Korean Dalgona, Honeycomb Toffee Candy

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N Seoul Tower

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Korean Dalgona, plated and ready to serve

Dalgona is the crunchy, honeycomb-like candy made by melting sugar and stirring in a pinch of baking soda until it puffs into a golden foam. It became a worldwide sensation through a famous TV series challenge: carve out the stamped shape without breaking it. This version uses allulose, which caramelizes beautifully.

Per serving: 5 calories · 0 g net carbs · 0 g protein · 0 g fat (calculated from the ingredients)

What You’ll Need

Ingredients for Korean Dalgona

Korean Dalgona, plated and ready to serve

Korean Dalgona, Honeycomb Toffee Candy

Dalgona is the crunchy, honeycomb-like candy made by melting sugar and stirring in a pinch of baking soda until it puffs into a golden foam. It became a worldwide sensation through a famous TV series challenge: carve out the stamped shape without breaking it. This version uses allulose, which caramelizes beautifully.
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Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Korean
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 5kcal

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup allulose (granulated)
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • Neutral oil for greasing

Instructions

  • Lightly oil a sheet of parchment paper, a flat metal spatula or press, and any cookie cutters you want to use.
  • Put 1 tablespoon of allulose in a small stainless-steel ladle or tiny pan over low heat. Stir constantly with a chopstick until it melts and turns light golden, about 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat and quickly stir in a tiny pinch of baking soda. Stir rapidly for 5 seconds until it foams and lightens.
  • Pour onto the parchment, wait 10 seconds, then press it flat with the oiled spatula. Immediately press a cookie cutter lightly into the center to stamp a shape.
  • Let it cool for 1 minute until hard. Repeat with the remaining allulose.

Notes

Allulose browns faster than sugar, so keep the heat very low and stop as soon as it turns light golden. The finished candy is slightly softer and may turn sticky in humid weather; store it in an airtight container and eat it the same day.
Chef's Tip: Too much baking soda makes the candy bitter. Use just what clings to the tip of a chopstick.
Keto Swap: Traditional dalgona is pure white sugar. Allulose melts and caramelizes the same way and does not count toward net carbs.
Success Tip: Children love the challenge of carving out the shape with a needle or toothpick. Adults should handle the hot melting step.
Nutrition is calculated from the ingredients and is an estimate per serving. Net carbs exclude fiber and allulose.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 5kcal
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Cooking Korean Dalgona in the kitchen

About This Dish

Dalgona, also called ppopgi in some regions, was a popular street candy outside Korean schools in the 1970s and 1980s. Vendors stamped a shape into each candy, and children who cut it out without breaking it won a free one. The candy became a global craze in 2021 after it appeared in a challenge on the Netflix series Squid Game. Earlier, in 2020, "dalgona coffee," a whipped coffee drink named after the candy’s color and taste, went viral during pandemic lockdowns. Dalgona means "it’s sweet" in a casual Korean expression.

This recipe is from The Ultimate Korean Keto Cookbook by Gisele Costello, Chapter 11: Desserts (N Seoul Tower). See all Korean recipes

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