Dango Recipe: A Delicious Japanese Treat
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make dango:- 1 cup mochiko (sweet rice flour)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- Food coloring (optional)
- Cornstarch (for dusting)
Instructions
Follow these steps to make delicious dango at home: 1. In a mixing bowl, add mochiko and sugar. Mix well. 2. Gradually add water to the mixture and knead until it becomes a smooth dough. If the dough is too sticky, add more mochiko. If it’s too dry, add more water. 3. Divide the dough into four equal parts. Add food coloring to each part to create different colors. 4. Roll each dough into a long, thin cylinder shape. Cut the cylinder into bite-sized pieces, about 1-inch long. 5. In a pot, boil water over medium heat. Add the dango into the boiling water and cook for around 2-3 minutes or until they float to the surface. 6. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the dango into cold water to stop the cooking process. 7. Once the dango has cooled down, dust them with cornstarch to prevent them from sticking together. 8. Skewer three dango onto a bamboo skewer, and repeat until all the dango is used up.Nutrition
Here’s the nutritional information for a serving of dango (3 pieces):- Calories: 120
- Protein: 2g
- Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 29g
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 20mg
Tips for Making Perfect Dango
Here are some tips to help you make delicious dango:- Use sweet rice flour (mochiko) instead of regular rice flour. Mochiko has a high starch content, which is essential for making dango.
- Knead the dough well. The dough should be smooth and elastic, but not too sticky or too dry.
- Add food coloring to the dough to create different colors. You can use natural food coloring, such as matcha powder or beet juice.
- Boil the dango over medium heat. If the water is too hot, the dango will break apart. If the water is not hot enough, the dango will not cook properly.
- Transfer the dango into cold water to stop the cooking process. This will help the dango to maintain their shape and texture.
- Dust the dango with cornstarch to prevent them from sticking together.
Variations
Dango comes in various flavors and colors. Here are some popular variations:- Anko dango: Dango stuffed with sweet red bean paste.
- Kinako dango: Dango coated with sweet soybean flour.
- Mitarashi dango: Dango coated with sweet soy sauce glaze.
- Sakura dango: Dango colored with cherry blossom petals.
- Matcha dango: Dango flavored with matcha (green tea) powder.