Squid Game: The Challenge - How To Make The Dalgona Candy In Real Life
Both "Squid Game" and its reality game show spin-off, "Squid Game: The Challenge," are full of difficult, high-stakes contests. Though only the former has the competitors playing for dear life, both versions of the series feature a large monetary award, so the stakes are high for the real-life contestants as well. Viewers get to see just how stressful even some of the less physically challenging games, like Dalgona, can be. The nerve-wracking contest forces players to trace shapes out of a special South Korean sugar candy. Competitors are eliminated either the second they crack the dalgona or if they fail to remove the central shape from the rest of the candy within the given time limit.
"Squid Game: The Challenge" has a gross moment or two that take place during this particular game, and the Dalgona event is responsible for one of the show's most devastating eliminations. Still, the candy itself isn't to blame. If you're wondering just what dalgona tastes like — or whether you could carve that umbrella shape out without breaking the candy — there's a way to find out. Dalgona might not be a staple of Western grocery stores, but it's possible to make it at home — a handy dalgona guide by Preppy Kitchen's John Kanell shows that all you need for the delicacy is sugar, baking soda, and some basic cooking equipment.
Two ingredients and some patience make for great dalgona
Dalgona's ingredients have a ratio of two heaping tablespoons of sugar to a very small pinch of baking soda. First, pour the sugar into a metal ladle capable of withstanding heat and melt it over the stovetop. Throughout the process, stir vigorously with a chopstick so it doesn't burn. As soon as it's done, remove the ladle from the heat and stir in the baking soda.
Then, pour the golden dalgona mixture into round shapes on a sheet of parchment paper and use a flat-bottomed metal cup — with some cooking spray on the bottom so it doesn't stick to the candy — to press it into the kind of thinness "Squid Game" fans know (and dread). If desired, use cookie cutters to press shapes into the candies as they cool to give them that Dalgona game look.
Appropriately for a recipe associated with "Squid Game," there may be some speed bumps along the way. The sugar-melting part can be deceptively difficult, for one, and the cleanup can be a bit of a hassle. Still, if you're wondering how hard this challenge is, you can now try it at home. We won't tell anyone if you fail. Plus, you can always make more than enough to try again and again until you discover a way to beat the challenge.