I went to dim sum with a friend last weekend at Koi Palace in Daly City. They were having a “dragon beard candy show,” where a candy chef stands behind glass and makes this yummy treat.

He started with a golden glob of stuff which turned out to be inverted sugar. He rolled it into a perfect ball, flattened it a bit, then poked a hole through the middle. It was the same shape and size as a clear golden donut.

Next he rolled it in a tray of rice flour to keep it from getting sticky and pulled the stretched the donut gently all the way around till there was a uniform loop of about 12 inches. He doubled the loop up, spread some flour and continued the process several times until he had something resembling a loop of angel hair (the christmas decoration, not the pasta).

He then proceeded to pull strands out, put some crushed peanuts and sesame seeds on a bit of the strands and roll it all up into a nifty little package.

It does indeed look like hair, and was delighted when my friend ate a piece and ended up with strands of sugar trailing out her mouth resembling… a dragon’s beard.

The picture above was taken from https://www.yuzumura.com/t-bamboogarden-closeup.aspx. There’s more pics, and a movie of the process there as well. Fun stuff.