Dragon Beard candy is a hand pulled traditional Chinese sweet similar to cotton candy. It is made by pulling a ring of hardened sugar into around 16,000 individual strands of candy. Growing up in a Cantonese household, my grandmother would always feed me Dragon Beard candy during Chinese New Year. The fluffy white cocoon is usually filled with peanuts. This delectable sweet has an extremely short shelf life, so it’s somewhat acceptable to eat ten at a time (not really, but I won’t tell anyone).
Buzzfeed recently recorded a video where they made Dragon Beard Candy. It took four attempts, but they finally achieved making the “impossible cotton candy from ancient China”. Check out their video to learn how you can make Dragon Beard Candy at home.
看完这个制作过程后，不仅有了一种跃跃欲试的感觉，还为祖先能发明出如此有意思的糖而骄傲。
Wow that was so fun to watch. 16000 strands So much and so cool. I guess on the first trail the temp was too high so it failed. Oh I want to try making it now.
wow very interesting! I’m definitely going to make one myself. 🙂
I really like this article. Before this article, I never heard about Dragon Beard Candy. I cant wait to try this next year during my school trip to China
Wow, Dragon Beard Candy, nice! Can’t wait to check it out!
我知道龙须糖是中国的传统小吃，这些小吃一般都是现做现吃，从来不储存的，而且一般都是给皇室做的。
This candy looks a bit weird. video was entertaining. this article was very good
That candy seems really delicious. It is also very interesting how that candy is made.
The video was very entertaining the candy looks kind of weird but I sure would like to try it
Interesting, the candy sounds delicious and I’d love to try it sometime.
I have heard of this type of candy and I would like to try it one day. It was really interesting to watch!
Dragon beard candy sounds amazing! I’d love to try it sometime. Wonderful article.
Great article! I think it is interesting that even thought this type of candy has existed for centuries, it has only become known and popular now. Since I have never tried it before, I am very curious as to what the texture and taste of the candy is like. You mentioned that it is similar to cotton candy, but it very looks nothing it. So I would like to try it sometime soon to find out. It was a fun video to watch!
I’ve never heard of dragon beard candy before. I haven’t tasted it either. Thank you for teaching me so much about it. Adding the video to the article was a nice touch, as it provided a visual for how to make the candy. After watching the informative video, I learned how much work it takes to make the candy. I really want to try some dragon beard candy now.
I thought this was really interesting Maya! I have never heard of Dragon Beard Candy before this article. And who knew that it is made by pulling a ring of hardened sugar into around 16,000 individual strands of candy. I never knew that preparing candy could be so hard. I’m going to have to try it now.
Wow, Maya. What a great piece you have written for us. I am a foodie with quite a sweet tooth, so I can completely relate to this article. This has introduced me to a new way of confection, something that I can investigate during my trip to China this summer. It is also interesting how you incorporate an aspect of ancient history into this article, and how we have moved forward in the food world. I look forward to reading more of your articles in the future.
Before reading this article, I didn’t even know there was something called “Dragon Beard Candy.” That video was really interesting to watch and I want to make one someday. I wonder why it’s called impossible? Because I thought anyone could make it easily, and the woman in the video would have been successful the first try if she put less sugar. Hope it doesn’t break when I try to make them.
I’ve seen people on YouTube attempt to make this before, but I actually never had the chance to try it. I’ve seen people selling it when I went back to China, unfortunately I didn’t buy it back then. It seems like a lot of work, but the end result is so pretty. After watching this video, it made me want to try it out myself, see if I’m capable of pulling out all those strands. I don’t know if they sell it here, but I would love to try it out when I go back to China in the future!
Thanks for sharing this article and video Maya! It was so interesting and fun to see how they make this candy. I’ve never had Dragon Beard’s Candy, but I really want to try it. It looks so good! Now that I’ve seen how it is made, I have a greater appreciation for it, as it took 5 tries in the video. Next time I see this, I’m definitely going to give it a try!
I had never heard about Dragon Beard Candy before your article. It is great that you shared the fact that this is a traditional candy that you eat during Chinese New Year. Adding the link to the video was great. Given the simple ingredients, you can be fooled into thinking that the candy is easy to make. I am not sure I could make it in four attempts. Thanks for sharing this article.
Nice article and video, Maya! Even though I eat a lot of food during Chinese New Year, but I never really heard of the Dragon Beard Candy. I think the name of this candy is really interesting, and I definitely have to try this candy! I think the video was really nice, and I really want to try making Dragon Beard Candy too.
I have never tasted or heard of dragon candy before. I like how you provided a video with the article because it gave it a really nice visual of how the candy was made. I really want to make some dragon beard candy now. I did not know that it was a traditional candy eaten during Chinese New Year. Thanks for sharing Maya!
Wow! I’ve never tried this Dragon Beard Candy before. It really does look like it could be a Dragon’s Beard though. The people that make this candy for a living must have a lot of skill to not break the strings before reaching 16k. I like how you included a visual in video form. Great job, Maya!
相传在2000多年前的古代中国，帝皇发现了一款以上千条从麦芽糖抽出来的纤幼糖丝精制而成的美食。御厨会以其精巧手艺于御花园表演整套造糖的过程，并供皇室贵族即席享用。这种以天然麦芽糖制成的美食，一向以来均是“鲜造鲜吃”，不作储存。
龙须糖是一个需要消耗非常长的的时间和精力才能制作成功的一样美食，也是我最喜欢吃的中国传统美食之一，不单单是因为这个美食的味道鲜美，还因为这个传统美食包含着中国两千多年的历史。
I tried to make this recipe and I can say for certain that it is as hard, if not harder, than how the video portrays it. After a few attempts, I gave up but I still enjoyed trying. I think that the food of a region tells a lot about the people who live there. The dedication that it takes to make something like this is, I think, indicative of the mindset of the country that this comes from. I hope that one day, I can be successful in making this recipe.
I’ve had so many different types of Chinese candy, but I’ve yet to try the Dragon Beard Candy. I can’t believe that it’s pulling a ring of hardened sugar into 16000 individual strands of candy! I can’t even imagine how sweet it would taste. Now that I have watched the video and now the recipe, I will try to make it! Amazing article Maya!