At the hanami picnic I hosted a few weeks ago, one of the foods I served was dango. Dango are sort of like mochi; they are made with rice flour and shaped in balls, and then impaled on a skewer. There are usually three to four dango on a skewer. Usually the dango are coated with a syrup made from soy sauce, sugar, and mirin and then grilled before eaten.
There are variations on dango flavorings. Sometimes matcha (powdered green tea) is added, and in the norther island of Hokkaido, potato flour is used instead of rice flour. Sometimes they are coated or filled with red bean paste.
I've never attempted to make them myself, but I found this recipe online and it looks easy enough! For those who wish to buy prepared dango but don't have access to a Japanese grocery, Mitsuwa's online store offers dango covered with sesame seed paste.
Related: DIY Mochi Ice Cream Balls
(Image: Kathryn Hill)
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For those who reside in Minneapolis:
Sushi-do in the skyway makese these fresh! They have them with teriyaki sauce and sweeter ones with matcha & red bean paste.
Sushi-do also recently started selling fresh takoyaki.
Seriously, it's the only place I know of in the twin cities that has japanese street food. They carry a variety of good stuff that rotates, so visit often.
I tried to make dango once upon a time. It was a major disaster. Turns out I didn't get the right sort of rice flour, so I wound up with hard little dumplings that were gooey outside but hard and dry inside--they cracked and fell apart when I tried to skewer them.
Not something I would try to make again.
when i lived in japan i literally ate shoyu dango every single day. it is by far my favourite snack in the world but a total pain in the ass to make just for a snack. the rice flour is SO STICKY and steaming it is difficult. it's a good effort for a potluck, and the sauce is easy to make and delicious. YUM.
I have made them twice, one with the wrong kind of flour, which was not good at all. Had the same problems as Kakugori. Make sure you get glutinous rice flour. I have a cookbook that calls for a mix between the two kinds of flour, which I think would be the best (the ones i made with only glutinous flour became really chewy).
I tried to make these once and I couldn't keep the dough from sticking to everything it got near. :( So sad because they look so good! I was even trying to make the 3-color kind for hina matsuri!