Mitarashi Dango (みたらし団子), a traditional Japanese snack of rice dumplings paired with a sweet soy sauce glaze. This classic spring treat is soft, chewy and incredibly easy to make!
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Mitarashi Dango
Mitarashi Dango (みたらし団子), a traditional Japanese snack of rice dumplings paired with a sweet soy sauce glaze. This classic spring treat is soft, chewy and incredibly easy to make!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 14 minutes
- Yield: 4 skewers 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: vegan, japanese
Ingredients
Dango
- 50g shiratamako (sweet rice flour)
- 30g joshinko rice flour (optional, or sub with more shiratamako)
- 110-115g silken tofu
Sauce
- 1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (15ml)*
- ½-1 tablespoon mirin (7-15ml)**
- 3 tbsp water (45ml)
- 2-3 tablespoon coconut sugar (24-36g // or cane sugar)
- 1 ½ tsp potato starch
Instructions
- Soak the bamboo sticks in water. This makes it easier to slide the dango on and it prevents it from burning if using a blow torch.
- Roughly mash the tofu with a fork. Add the shiratamako flour and knead it together until a smooth soft dough forms
- Divide the dough into 12 pieces (15g each). Roll them into balls.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and then add all the dango. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally so they do not stick to the bottom. If they float to the top before 3 minutes is over, continue to cook to ensure the inside is done as well. Use a skimmer or slotted spoon to remove the dango and place in ice cold water.
- Add all the sauce ingredients to a small sauce pan and stir. Once the potato starch has dissolved, turn on the heat to medium high. Whisk continuously– once it begins to thicken remove from the heat and transfer it to a bowl.
- Pierce 3-5 dango onto a skewer. From here you can keep as is or add some charring for flavour with a grill, pan fry or blow torch. Pour the sweet soy glaze on top and enjoy!
Notes
- *Japanese soy sauce tastes different than Chinese soy sauce. Please use Japanese shoyu for the right flavour. If you only have Chinese soy sauce, adjust amount as well as the sugar.
- **If you do not have mirin, replace with sake or water and sugar.
- Helpful Equipment: blow torch, skewers, mixing bowls, whisk
- Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 skewer (3 balls)
- Calories: 130
Keywords: dango, mitarashi dango
SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓
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Hillary says
This was good, super easy recipe. I made the adjustments to the sauce as noted since I used Chinese soy sauce and no mirin. I think I will halve the sauce next time I make this since I had a lot leftover.
Nicole says
So easy and so yummy !
★★★★★
vegan_zzz says
turned out so good!
super simple & easy too
★★★★★
Nanou73horse says
It was really easy to make and I love the fact that we need only 2 ingredients to make the dango !
My dango didn't really look as cute and i have any stick to put them on but i enjoyed it so much ^^
Thanks for that recipe 🙂
★★★★★
Jacob says
This was so so fun and simple. Something I’ve been wanting to make for a while, this recipe was so easy.
★★★★★
Eleonora Cavagnis says
Very easy to make and so delicious!! I never thought it would take only ten minutes 😋😋
★★★★★
Helina says
I've never had dango before so I really wanted to try making it, and I'm so glad I found this recipe. The instructions are very clear and straightforward, so it was quite fun to make! I also loved the taste of the sauce.
★★★★★
The Book of Food says
I tried them once without silken tofu but the texture is not as good. Silken tofu is essential ! Thank you for the recipe. 🙂
★★★★★
Kiwi says
These are so perfect! The most yummy and easiest Dango recipe on the internet! The texture is just spot on!
★★★★★
Hanna says
They turned out amazing and brought me right back to Japan. They were soft and the perfect amount of chewy and the sauce was sweet and salty (my favorite flavor combination) 😍
★★★★★
Felicia says
Adding silken tofu is such a good idea!
I found that just half portkon of the sauce is good enough for me for the portion of dango.
★★★★★
Alice says
Easy and delicious, the sauce made me totally natsukashii of times in Japan eating dango ♥ Thank you for another great recipe !
★★★★★
Samantha says
So yummy and easy to make. Everyone loved it.
★★★★★
Tamara says
Really easy and quick to do, I used "glutinous rice flour" (no idea what kind it's not written on it) because it's the only one we can find here and it was still delicious. My 2yo loved it !
★★★★★
Matt says
Amazing dango! Reminded us so much of walking around Higashiyama!
We tried this recipe without the joshinko flour for simplicity - and it was still incredible!
Thanks Lisa!
★★★★★
Laura says
First time I har dango but this was so yummy!
★★★★★
Anu says
This was an AWESOME recipe! I'd been tempted to buy dango for a while cause I kept seeing them at Chateraise but the sauce wasn't vegan :((( I was so excited when I saw this recipe! It's extremely easy, super fast and the texture is sooo good!! Thanksss for posting ittt :))))
★★★★★
Johanna says
I´m just in love with these. They turned out so good. My bf loves japanese food and was so happy.
★★★★★
Abdulrahman says
Hi! I was wondering, if I can't specifically find shiratamako/joshinko, is it fine to use regular glutinous rice flour? (Like the one used in your hanami dango recipe!) I can't wait to try and make both types of dango. 😀
★★★★★
Lisa Kitahara says
Yes you can! 🙂
Crystal says
What kind of silken tofu are you supposed to use, because there is soft, medium-soft, firm, and extra firm. Or are you supposed to squeeze the water out of the tofu?
Lisa Kitahara says
Soft 🙂