Korean Dalgona Candy Recipe (Squid Game Candy)

Learn to make Korean Dalgona candy with just two simple ingredients and play the Squid Game Dalgona challenge at home! This version offers a paleo, vegan version made with coconut sugar and a regular version made with white sugar. Easy to make at home with no fancy equipment.

Squid Game Candy

If you’ve watched the popular Netflix series “Squid Game,” you probably recognize this Korean Dalgona Candy. It’s the main part of one of the games that the characters play in the show, and it’s actually really fun (if your life isn’t dependent on it). 

It’s not the same as Dalgona coffee, although the coffee version got its name from the candy because of what it looks like in the process of making it. 

What is Dalgona Candy?

While this traditional South Korean candy is called Dalgona (달고나), or “it’s sweet,” the more common name that I grew up with is Ppogi (뽑기), which means “to pick out.” It is named after a type of Korean honeycomb toffee/ honeycomb candy called dalgona, which has a sponge-like texture. Despite its different names, it is a well-known, popular street food in South Korea with a sweet toffee flavor, and the object is to carve out the stamped shape in the center of the cookie. 

It became popular in the 1970s and ’80s when street vendors with a portable charcoal stove would make sugar candy with a metal ladle, a wooden chopstick, and a couple tablespoons of sugar. It quickly became a fun game for children with the “dalgona candy challenge.”

The dalgona challenge is If you are able to carve out the imprinted shape perfectly, you can bring it back to the street vendors, and they’ll give you another one for free! I went to kindergarten and 1st grade in Seoul, Korea, and tried Dalgona candy (ppogi) a few times on the way home from school. I have never successfully won a second candy. It’s actually a lot harder than it looks! But it’s a super fun activity and experience. 

Thanks to its recent popularity on social media and Netflix, this fun candy is getting popular once again. In “Squid Game,” each Dalgona candy is served with a needle so you can scratch out the outline before attempting to break off the background pieces.

Watch a Short Video of This Recipe

How to Make “Squid Game Candy”

This delicious Korean candy is very simple in its ingredients, but the process of making dalgona candy takes a bit of practice and time. The melted hot sugar hardens quickly, so you have to work fast. 

However, the end result of this Korean sugar candy recipe is so worth it; it’s really cute and fun. Make sure you have all the equipment ready and prepped so you can work quickly.

Ingredient Notes

• coconut sugar: You can substitute plain sugar (white sugar), but I wanted to make a refined sugar-free candy version!
• baking soda

Equipment Needed

• parchment paper
• wide measuring cup or a bowl with a flat bottom or a hotteok press
• coconut oil: Or any other cooking oil will work
• small saucepan
• metal spoons
• cookie cutters: This is a Dalgona candy kit if you want to buy the official equipment with the different shapes you can make. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

Keep in mind that once the Dalgona ppopgi sugar mixture has melted, you’ll need to work fast because the mixture starts hardening up quickly.

1. Prep your equipment and work space before beginning: Place parchment paper on a flat, sturdy surface or sheet pan. Use coconut oil to generously grease the bottom of a measuring cup or bowl and set aside.
2. Heat coconut sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Continuously stir with a metal spoon, and the sugar will start melting and become liquified in about 2 minutes.
3. WORKING QUICKLY, turn off heat and stir in baking soda. The mixture will become a light caramel color and start frothing.
4. Immediately spoon out 1/3 of the mixture on the prepared piece of parchment paper using 2 spoons. Flatten it into a circle with the bottom of the greased bowl, then quickly use a cookie cutter to stamp an outline in the center without going all the way through.
5. Repeat the previous step two more times.
6. Let your dalgona candy cool completely for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Storage Tips

You can keep your dalgona candy in an airtight container at room temperature (in a cool, dry place) for up to a week. 

Recipe FAQs

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