English Version / 英文版： Netflix‘s recent Korean show, The Squid Game, which has gone so viral and blown up across every single social media platform: Facebook, Instagram, and most especially, TikTok, to the point where I had to refrain myself from looking at my phone to avoid spoilers, just like the time before Game of Thrones aired their last season. Watching that show made me realize that I am a potential sick serial killer with a mind of a psychopath because I called out all the plotlines for every single episode. But it also made me curious. If I were the victim and not the killer/ murderer, how long could I last? Hence, this week, I decided to do the Dalgona cookie challenge in the 3rd episode of The Squid Game, just to see if I could survive. I’ve been super unathletic since birth. So, except for Hide and Seek (because of my hobbit-sized body figure), I pretty much lose at any childhood games. When it came to picking team members in PE class, I was always the last to be picked. I know, what a loser, eh? But when it comes to psychological tests or intelligence tests, I wasn’t necessarily the worst.
English Version / 英文版： Duru=ing my childhood, there was a riddle/brainteaser that involved solving a murder case. The analysis states that very few people can get the answer right, and those who get it right are potentially twisted serial killers and murderers with the minds of psychopaths. During break time, a group of more than a dozen of us got together to play that game, and I was the only one who got the answer right. After over a decade, I’ve gone through my ups and downs in life and so much more. I’ve travelled the world, got engaged, became handicapped, got dumped after, lost my condo, all my personal belongings, accepted the fact that I will forever be disabled, which led to my most significant 180-degree change in personality. There should be no “potential serial killer/ murderer in me anymore,” I thought. But as I watched through each episode of The Squid Game on Netflix, I started doubting myself again because I called out the exact plotline of each episode of The Squid Game. “Do I still have the serial killer psychopath in me?” I thought. I don’t hold grudges due to my goldfish memory. So, there’s no point in killing, but what if the role changes, and I am not the killer but the victim? How long could I last? have I really maxed out my nine freakish lives? That got me thinking, which of the childhood games in The Squid Game can I survive through? For “Red Light, Green Light,” I’m too disabled to play. I wouldn’t last a minute. However, the Dalgona (aka. ” Ppopgi“) cookie challenge in the third episode of The Squid Game seems doable with a single hand, even if it’s my non-dominant hand. So stranded at home, I decided to do the Dalgona cookie challenge.
魷魚遊戲椪糖食材 / The Squid Game Dalgona Cookie Challenge Ingredients:
– 砂糖 砂糖烘培紙
魷魚遊戲椪糖食材 – 平底器材（壓扁用） / The Squid Game Dalgona Cookie – Challenge Ingredients – flat object (for pressinng)
魷魚遊戲椪糖食材 – 烘培紙 / The Squid Game Dalgona Cookie Challenge Ingredients – baking paper/ parchment paper
魷魚遊戲椪糖食材 / The Squid Game Dalgona Cookie Challenge Ingredients – skillet/pan/pot
魷魚遊戲椪糖食材 – 砂糖 / The Squid Game Dalgona Cookie Challenge Ingredient – sugar
魷魚遊戲椪糖食材 / The Squid Game Dalgona Cookie Challenge Ingredients – skewer/needle
魷魚遊戲椪糖食材 / The Squid Game Dalgona Cookie Challenge Ingredients – baking molds
魷魚遊戲椪糖食材 / The Squid Game Dalgona Cookie Challenge Ingredients – baking soda
