Mitarashi Dango Recipe: Easy Japanese Street Snack

Today, I'll show you how to make mitarashi dango, Japanese rice dumplings. Konnichiwa, I'm Nami from Just one cookbook. Mitarashi dango is a popular street snack in Japan. If you see food stalls, you'll often find these chewy dumpling skewers covered in a delicious sweet soy glaze. This is my son's favorite snack, and the homemade ones are simply the best. Before we start, don't forget to subscribe and make sure to click the bell icon for new updates. Now, let's get started. Begin by soaking the bamboo skewers in water. Now, combine ¾ cup shiratamako and ⅔ cup joshinko in a bowl. Stir in some boiling water, a little bit at a time, while mixing. You can always add more water, so add gradually. The dough should be on the dry side. If you can find dangoko from a Japanese grocery store, it's easier. Mix 1 and ⅓ cup dangoko and water and combine the dough into a ball. Knead until the dough becomes smooth. The texture is similar to squeezing an earlobe. Yes, that's how the Japanese describe the tenderness of these rice dumplings. Once the dough is formed into a ball, divide it into 8 equal pieces. Then divide each piece into 2 smaller pieces. I like to use a kitchen scale, so a dango skewer has 3 equal-sized dumpling balls. A typical ball should be between 15 to 20 grams. Here, I'm weighing 20 grams for each dumpling. Shape each of the dough pieces into a smooth round ball. If the dough is cracking or has some wrinkles, apply a tiny bit of water and smooth it out. To cook the dumplings, gently drop each dumpling into the boiling water and cook them all at once. Stir the balls occasionally so they keep their round shape and don't stick to the bottom of the pot. The dumplings will stay near the bottom of the pot at first, but will float once they are cooked. When they rise to the top, boil them for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the dumplings to a bowl of ice water. Drain well and transfer the dumplings to a tray once dumplings have cooled. Skewer 3 pieces onto a bamboo stick. To make the sweet soy glaze, in a saucepan, add 4 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons mirin, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 third cup water, and 2 tablespoons potato starch or corn starch. Don't turn on the heat yet. Mix all the ingredients together until smooth. The potato starch will become lumpy if you heat the sauce without stirring beforehand. Now turn on the heat. Keep whisking continuously as the mixture can thicken suddenly. When the sauce thickens, remove the saucepan from the heat. If you have a kitchen torch, you can char the dumplings for a grilled taste. You can also use a broiler, grill, or non-stick frying pan. Pour the sweet soy glaze on top of the dumplings and serve immediately. Enjoy! Itadakimasu! I hope you enjoy this recipe and check out more of my videos here. Thank you for watching and see you in the next video. Matane!