Dragon Beard Candy
Every time Chinese New Year rolls around, it makes me glad to be living in such a diverse city full of great cultures with excellent food. There isn’t a better way to spend the day of celebrations than in Pacific Mall; formerly known as Markham’s hotbed of pirated DVDs and games, now somewhat restored to it’s former glory as one of Canada’s largest Asian malls.
A group of us spent most of last Sunday there where everything Chinese was proudly being flashed and displayed at us and anything Valentines was completely scrubbed out. I wouldn’t have it any other way for a February 14th!
The candy being made
During our scouring through the mall, among a mass of Chinese New Year trinkets and paper cut outs being sold, there was a small stand making the famous dragon beard candy. When I can see people make the food I’m about to snack on, I’m usually completely sold. Maybe that’s why Tiny Tom’s Donuts are always a must-buy each year at the CNE.
Dragon Beard candy is a pretty delicate process which only a handful of people in the world know how to make. It’s made by boiling sugar in water until most of the water evaporates and you’re left with a rubbery clump of sugar, then you pull and stretch the candy over and over again endlessly until you get long thing strands resembling a beard. All this is done while keeping it completely covered in flour so that it doesn’t stick together or to your hands. After, it’s cut and wrapped around a mixture of peanuts and coconut shavings. The video below shows it better than I can actually explain it.
The guy who does it at Pacific Mall is usually only there when he can be. Most of the times, you’ll catch him there on a long weekend when the mall is busy. There’s also a possibility you can find him there on any other given weekend but it’s usually a small chance so I really wouldn’t make the trek out there just for the candy. Thankfully, a lot of the stores are now filled with some interesting things to buy and look at since most of the pirated DVD stores have been given the boot and gone into temporary hiding.