With all the rave and social media postings during the lockdown period of this South Korean based recipe, we have consulted Malaysian chocolatier Ong Ning-Geng of Chocolate Concierge on how to make and enjoy this perfect Dalgona Chocolate drink.

Step 1: Portioning

Most demonstration videos online don’t tell you how many people the recipe serves. Be aware of how much sugar is in your recipe. One way to portion down to single person is to divide the recipe by one to two, or share it with your family and friends, whoever you are living with.

Step 2: Presentation

It is important to put some thoughts on the presentation. First, use a see-through glass instead of an opaque one so to show off the different layers of the drink. Second, choose your garnish from the choice of mint leaves, chocolate shavings, cocoa power or icing sugar. These will add to the appeal and make it more delicious when you drink it.

Step 3: Ingredients

What you make can only be as good as the ingredients you put in. If it’s a chocolate, use good grade chocolate, if coffee, make sure it’s fresh and the best you can get your hands on. Same with milk, make sure to use the best milk possible. UHT milk and high quality fresh milk in terms of dollar and cents per portion are usually just RM1 or RM1.50 extra for 150ml of milk and it makes sense to splurge a little if it is for your enjoyment.

Step 4: Sit back and enjoy

After spending so much time, effort and energy in making things like a Dalgona, you really do want to give yourself a pat on the back and enjoy it. Don’t just take a photo and toss it out as making something to consuming it is part of the experience. Make sure you are in the right frame of mind while enjoying the drink: have a deep breath, block out social media for a while and just indulge in those brief moments.

Recipes (with alcohol)

Dalgona Coffee

1 cup water
(Alcoholic version: Substitute 1/4 water with any spirit, we suggest rum or whisky)
2 tablespoon coffee
2 tablespoon sugar

Serve 2 to 3 portions

If you really want to cut down on this recipe, try taking out just 30% of it as anything less will become difficult to whip. Alternatively, prepare the original recipe and portion it into 2 or 3 servings. As the ingredients are now set, it can be kept for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Dalgona Chocolate Recipe

2 Egg whites (60g)
1 teaspoon lemon juice (5g)
1 tablespoon sugar (12g)
1/2 cup chocolate (90g)
1/2 cup water (120g)
(Alcoholic version: Substitute 1/4 water with any spirit, we suggest rum or whisky)

Instructions

1. Separate egg whites (of two eggs) from the yolk
2. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of sugar into the egg white
3. Whip using a kitchen aid, electric whipper, or by hand
4. Stop once a medium to peak is achieved
5. Microwave the chocolate in a bowl for 1 minute on medium to melt
6. Microwave the water in a separate bowl for 30 seconds to warm
7. Make a water ganache by adding the water into the melted chocolate and mix vigorously using a spatula or spoon, stop once a silky appearance is achieved
8. Take 1/3 of the stiff egg white meringue and fold it gently into the chocolate ganache, trying not to collapse the aeration or micro bubbles in the meringue
9. When entirely incorporated, slowly fold the chocolate water ganache mixture into the rest of the egg white meringue
10. Spoon this “dalgona topping” over 2/3 cup of cold milk and garnish!

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