Dalgona Candy (Korean Honeycomb Toffee) is the candy in Squid Game that has become the latest challenge on the internet!
Made famous by the Netflix series, Dalgona candy is a traditional Korean candy that is easy to make at home to enjoy and play with. In the show Squid Game, we see the players trying to carve out shapes from the honeycomb toffee candy without breaking it or risking their lives if they lose.
Take part in this fun squid game cookie trend that has social media going crazy by making your own DIY traditional Korean candy out of only two ingredients.
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What is Dalgona Candy?
Dalgona candy is made from sugar and baking soda. The old fashioned Korean sweet has a hard honeycomb toffee-like texture. Street vendors will prepare it using a soup ladle and make this into a round cookie with a shape in the middle. The shape in the centre is usually a circle, star, triangle or umbrella.
Dalgona candy is also called Korean honeycomb toffee, Ppopgi or is simply known as Dalgona.
What is the Dalgona game?
In the Dalgona game, players have to carve out shapes from a Korean honeycomb cookie called Dalgona candy. In Korea, the Dalgona game is traditionally known as Ppopgi.
Ppopgi, which means 'to pick', was a very popular game in Korea during the 1960s and 1970s. This traditional Korean candy was sold by street vendors, mainly outside schools. Children would take up the challenge not to break the central shape.
Children often use a needle or toothpick to pick out the central shape. Some vendors would even give out a second honeycomb toffee if the children were successful!
Squid Game
Fans of the Netflix show Squid Game may know this sweet treat simply as the Squid Game Candy.
In episode 3 of Squid Game, titled The Man with The Umbrella, we see this children's game taking a twisted turn. If players fail to remove the indented shape they will lose the round and die.
Due to the show's popularity, the old school Korean candy has now become the Dalgona candy challenge or Squid Game cookie trend challenge on Tiktok! Fans of the show are challenging themselves to remove the indented shape to see how difficult the game is and whether they would survive in Squid Game.
Ppopgi vs dalgona
Ppopgi is the name of the game that uses Dalgona candy. The word Ppopgi means to pick in Korean. Meanwhile, Dalgona means sweet.
In the past, Ppopgi and Dalgona were two different types of traditional Korean candy. Vendors would make Ppopgi with white sugar and Dalgona with glucose solid. However, nowadays, the terms are used interchangeably. Therefore, you will find street vendors more commonly make this Korean snack with white sugar.
Dalgona Candy Calories
Dalgona candy has roughly 70 calories as it is only made with sugar and baking soda.
Tools
To make this old fashioned Korean sweet you can buy a Korean honeycomb toffee making kit that comes with a measured ladle, press and some fun moulds to use as your centre shape.
However, you can also utilise some tools lying around your house.
Ladle
This will be what you will use for cooking the sugar and mixing the baking soda. Try and use a cheap one as it will be exposed directly to the heat.
Wooden chopsticks
You will use this to stir the mixture. You can also use wooden sticks or popsicle sticks instead.
Silicone mat
You will pour the honeycomb toffee mixture onto this. Using a Silicone mat will help get the sweet off once it's cooled.
Hotteok Press
Like a burger press, a Hotteok Press is a tool you can use to press down the honeycomb toffee mixture to get an even flat surface.
Cookie cutters
Use any cookie cutter pattern you like, but remember that a simple design will make the game easier. Make sure to pick cookie cutters that just fit within the centre of your Korean sweet. If you want to reenact the game in Squid Game, make sure to get the umbrella, triangle, circle and star cookie cutters.
Ingredients
There are only two ingredients you will need to make this traditional Korean sweet. Sugar and baking soda are all you need.
Make sure you use refined granulated sugar for the sugar, making it easier to melt in the cooking process. You can choose from using white or brown sugar. However, traditionally it is made using white sugar.
For the baking soda, you will only need a pinch of it. Important to note, you can't substitute with baking powder.
How to make Dalgona candy
You can make this delicious old school Korean candy in less than 5 minutes. We'll go through the detailed measurements and steps in our recipe below, but the basic 5 steps are here.
- Caramelise the sugar.
- Add the baking soda and mix well.
- Pour the mixture onto a silicone mat.
- Use a press to make sure it has a flat even surface.
- Use a cookie cutter to add a shape in the centre. Leave it to cool and enjoy!
Cooking Tips
When caramelising the sugar, make sure to use medium to low heat to avoid burning the sugar. Patience is key! When it is ready, the sugar should have a light brown colour.
When you're ready to add the baking soda, remove the ladle from the direct heat source to stop it from cooking any faster.
Use the baking soda sparingly until you have formed a good mixture and consistency. Too much baking soda can make your Ppopgi bitter and make cleaning up later harder as the mixture might stick to the ladle and other surfaces.
Use a cookie cutter to add an indented shape in the centre. Press down gently to make the game harder. On the flip side, the deeper the indent, the easier it is to remove the shape in the centre!
If you're making a large amount of this, make sure to run the ladle under hot water after each time. This will help to remove the sugar residue.
Many people find it challenging to use a cookie-cutter without it sticking to the Dalgona candy. You can use some oil around the cookie-cutter before making your shape to stop this from happening.
How to enjoy
You can eat this old school Korean candy by eating it by itself or with milk. However, you can also break it into small pieces and serve over ice cream or a cup of Dalgona coffee.
Alternatively, the most popular way to enjoy Dalgona candy is to play the Ppopgi game. Try and remove the indented shape without breaking it!
How to Win at Ppopgi
Here are some tips to win at the popular Dalgona candy challenge that's trending on Tiktok.
Wet your toothpick or needle. This is a trick we see the contestants in Squid Game adopting. It works because it will help you get a more precise pick at the Dalgona candy without breaking around it. However, if you're under a time constraint, this might not work as well.
Heating your toothpick or needle can get you a precise pick, too, but many people will think this is cheating!
Lick the traditional Korean candy just like the protagonist does in the Netflix series Squid Game! This will help to remove the shape in the centre. This is because the surrounding area of the indented shape is thinner than the rest of the cookie!
To make the shape easier to remove, you can press down harder and create a stronger indent when making the ppopgi itself.
Dalgona Candy Challenge | Ppopgi From Squid Game
Ingredients
- 1½ tablespoon sugar
- 1 pinch baking soda (1/16 tsp)
Equipment
Instructions
- Add the sugar into your ladle and place over medium to low heat. Stir until it is entirely melted.
- Add the pinch of baking soda into the melted sugar and mix until fully incorporated.
- Pour the honeycomb mixture onto a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Use a press to gently flatten the mixture so that it has a flat and even surface.
Notes
Nutrition
Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and are only rough estimations.
If you're looking for an excellent video to learn how to make this traditional Korean candy, then check out this video by FoodieBoy! Learn from the street vendors who sell this classic sweet and master it here.
Are you looking for more Korean treats? Then, check out our definitive guide to the best Korean snacks!
Blaybb
I'm so making this for Halloween!
Bettina
Followed this recipe and bought the candy kit to save time. Getting it out of the mold was the hardest part but I dusted it with some flour before and it worked for me
Kim
Got teary eyed when ppopgi started flooding my IG feed - thank you for this recipe
Yuri
me too
J
Love the process of making this! and you can also use it to make dalgona coffee
Valerie
Andreas
Rineee
These cookies have been all over my tiktok! Now I know how hard it is to get the inner circle out of it!
They were so tasty tho!
Mick
It was easier to slowly scratch the surface than to lick it but guess both works
Kiara
This turned out so well! Thank you for the tips on how to "win" the game 😉
Lexi Cavin
Came here after watching squid game
Ali
Came here after Squid game