How to Make Kohakutou Candy (Japanese Crystal Gummies)
Make your own Japanese Kohakutou at home with this easy recipe! This popular Japanese gummy candy takes just 5 ingredients to make, and is gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan. The secret ingredient? Agar-agar!
On my last trip to Japan, I made it a goal to try as many new food as I possibly could in the one-week period. I tried egg-yolk ice cream, unagi (eel) rice box, uni (sea urchin), wagashi, and countless matcha desserts!
RELATED: Get a FREE trial of Amazon Prime to get access to 2-day grocery deliveries!
Of these, one of the most exciting foods I got to try was none other than the popular Japanese kohakutou candy. Slightly crunchy on the outside, perfectly chewy on the inside – this was a regular treat during my trip, and for good reasons!
As it turns out, making your own kohakutou candy is not hard at all! Follow this easy recipe and you’ll have a batch to eat in no time.
Let’s start!
RELATED: 5 Epic Things To Do In Japan
Ingredients You Need in this Kohakutou Recipe
- 6 teaspoons agar-agar powder
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon (total) flavoring (I used cherry, orange, peach, and green apple)
- liquid food coloring
How to Make Japanese Kohakutou Candy
- In a saucepan, soak the agar-agar powder in water for 4-5 minutes.
- Bring the agar-agar mixture to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes, or until the agar-agar powder has fully dissolved. Make sure to stir constantly to prevent burning.
- Add in the granulated sugar and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until sugar has fully dissolved and mixture has thickened. Turn off the heat.
- Spray a few rectangular heatproof dishes with oil and pour in the gummy mixture equally (1 dish = 1 flavor). Add your flavoring of choice into each dish, and a few drops of liquid food coloring. You can choose to swirl different colors to make a pattern, or just blend one color thoroughly.
- Refrigerate the kohakutou for 1-3 hours, or until set.
- Once the candy has set, remove the kohakutou from the dishes and use a sharp knife to cut it into crystal shapes. You may need to rinse the knife every now and then as the candy will be very sticky.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and place the kohakutou to dry for 2-3 days. You’ll know they are ready when a hard crust forms on the outside. ENJOY!
Looking for More Easy Snack Recipes?
- How to Make Japanese Wagashi : Nerikiri Recipe
- Simple Ube Ice Cream (GF, V)
- Purple Sweet Potato Klepon (Indonesian Sweet Rice Ball)
- Balinese Milk Tarts (Pie Susu)
- Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Shrimp & Vegan Options)
- Señorita Bread Recipe (Filipino Spanish Bread)
- Easy Banh Bao Recipe (Vietnamese Steamed Pork Bun)
- How to Make Martabak Telur (Indonesian Meat & Egg Pancakes) The Easy Way!
- Chinese Pork Dumplings (With Pictures!)
- Quick Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Quiejo)
Subscribe to DWELL and get new recipes delivered straight to your inbox! In addition, follow along on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram to get all the latest updates!
If you make this Japanese Kohakutou recipe, please drop a comment below! I’d LOVE to know what you think! Or take a picture and share it on Instagram by tagging @dwellbymichelle so I can repost it on my stories!
Copyright © All Rights Reserved. Content is written by Michelle Schmidt of dwellbymichelle.com.
How to Make Kohakutou Candy (Japanese Crystal Gummies)
Ingredients
- 6 tsp agar-agar powder
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp (total) flavoring (I used cherry, orange, peach, and green apple)
- liquid food coloring
Instructions
- In a saucepan, soak the agar-agar powder in water for 4-5 minutes.
- Bring the agar-agar mixture to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes, or until the agar-agar powder has fully dissolved. Make sure to stir constantly to prevent burning.
- Add in the granulated sugar and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until sugar has fully dissolved and mixture has thickened. Turn off the heat.
- Spray a few rectangular heatproof dishes with oil and pour in the gummy mixture equally (1 dish = 1 flavor). Add your flavoring of choice into each dish, and a few drops of liquid food coloring. You can choose to swirl different colors to make a pattern, or just blend one color thoroughly.
- Refrigerate the kohakutou for 1-3 hours, or until set.
- Once the candy has set, remove the kohakutou from the dishes and use a sharp knife to cut it into crystal shapes. You may need to rinse the knife every now and then as the candy will be very sticky.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and place the kohakutou to dry for 2-3 days. You'll know they are ready when a hard crust forms on the outside. ENJOY!
Nutrition
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Thought it was going to be too runny at first, but I kept going and am glad I did! The candies actually did firm up eventually and they taste incredible.
Could you use a dehydrator to speed up the drying process or would it ruin them?
Hello! I really want to try making these for my little cousin’s birthday party. I was wondering if the crystalization of the candy would be affected by humidity? I live in Puerto Rico (very hot weather) and I don’t have central air conditioner. Will the heat and humidity affect the crystalization process of the candy or make it moldy? I also don’t have a dehydrator so I’m a bit worried that they won’t turn out becuase of it. Any suggestion? Thank you so much!
Can you flavor with freeze dried fruit powder?
So good, it set very well! Thank you for this awesome recipe. I tried adding lemon and ginger to one which came out really food with spicy, sweet and sour bases all covered.
Hi Nuwanthi! So glad to hear you loved the recipe! It’s definitely a fun treat to make. Lemon and ginger sounds delicious!
Very excited to try! How big were your glass trays and how many did you use? Just don’t want to put too much or too little. If that’s a thing?
Do you use 1/3 tsp of flavoring total for the whole recipe, so like if you use three different flavors you do 1/9th of a tsp per flavor?
After refrigerating the mixture for five hours, it is still very liquidy for me. It tastes amazing but for some reason it is unable to solidify. Please help!!
Hi Fraise! When using agar-agar, it’s very important to have exactly the correct ratio, cooking time, etc for it to set correctly. Can you share more about the brand of agar-agar you used and if you made any (even slight) changes to the recipe?
mmm the flavors!! yum!
Such an easy recipe to make. Very sticky at first but as it dries out, we couldn’t get enough of it. Even my husband loves it.
My kids love making this. It tastes great and it doubles as a fun family activity. win-win!
the kohakutou turned out fabulously. You were right, it was a sticky batter but once firmed up, it tasted just like i remembered the first time i had it.
Great recipe! The candies turned out great.
is it 31 kcal per serving (70 crystals) or per piece of candy?
Thanks!
it’s per piece!
SO GOOD!!!