Dalgona candies

January 7, 2023

   

I have a long history of favouring desserts for my potluck contributions, and figuring out something for a Korean theme was a new line of investigation for me. I was seeking a sweet that I could plausibly make vegan, gluten-free and FODMAP-friendly. I decided, as I browsed, that I also didn't feel confident or excited about making anything with rice flour or red beans.

A fun remaining option was dalgona candies, a confection with close relatives all around the world - I know it best as honeycomb, which I've made once or twice before. Many blogs with Korean roots share stories of childhood nostalgia along with their recipes, and I was most drawn to the version on Maangchi. She includes a video of the process, makes quite free-form candies, and adds nuts to them for a little extra interest. Many other blogs show flatter, nut-free candies with lollypop sticks, which are typcially made with specialised tools and known more specifically as ppopgi.

Something they all have in common is that they're cooked one serving at a time in a ladle against an open flame! Expecting about 10 guests at the potluck, I did not have the patience for that, and made a larger quantity of the mixture in a saucepan. The downside to my approach is that I managed to spoon out 3-4 smooth-looking candies before the bubbles took over, and the remainder had a more jagged appearance. (The smooth pretties are in the top photo and, in the interests of transparency, their rougher-looking counterparts are pictured below.) Regardless of their appearance, they're fun, very sweet, loudly crunchy and a touch messy to eat.

If you're interested in making your own Dalgona candies, I'd highly recommend that you research them beyond this post, to see the variety of serving styles, tools and techniques involved.

   

Dalgona candies

(scaled up from this Maangchi recipe)

~1/2 cup mixed nuts (I used salted peanuts, raw cashews, roasted almonds)

1 cup caster sugar

1.5 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

Line two baking trays with paper. Arrange clusters of nuts across the baking sheet for each individual serving - I made ten.

Place the sugar in a saucepan and set it over medium heat. Allow the sugar to cook until it's all melted and golden. This is likely to take a while - you may wish to tinker with the heat, and it will be difficult to resist prodding the sugar along the way. 

When the sugar is completely melted and smooth, take it off the heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. As you stir, the mixture will froth up to triple the volume. Drop big spoonfuls of the mixture onto each cluster of nuts - if you can work fast and drop each serving from a single spoon, you're more likely to achieve smooth surfaces on your candies. Allow the candies to set for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Store dalgona candies in an airtight container and keep them away from moisture.