English Version / 英文版： After some Googling, it turns out that Dalgona cookies are surprisingly simple to make. Besides cookware, all you need is two simple ingredients: sugar and baking soda, which are usually readily available in the kitchen. Now get your big spoon or pot and a pair of chopsticks, and we’re ready to go! If you bake, all materials should be readily available at home in an ordinary household, including different shapes of baking molds. We don’t bake much, so we got a set of four different shapes of baking molds: a heart, a square, and because Halloween is just around the corner, the set includes a Casper-looking ghost and a skull. Below I’ll be sharing my Dalgona cookie recipe to our fans who are also fans of The Squid Game and all you sick potential serial killers and psychopaths (just kidding):
魷魚遊戲椪糖食譜 / The Squid Game Dalgona (Ppopgi) Cookie recipe:
手指捏一小撮小蘇打粉置入糖漿繼續攪拌 / add a tiny pinch of baking soda to the syrup
手指捏一小撮小蘇打粉置入糖漿繼續攪拌 / add a tiny pinch of baking soda to the syrup
手指捏一小撮小蘇打粉置入糖漿繼續攪拌 / add a tiny pinch of baking soda to the syrup
注意：小蘇打是讓椪糖膨脹的材料，因此只需極少許的一小撮即可，不然會漲太大，溢出鍋勺或鍋具，很危險。
3. 攪拌攪拌均勻後，將糖漿到至烘培紙上。
攪拌攪拌均勻後，將糖漿到至烘培紙上 / After stirring evenly, pour the syrup on the baking sheet
攪拌攪拌均勻後，將糖漿到至烘培紙上 / After stirring evenly, pour the syrup on the baking sheet
攪拌攪拌均勻後，將糖漿到至烘培紙上 / After stirring evenly, pour the syrup on the baking sheet / After stirring evenly, pour the syrup on the baking sheet
攪拌攪拌均勻後，將糖漿到至烘培紙上 / After stirring evenly, pour the syrup on the baking sheet
等待15到20秒後蓋上第二層烘培紙
用任何平底器具將糖漿壓制想要得大小跟厚度。
等待15到20秒後蓋上第二層烘培紙 用任何平底器具將糖漿壓制想要得大小跟厚度 / Use any flat-bottomed appliance to press the syrup to the desired size and thickness
等待15到20秒後蓋上第二層烘培紙 用任何平底器具將糖漿壓制想要得大小跟厚度 / Use any flat-bottomed appliance to press the syrup to the desired size and thickness
注意：在壓扁糖漿前可以用手指碰碰看測試一下糖漿溫度，要到不會黏手才能成功壓平不沾黏第二層烘培紙。
拿出模型，在糖漿還剩下一些餘溫時將模型壓下。
拿出模型，在糖漿還剩下一些餘溫時將模型壓下 / take out the molds and press them down on the mixture when there is some residual temperature in the syrup.
拿出模型，在糖漿還剩下一些餘溫時將模型壓下 / take out the molds and press them down on the mixture when there is some residual temperature in the syrup.
拿出模型，在糖漿還剩下一些餘溫時將模型壓下 / take out the molds and press them down on the mixture when there is some residual temperature in the syrup.
注意：呀模型時不能壓至糖漿斷掉，不然就沒得玩了。
等壓有模型形狀的糖漿放置冷卻後，戳椪糖遊戲就開始囉！
English Version / 英文版：
place the first piece of baking paper on a flat surface
Put 100 grams of sugar in the skillet or ladle, stir with chopsticks over low heat until it melts into a thick syrup.
Once the sugar is all melted into a syrup and turned brown/ amber in colour, remove the ladle/skillet from the heat and add a tiny pinch of baking soda to the syrup
Continue to stir until the baking soda is thoroughly mixed into the syrup. Note:Baking soda is the material that expands the mixture, so it’s crucial to only add a tiny pinch to avoid the syrup from overflowing and burning, which is potentially dangerous.
After stirring evenly, pour the syrup on the baking sheet
Wait for 15 to 20 seconds before covering with the second layer of baking paper Use any flat-bottomed appliance to press the syrup to the desired size and thickness. Note: Before flattening the syrup, test the heat of the mixture with your fingers. Only flatten it with the second layer of baking paper until the mixture does not stick to your fingers, so it doesn’t stick to the second layer of baking paper.
press until the mixture is flattened to the desired size and thickness
take out the molds and press them down on the mixture when there is some residual temperature in the syrup. Note: Do not press until the molds utterly separate from the syrup; otherwise, there’s no game.
Let the mixture cool down, and let the game begin!
