subway stations so that you can get a big gulp before the next train arrives. When I first saw the viral challenge, I assumed that someone thought they’d try making good instant coffee and came up with this because they had a lot of free time. It didn’t look particularly appealing, but I gave it a shot after drinking some genuine Dalgona coffee to compare the two.

Get Marystewart’s stories in your inbox

Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.

HOW DOES DALGONA TASTE?

Dalgona is sweet, but it also has a smoky caramel flavor. It has a light and airy texture with a thin brittle texture similar to honeycomb candy.

DALGONA EXPERIENCE

Dalgona can be eaten on its own, but some people prefer it as a topping on frozen desserts (such as ice cream) or Korean-style latte drinks.

Lift the candy up after it has cooled and try to break the edges around the indentation. It is more difficult to break cleanly and smoothly if it has been cooled for an extended period of time. You can do this with your fingers, saliva, or needles.

Some claim that using a needle dipped in hot water every now and then works like a charm.

Where to Buy Dalgona Candy?

If you want to try real Dalgona candy, go to www.familyk.ae. He has amazing candy but limited stock, so hurry up and buy. He also has all kinds of Korean products.

--

--