Today I will make another popular Korean street food using fresh strawberries. It is called “strawberry hard candy,” or “딸기 사탕 (DdalGi SaTang)” in Korean. All you need to do is simply melt white sugar and cover the strawberries with it. It can make great and unique party or snack food. In Korea, these are skewered like a kebab. I will show you an easier way to make it at home rather than the typical way you see it as street food.
Yield: 20 Pieces
Short Korean Lesson
- DdalGi (딸기) = Strawberry
- SaTang (사탕) = Hard Candy
Video Instructions
Main Ingredients
- 20 Medium-sized Strawberries
- 20 Bamboo Skewers (6 Inch)
- 1 Cup White Sugar
- ½ Cup Water
Directions
Obtain 20 medium-sized fresh strawberries. Wash them good.
Wipe the strawberries with a paper towel to get rid of any remaining water. It is important to get all of the water so that the candy will stick better to the strawberries.
Optionally cut the stem and leaves off.
Obtain 20 (6 inch) bamboo skewers.
Put the strawberries to the skewers one by one. It is better to use firm strawberries for this because when you coat the sugar, the strawberries will stay on the skewer better.
Alternatively, you can put about 5 strawberries on each skewer.
In that case, you will only need 4 (9-inch) skewers. This is the way you typical see these strawberries as street food.
Obtain an empty cardboard milk container. Poke some pin holes into it, or score the cardboard with a knife, so that they can hold the skewers while the sugar is hardening. Space each hole out far enough to allow room for the strawberries.
Push the skewers into the holes.
Make the holes the same number of your strawberries skewers.
In a small sauce pan, add 1 cup of white sugar and ½ cup of water.
Stir it until the sugar dissolves. Cook on medium-high.
Once it starts to boil, cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the sugar thickens. Depending on your stove temperature, the time can be different.
This is a little tricky because of temperature and cooking time. The syrup can become too hard or soft. We want a crunchy texture. So to check if the sugar is done, this is my secret. When the sugar starts to become thick, dip a tooth pick into the syrup and then immediately dip it in cold water. The texture of sugar syrup should be changed immediately. Try it and see if that’s the texture you want for your candy. If it’s not hard enough, cook it longer. If it’s hard enough, turn off the heat.
Things should be prepared ahead of time because the sugar syrup will become hard very quickly. Dip your strawberries into the syrup and roll them to cover them with the syrup evenly.
If there is nobody near you to hold your coated strawberries, use that milk box to hold them for you while they harden. If you just put the candies on a plate, they will stick to it and the nice shape will be ruined. It doesn’t take long for them to harden. So if you have somebody to help you, they can hold them until they become hard.
If you want to make skewered ones, instead of on per skewer, pour the syrup onto the strawberries using a spoon. You have to do this step very quickly and it is a little tricky to cover them evenly.
You can use different kinds of fruits such as pineapple, kiwi, grapes, etc. I just wanted to show you an interesting way of eating your fruit, but personally I think it is the best eat fresh fruit without any sugar. This can be a little dangerous for kids to make because the sugar is very hot. The sweet and crunchy outside, along with the soft and fruity inside, make them very delicious. Enjoy!
thanks for sharing, will try it soon – side note .. miss spell strawberry in the title “Straberry SaTang”
Thank you very much for finding my mistake. Thanks to you, I could correct it soon. hehe 🙂
Thanks Aeri,I am anxious to try it soon . It’s looks so imazing 🙂
hi aeri thank you for your new recipe i will add this to my COLLECTION RECIPE (AERISKITCHEN)….my niece and nephews are excited to taste your strawberry satang,i will do make that someday when i go home…please can you post BREADED FISH i will try to cook that for my korean boyfriend ,thanks . 😀
hehe.. I will add it to my list. thanks 🙂
This recipe was hard to do for me because of the sugar. I waited for more than ten minutes a mm d the sugar wasn’t thick yet… I feel like theres a step missing…please help…
If you followed the same amount of ingredient with my recipe.. I wonder about your stove temperature… make it with higher temperature.. just every now and then.. check the thickness of your syrup as I showed you the method (dip the toothpick in cold water to see the texture of the sugar..).. so you will not over cook the syrup.. hope this helps..
Hi. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us. But i have a problem. The sugar around the fruit will not stop melting away. I tried placing it in cold water but it still melts. I am making this for the third time and keep failing, how dissapointing 😥 . Please share with me how to keep the sugar hard at room temperature. Thanks 😛
hi quinton,
It sounds like your temperature for the melting sugar was not hot enough.. or you didn’t cook the sugar enough. Did you try my method to check if the sugar is ready or not .. from dipping the sugar syrup with a tooth pick and dip in cold water.. the texture of the tooth pick from cold water is what you will get on your strawberry when you dip it. so try that method.
Can it be made the day before serving? Does it need to be refrigerated?
hi Christina,
When you keep them in the refrigerator too long… (over half day..) the sugar starts to melt?? both the outside and inside texture start to change..
What if you put it out on the table the night over?
hi VungKhai,
I think it will be fine. Thanks 🙂
I can’t believe you have the same desserts as we do! I am a Chinese and we have this in our night market. Thanks for sharing your culture with us. I grow up with the same rice cake but we cut it like your oval shape rice cake and cook in a soup or stir fried. Will love to try your recipe!
hi martina,
It is always very interesting to see the similarities in different cultures and countries. Especially China and Jason seem have many similar points..because of the close distance and historical connection. Thanks for your comment.
The main ingredients states 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of water, but then in the directions it states 1 cup water and 1/2 cup of sugar. Which is correct?
Sorry for my mistake. Yes, it should be 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water. Thanks ^^
Can you clarify the amount of sugar and water? In the Ingredients, it shows 1 cup sugar & 1/2 cup water but in the directions, it says the opposite, 1/2 cup sugar & 1 cup water. Thanks. The strawberries look beautiful.
Hi Karen,
Thank you so~~~ much. You are right. I made a mistake for that part. It should be 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water as the ingredients says. I just corrected it. Thanks again.
why dont you use light corn syrup?
hi Ashley Ulmer,
I think sugar tastes better for this…and sugar is not that healthy but corn syrup is even worse I think..that’s why.. good question though..thanks
hi. how much they usually sell this hard candy?
Hi,
I don’t know exactly how much is it and it will be depends on the store to sell it.. but I guess it will be around 1-2 dollars per stick.
Hi Ms Aeri,
I just wanted to ask how long you could store this for; making sure it’s still fresh. Would you say around about 24hrs?
Also, do you have any suggestions on how to store this once it’s made?
Thank you Ms!
~Cherrie
hi Cherrie,
Sorry for the late reply. You can use wax paper to wrap to store it in the refrigerator or freezer..but it will not last that longs.. so yes.. eat it in a day or so.. Thanks