Dalgona candy has been around since the 1960s as a popular Korean street snack. However, its popularity faded as the economy grew and the influence of Western snacks.
Thankfully due to the recent Netflix series, Squid Game, this retro candy snack has entered the eyes of the world. In episode 3 of Squid Game, we see contestants playing Ppopgi. This is a traditional Korean game where children would try and pick out the indented shape from the dalgona candy without breaking it!
As the candy is made from sugar and baking soda, it has a honeycomb texture and is brittle. In the Netflix series, we see contestants using many methods to retrieve the indented shape but what’s the most effective method? And how would you win?
The Squid game candy challenge is now on-trend on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram where people are trying to see how hard the game really is!
Here’s how you can win:
Wet the toothpick to get a more precise pick but this may take longer to break and is not useful if you’re under a time constraint!
Heat your needle or toothpick would be a good idea as you would inadvertently melt the honeycomb - but this would be cheating unless you’re as sneaky as Jang Deok-su and Han Mi-nyeo in the games!
Lick the candy! This will help to release the indented shape by eating it away slowly! (We personally prefer this)
Dunk it in milk! Same theory as licking the candy but watch out for it melting too quickly!
Lastly, when you’re making the candy you can press harder using the cookie cutter and this would help to make the indented shape easier to remove!