On the thirty-eighth day of the Lockdown in France (Confinement Jour 38), I am blogging about my version of Dalgona Iced Coffee. In South Korea, where not only was the coronavirus met with an admirably disciplined approach, taming the spread early on, but during lockdown with its accompanying sans-Starbucks lifestyle, the country also did some viral activity of its own by popularising via social media the DIY making of Dalgona Iced Coffee. Dalgona's name is taken from the popular South Korean street snack of honeycomb toffee because according to the South Korean actor, Jung Il-woo, after having a beaten coffee (coffee powder, sugar, and hot water are whipped together) in Macau, stated they share a similar taste. Both also have a light-caramel colour. Beaten and frappe coffees (originating in Greece though frappe is a french term for mixing with ice) ordinarily could be gotten at eateries before the pandemic.
If you have come across images of this delightful iced coffee, and they are all over social media, you might be asking, but where is that scumptious, glistening mound of coffee foam reaching skywards? It's in there I promise as I first filled the glass with one-third of iced milk, then layered in the foam, and finally followed with the second and final one-third of iced milk. I did this for two reasons. One to be different though soon afterwards, I discovered India had already beaten me to the punch with its phenti hui coffee. Second to get a head start on the pesky business of mixing the whipped content with the milk so it can be quaffed down with ease. The coffee foam though delicious has attitude, an attitude derived from its nature of being foam which is viscous; its similiarity to Italian meringue has been noted by many a culinary eagel's eye. Despite being suspended in milk, it managed to surface, a tip of the 'foamberg'. My version also has the addition of folding in grated dark chocolate into the foam. And sometimes I rim the glass with ground cinnamon. The coffee foam is so enveloping, the chocolate bits disappeared into its welcoming opaque cocoon. But they soon melted leaving visual traces of their delectable existence in streaks, flushes, and scalloped edges.
Ingredients
makes two 237 ml/8 fluid oz servings which can be had on consecutive days as the Dalgona topping keeps several days in the fridge. The quantity can be ramped up as long as the ingredients are all in equal proportions. Ramping down is not feasible because the quantity would be too small to be successfully whipped.
Place the first three ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Though an electric beater/whisk would be the easiest and quickest way to make the coffee foam, in true DIY manner, manual beater/whisk, even a fork, could be used. Be warned, it will take some time, at least five minutes, probably more. My stick blender did it under a minute. As the mixture is beaten, it eventually lightens in colour and forms peaks which means it's ready. Fold the grated chocolate into the foam. Combine crushed ice and milk in a pitcher. If rimming the glass, dip the rim first into honey/maple or plain sugar syrup/flavoured cordial followed with a dipping in a sugar and cinnamon mixture. Use a stamping motion which can be followed by a twisting one. Do the stamping and twisting motion just once or big, unattractive globs will accumulate negating the desired crushed jewels effect. Fill glass one third full of iced milk. Spoon half of the coffee foam on top, and cover almost to the rim with ice milk. Repeat for a second glass. Even after pronounced stirring, clumps of foam still bobbed about but were small enough to be enjoyed while sipping. This was sooooooo good and fun to do!
À la prochaine!
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If you have come across images of this delightful iced coffee, and they are all over social media, you might be asking, but where is that scumptious, glistening mound of coffee foam reaching skywards? It's in there I promise as I first filled the glass with one-third of iced milk, then layered in the foam, and finally followed with the second and final one-third of iced milk. I did this for two reasons. One to be different though soon afterwards, I discovered India had already beaten me to the punch with its phenti hui coffee. Second to get a head start on the pesky business of mixing the whipped content with the milk so it can be quaffed down with ease. The coffee foam though delicious has attitude, an attitude derived from its nature of being foam which is viscous; its similiarity to Italian meringue has been noted by many a culinary eagel's eye. Despite being suspended in milk, it managed to surface, a tip of the 'foamberg'. My version also has the addition of folding in grated dark chocolate into the foam. And sometimes I rim the glass with ground cinnamon. The coffee foam is so enveloping, the chocolate bits disappeared into its welcoming opaque cocoon. But they soon melted leaving visual traces of their delectable existence in streaks, flushes, and scalloped edges.
Ingredients
makes two 237 ml/8 fluid oz servings which can be had on consecutive days as the Dalgona topping keeps several days in the fridge. The quantity can be ramped up as long as the ingredients are all in equal proportions. Ramping down is not feasible because the quantity would be too small to be successfully whipped.
- Coffee, instant or freeze-dried, 2 T
- Sugar, white, 2 T
- Boiling water, 2 T
- Dark chocolate, grated, 1 heaping tsp
- Milk, any kind, including nut and grain (I used whole cow's milk), 237 ml/8 fluid oz
- Ice cubes, 6, crushed (since the coffee foam can be added to hot milk instead, if that is your preference then no ice cubes are needed)
- If rimming the glass in cinnamon, then a mixture of cinnamon and sugar plus some kind of sticky liquid like honey/syrup/cordial are required
Place the first three ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Though an electric beater/whisk would be the easiest and quickest way to make the coffee foam, in true DIY manner, manual beater/whisk, even a fork, could be used. Be warned, it will take some time, at least five minutes, probably more. My stick blender did it under a minute. As the mixture is beaten, it eventually lightens in colour and forms peaks which means it's ready. Fold the grated chocolate into the foam. Combine crushed ice and milk in a pitcher. If rimming the glass, dip the rim first into honey/maple or plain sugar syrup/flavoured cordial followed with a dipping in a sugar and cinnamon mixture. Use a stamping motion which can be followed by a twisting one. Do the stamping and twisting motion just once or big, unattractive globs will accumulate negating the desired crushed jewels effect. Fill glass one third full of iced milk. Spoon half of the coffee foam on top, and cover almost to the rim with ice milk. Repeat for a second glass. Even after pronounced stirring, clumps of foam still bobbed about but were small enough to be enjoyed while sipping. This was sooooooo good and fun to do!
À la prochaine!
RELATED POST