Dango 団子

 

Dango 団子is a Japanese sweet dumpling. Usually, 3 to 5 dangos are skewered onto a stick and they are best served with a cuppa green tea. There are in fact many different varieties of dango and I made the  Mitarashi Dango / みたらし団子 . These dangos are served/coated with a sweet and savory sauce made from shouyu (soy sauce), sugar and starch.

(Source: Wikipedia) Types of dango:

• YangoDango: Commonly known as (sweetened) red bean paste, while ingredients other than azuki are used on rare occasions.
• Chadango: Green-tea flavored Dango.
• Bocchan dango: Dango that has three colors. One is colored by red beans, the second by eggs, and the third by green tea.
• Denpun dango: Variety of dango from Hokkaidō made from potato flour and baked with sweet boiled beans
• Kuri dango: Dango coated in chestnut paste
• Chichi dango: Slightly sweet light treats usually eaten as a dessert.
• Hanami dango: Also has three colors, Hanami dango is traditionally made during Sakura-viewing season. Hence the name Hanami (Hanami means "flower viewing"; hana meaning "flower", and mi meaning "to see").
• Goma: sesame seeds. It is both sweet and salty.
• Kibi dango: Dango made with millet flour. This variety is prominently featured in the tale of Momotaro, a folkloric Japanese hero, who offers them to three talking animals in exchange for their aid in fighting demons.
• Kinako: A toasted soy flour.
• Kushi dango: Dango held by a skewer
• Mitarashi: Covered with a syrup made from shouyu (soy sauce), sugar and starch.
• Nikudango A type of meatball.
• Teppanyaki: Dango on a skewer with a tangy teppanyaki taste.
• Sasa dango: Dango that is produced and eaten primarily in Niigata Prefecture. Sasa dango has two varieties: "Onna Dango" and "Otoko Dango." Onna Dango (literally "Female Dango") is filled with anko, while the otoko dango (literally "Male Dango") is filled with kinpira. The dango is wrapped in leaves of sasa for the purpose of preservation.

Using 1/2 tbs dough, this recipe yields roughly 30 dangos - 10 sticks (Note: making them into characters will yield lesser pieces)

Ingredient for dough:

- 2 cups of glutinous powder/glutinous rice flour

- 2/3 cups water (a lil more or less if necessary so always add the water gradually)

- 2 tsp of sugar

- coloring (optional unless u want to make them into fun characters)

Ingredient for sauce:

- 1 tbs sugar

- 1 tbs soy sauce

- 3 tbs (60ml) water

- starch water (1/2 tbs corn/potato flour dissolved in 1/2 tbs water)

1) Combine glutinous powder, sugar and water and knead until a dough is formed. Divide the dough using 1/2 tbs portion and roll them into balls. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the dango. The dango floats when it's cooked. Cook for another min or two and ladle out the dango and place in a bowl of cold water. Skewer the dango in 3's and grill in a lightly oiled pan until they are a little char.

2) In a small pot or saucepan, combine the sugar, soy sauce and water. Heat up over small flame, stirring occasionally and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in the corn starch. Keep stirring until sauce mixture thickens. Off heat.

3) Coat dango with the sauce using a brush. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!