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Kohakutou (Japanese crystal candy)

Kohakutou (Japanese crystal candy) Recipe - Flavored with Juice

Ms Shi and Mr He
This kohakutou recipe teaches you how to make popular Japanese crystal candies with agar agar powder, water, and sugar. You can also substitute water with juice, tea, coffee, or alcohol to make your homemade kohahutou candies colorful and flavorful.
4.10 from 11 votes
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Cooling & Drying Time 3 days 2 hours
Total Time 3 days 2 hours 15 minutes
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 25 candies
Calories 32 kcal

Equipment

  • Small saucepan
  • Kitchen scale
  • food storage containers with lids (Mine are 20oz size.)
  • Parchment paper (Or wax paper)

Ingredients
  

For making one box of Kohakutou (about 25 pieces of 1'' candies)

  • ½ cup water (About 120g. Can be substituted with juice, tea, alcohol, coffee. Do not use milk.)
  • 1 tsp agar agar powder (About 3g)
  • 1 cup sugar (About 210g)

Decorations (Optional)

  • 15 edible dried sakura flowers
  • 1 tsp edible sugar pearls
  • food coloring

Instructions
 

  • Add ½ cup of cold water (or juice, tea, beer...) to a small saucepan, sprinkle 1 tsp of agar agar powder over the water, stir until completely dissolved.
  • Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, pour in 1 cup of sugar, stir until completely dissolved. Let cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the syrup turns thickened in texture and light yellow in color.
  • Pour the mixture into a square or rectangle food storage container. Add a few drops of food coloring and stir if you want your kohakutou candies to be colorful. If you want some extra decorations, you can add some soaked edible sakura flowers, sugar pearls, or mint leaves to the syrup.
  • Let the mixture cool to room temperature, put the lid on, keep it in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
  • 2 hours later, run a thin knife around the edges of the container. Insert the knife under the jelly, then insert your fingers under the jelly to gently take it out from the container.
  • Cut the jelly into 25 pieces of 1'' cubes, or into any shape or size of your choice. You can also tear the jelly into irregular shapes so that they look more like gems.
  • Place cubed jelly on a large piece of parchment paper (Do not dry them on a cooking rack, otherwise they will stick to it). Let sit at room temperature for 3 to 5 days until they from a hard crust on the surface.
  • Store in an air tight container at room temperature (avoid high temperature or direct sunlight) for up to 1 month.

Video

Keyword crystal treats, Edible Crystal Candy, Japanese Crystal Candy, Kohakutou, vegan candy recipe