Mitarashi Dango Recipe: How to Make Glazed Rice Dumplings

You have seen sweet and colorful dangos like the tri-color dango (hanami dango). Do you know that there are some dango variations that are savory treats? Mitarashi Dango is an example of the savory type dangos, and we have a recipe for you.

Mitarashi Dango has a plain appearance compared to other types of dangos. What gives the dango its flavor is from the mitarashi sauce made from sugar and soy sauce. The burned sensation from the grilling process also adds into the dango’s texture. 

Try out this recipe if you feel like having a small snack before dinner.

Mitarashi Dango Recipe

Recipe by Sunny

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

Ingredients and tools

• 1 2/3 cup of joshinko rice flour/short grain rice flour (dango)

• 1 2/3 glutinous rice flour (dango)

• 2 ½ tbsp of sugar (dango)

• 1 cup of hot water (dango)

• 1 cup of water (mitarashi sauce)

• ¾ cup of sugar (mitarashi sauce)

• 3 tbsp of soy sauce (mitarashi sauce)

• 2 tbsp of cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp of water (mitarashi sauce)

• Steamer

• 6 wooden skewers

Directions

• Preheat the steamer on high heat.
• In a large glass bowl, combine the joshinko rice flour, glutinous rice flour, and sugar.
• Gradually pour the hot water into the mixture. Stir with a spatula until the dough has turned rough.
• Knead the dough with clean hands until smooth.
• Divide the dough into 18 equal-sized balls and line them on top of a steamer. Steam for about 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, incorporate water, sugar, and soy sauce in a saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium heat.
• Pour the cornstarch mixture into the sauce and mix well. Turn off the heat after boiling for 1 minute.
• Retrieve the dangos from the steamer and let it cool. Slide in 3 dangos onto one wooden skewer.
• Grill the dangos in a frying pan until there are slight charred marks on the surface.
• Brush the sauce over the dangos and serve while they are steaming hot.

Drinks Companion

Any umami flavor food should pair up with a cool drink. Here is how to match your drinks to this mitarashi dango recipe:

• Green Tea: The bitterness of the tea can balance out the sweet soy sauce. 
• Coffee: Dark, bitter coffee works well like tea. 
• Sake: Highly recommended by many dango connoisseurs. Depending on your alcohol preference, the dry and strong sensation of sake will enhance the texture of the dango. 

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