Kohakutou Recipe

Kohakutou (Japanese gummy candy) is not only beautiful but it is delicious. Pick your favorite candy flavors and follow this easy kohakutou recipe today!

What is kohakutou?

Kohakutou is Japanese gummy candy. “Kohaku” means “amber” in Japanese. Kohakutou is made with sugar, water, and agar agar powder and dyed with food coloring to look like gems. They are crispy on the outside and mushy and gummy on the inside.

What is agar agar powder?

Agar agar powder is a jellylike substance that has been extracted from red algae, a type of seaweed ^[1]. It is also known as kanten in Japan and is commonly used in Japanese dessert recipes.

Ingredients for this kohakutou recipe

• 2 ½ teaspoons (6 grams) agar agar powder (telephone brand is the best brand to use)
• 7 ounces (207 ml) cool water
• 1 ⅔ cups (340 g) granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml) candy flavoring of your choice (I used Pineapple Flavor)
• Gel food coloring (I used Wilton Gel Food Coloring) or liquid food coloring
• Coconut oil or vegetable oil for greasing

How to make kohakutou

1. Place cool water into a medium-sized saucepan.
2. Sprinkle agar agar powder over the cool water and let it absorb for 5 minutes.
3. Heat the agar mixture until it simmers and cook for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly with a spatula.
4. Sprinkle in the sugar and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes until the liquid becomes clear.
5. Remove from the heat and mix in candy flavoring.
6. Lightly grease a heatproof glass dish with coconut oil or vegetable oil. Pour the mixture into the glass dish.
7. For gel food coloring, put some gel food coloring on a toothpick and run it through the mixture to make marbling. Repeat with one color or with multiple colors to your liking.  For liquid food coloring, put a few drops on top and swirl with a toothpick. You can blend fully or leave it marbled.

8. Place the container into the refrigerator for 2-3 hours until set.

9. Remove the set jelly from the container and cut into crystal shapes using a sharp knife.

10. Place the crystal jellies onto a parchment covered cookie sheet and loosely cover the jellies with plastic wrap to avoid dusts. Let them dry at room temperature for 2-3 days until a hard crust forms on the outside.

(Optional) You can also put the jelly into some silicone molds. Here are teddy bear shaped kohakutou and pineapple shaped kohakutou I made 🙂

How to make kohakutou dry faster

Here are some tips to make kohakutou dry faster:

• Make sure there is space between the pieces to allow air to circulate around them.
• You may need to flip the pieces occasionally to ensure even drying. Kohakutou can take several days to dry completely, depending on the humidity in your environment.
• Some people had success using a food dehydrator to dry kohakutou faster – leaving them in the food hydrator at the lowest setting overnight. ^[2]

If you like this kohakutou recipe, you may also like:

• Annin Tofu (Almond Tofu) – Easy Recipe
• Fourth of July JELL-O Cups
• Matcha Panna Cotta